Solitude

Follow Along with the Message

What if the greatest threat to the Christian faith today isn’t secularism but distraction?

Luke 5: 15-16 NIV- “Yet the news about him (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him to be healed of their sicknesses.  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Pray, rest, and listen for His Father’s voice.

What solitude is not:

Solitude defined:  time in the quiet with ourselves and with God.

Solitude has two companions: silence and stillness.

Two Dimensions of Silence:

•  Silence

•  Silence

Stillness:

• The Eastern Orthodox Bishop Kallistos defined stillness this way: “stillness is a state of mental quietude and concentration. Not simply silence, but an attitude of listening to God and an openness to God.”

You need to recognize that the quiet place, the eremos, isn’t just a place, it’s a practice.

Ultimately the invitation to solitude is an invitation to  with God.

Matthew 11:28-30- “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”