Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Matthew 14:23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Jesus had the need to be alone with His Father. I am going to say that again. Jesus had the need to be alone with His Father. He, often withdrew into the wilderness to pray and be alone. If Jesus needed to do this, girls, how much more do we? Being alone with our Father must be an integral part of our lives if we are going to shine for Him as we face the pressures and trials of this world. Jesus saw it as a necessity. He left for us the example. Follow Him in this and you will be like that tree in Psalm 1 that is planted by the rivers of water.
There are so many many distractions in this world and these distractions have increased astronomically it seems in the last 20 years. If you are so inclined, it is possible to spend most of your life distracted...never alone or at least never alone with your thoughts. As a believer we are under under the authority of our Lord Jesus and as such are in submission to Him. Jesus was in complete submission to His Father. In fact the bible tells us this in John 14:10
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works."
or John 12:49
"For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak."
The Father in many places calls Jesus His Servant and that is exactly why He came...He served us to the end by giving His life for us so that we who believe could live forever with Him. As God's Servant He spoke only what His Father in heaven told Him to speak and did only that which He told Him to do. Girls, in order for Jesus to be directed in this manner, He had to be in close communion or communication with His Father. This is what Jesus wants for us in our own lives. We are His servants. As His servants we need to be directed by Him. In and of ourselves we should be bereft of ambition...our lives totally turned over to do His will. We as a servant, have no rights...we live solely for the Lord...to please Him. We belong to our Master. A servant does not get up in the morning and do his own thing and yet most of us do just that. We cannot be directed by Him if we are not seeking Him and spending much time with Him. God's will is in His word...we will not know what His plan is for our lives, for the year, for the month, for the day or even and especially for the hour if we are not spending time alone with Him in prayer and His word.
Jesus cared about one thing, His Father's will. That's it. How beautiful. How simple. That is how He was able to move around with peace and a complete lack of busyness and distraction. If only we could stamp that in a place where we could see it always. Our job here on earth is really so simple but we get caught up in all of its distractions and lose our focus. There really is only one thing that is needed...Here is what Jesus said to Martha in the Gospel of Luke.
" But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
As we like Mary choose the good part...the part that will never be taken away there are so many things that happen inside our hearts by the power of His Spirit who dwells there. We are strengthened during our times with Him...strengthened in faith, strengthened with might in our inner man, strengthened with all might for all patience and long suffering with joy, strengthened with His power and directed by His word and His will, and strengthened so that His message might be preached to an unsaved world by our words and our deeds.
In addition the bible tells us that as we immerse ourselves in His word we are conformed to His image and likeness and know His perfect and good and acceptable will. For like Jesus you are here not to do your own will but the will of Him who sent you.
As we draw near to Him and become increasingly dependent on His glorious power and grace, we begin to see ourselves for who we really are...with all the dents and scrapes. The first 5 chapters of Isaiah are replete with Isaiah speaking woe unto others...but in Chapter 6 after He saw His Lord--high and lifted up---Isaiah says this: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." As a result of this we have more compassion for others because after receiving knowledge about me, I am no longer as hard on you.
And all of this choosing the good part brings us to a place of increased usefulness as a vessel set apart for Him. The more time we spend with our Lord the deeper our roots sink into His love, mercy and grace. This grounding and depth enables us to speak words in season to those who are weary and like the tree planted by the rivers of water all that we do prospers because He is in it. When you make a practice of spending time with Him it is evident to those around you. You are radiant with His love and speak from a depth of understanding and a passion that those who have not spent time with Him do not have.
Praying that each one of you will covet this kind of solitude with Jesus.
Love
Mum
