“We who have been drugged by diversions cannot expect to enter the quiet without a struggle.  Our souls will roar for diversion”

Gary Thomas, Seeking the Face of God

The quieter days

Some of you will remember when we had no cell phones, internet, Facebook, hundreds of channels of tv.  Simpler times.  Quieter times.  We went to church more.  Had more family time. More conversation with people. Probably more real friends.

There were fewer diversions.  Now we jump at every tone from our cell phones.  We have the capacity to fill every minute of our day with something.  This is an addiction just as difficult to fight as physical issues.

Solitude is worth fighting for

The idea of being quiet and having no distraction is something to fight for.  Solitude before God is such a powerful and fulfilling time.  It is in these quiet times that we began to know the real issues of our lives.  In solitude before God, the Holy Spirit brings up pains, emotions to deal with and receive healing.  In the quiet times there will come revelations that you would never receive in the business of the day.  God will give you a verse that is ‘your verse‘.  The more you meditate on it the more God reveals.

One powerful verse I love that God brings back to me is Luke 5:38 ” new wine must be poured into new wineskins.”  Jesus has new wine of His presence to pour into my soul,  but I need to prepare my old wineskin (soul)  to receive it.  I feel a drawing to mature in Christ through prayer and meditation.  The reading of scripture and the discipline of my daily walk helps me grow and repair my soul (wineskin). When my soul is renewed,  Christ will pour more of Himself in me.  More Holy Spirit power, peace, and praise.

A Practical Guide 

It all leads back to being still before God.  Mark out some time each day to be still before God.  I will share a simple formula I use many times that you can spend a half-hour before God very easily.  30 minutes of solitude with God:

5 min   Praise God  Psalms 57:11,  63:3-4,  Rev. 14:11

5 min   Cleans the temple (confession)  Psalms 51:10-11  (prays over yesterday’s problems)

5 min   Intercession – Remember the world 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (have different peoples on each day)

5 min   Share my needs Matthew 7:7-8, James 1:5-8.  ( upcoming needs, family, personal)

5 min  Quiet…let God speak John 10:27,  1 Kings 19:12

5 min   Read Scripture

“Solitude is the place where Christ remodels us in his own image and frees us from the victimizing compulsions of the world”  Henri Nouwen

Some of the material today is from a book called ‘Replenish’ by Lance Witt

Remember we are conditioned to surround ourselves with distractions.  Make a place of quiet solitude with God and you will find a brighter lightnside.