By: Steve Wilmot
My wife is very much a people person. She enjoys conversations with old friends and new acquaintances. It keeps her day from being boring.
At the same time, she craves time alone with me, preferably daily. A time when we carve out a few moments to talk.
The subject doesn’t have to be about something serious or to resolve a difference between us.
It can just be catching up on our day, going over our schedules for tomorrow, or sharing neat stories about friends and family. God is like my wife.
He enjoys on-going conversation with me throughout the day. The “pray without ceasing” thing Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians. He wants to be a part of every moment of my day.
He wants me to chat all day about what is going on: something that made me laugh or cry, my anxieties and fears, how I enjoyed being with some person, and so forth.
But God also craves alone time with me when my focus is completely and totally on him. Not talking to him while I must keep my mind on driving or working or the like.
He wants that as well, but he also desires a few minutes every day when he is the undistracted center of my attention. When it’s just him and me alone.
Jesus referred to it as closet time – going into a closet or room and getting alone with God. “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you” (Matthew 6.5-6).
Do you carve out any time like that daily? I mean to. I want to. But too often those daily minutes get pushed aside by a long to-do list or laziness.
When I evaluate it, I must admit alone time with God isn’t that important to me because I always make room in my schedule for what’s important — for what I really want to do.
That’s a sad admission, isn’t it? But aren’t you the same? It would have been easy for Jesus to be distracted from time alone with God because of the demands of his ministry, and the thousands of people needing his help.
A quick scan of the Gospels reveals that Jesus carried on brief conversations with God throughout his day, but time alone with God for prayer was a high priority for him.
Consider the following scriptures and note the words and phrases I’ve highlighted in bold type:
“As often as possible, Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer” (Luke 5.16). “One day Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night” (Luke 6.12).
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1.35).
“With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night” (Matthew 14.23).
Jesus praised Mary when she neglected her household duties to sit at his feet and listen to him talk, undistracted from everything and everyone around her (see Luke 10.38-42).
By holding Mary up as an example we should imitate, Jesus emphasized that some things are more important than others, and that time alone with him supersedes all other uses of our time.
Moses made it a habit to pitch a tent some distance away from the Israeli campground to have a place away from all distractions and demands on his time to spend time alone with God.
To talk with him, tell him his problems, and listen. (See Exodus 33.7-11). This practice is what made Moses the leader he became.
What can incorporating “closet time” into your daily schedule do for you? I can’t give you a definitive list, but I know that it will be worth it. It will be life changing and empowering.
Your faith will grow from it. Your relationship with God will deepen from it. Your ability to face big problems with peace and joy will result from it.
The lives of those you talk to God about will benefit as he goes to work to answer your prayers for them.
Talk to God periodically during the day. The more the better. But be sure to carve out “closet time” with him, too. A few minutes every day when your focus is on him and nothing else. Read the Bible and let him speak to you.
Talk over what you’ve heard him say as you read. Tell him the things you’re facing. Ask him to intervene in the lives of those you love. Express how much you love him.
Making time for this valuable practice will mean saying no to something else, but you’ll be glad you did.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.