Thursday, July 15, 2010

Get Alone With God

We recently went on a weekend retreat with our young adult ministry from church. We were able to get away from the busyness of the city and relax out in the country. It was a wonderful time to reflect and get alone with the Lord. Like we have discussed in previous posts, it is so important to build your relationship with God. One of the ways to do so is to be intimate with God.
The healthy relationships that we invest in with our family members, friends, co workers and spouses are earthly examples of how our relationship should be with the Lord. We need to get alone with Him to learn more about Him. We can experience His love, joy, pain, concerns, compassion and spirit by just taking the time to be in His presence. When you want to get to know someone better, you spend time with that person. You build a level of intimacy with the person. You learn that you can confide and trust that person. You also find out what the person thinks about you, if they love you or care about you.

God wants that same level of intimacy with us. He wants to hear about our concerns, deep thoughts and desires. On the flip side we need to also ask God about what concerns Him about us. Are we walking in His will, are we obeying Him and loving Him? Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days to get alone with God, before He started his ministry.
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness John 4:1. Jesus got alone with his Father to gain wisdom, strength and understanding of His plan. Jesus also got alone with the Lord when John the Baptist died and before he feed the 5 thousand (Matthew 14:10-14:21). There are other times throughout the gospels that Jesus went out to be alone with the Father. And every time he went out to pray something miraculous happened! So if our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could find the time in the short 3 years of His ministry to pray and get alone with God; we need to follow His lead and do the same.
I pray that you get into the prayer closet and get alone with God. He is the reason why we are still here, so give Him your time and attention every moment you get.
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:5-8