The Value of Solitude and Silence

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”- Matthew 6:6

Sometimes I like to be alone. I enjoy being able to think without distractions. I like to pray and not have a bunch of noise. I like to reflect on God and not have a television drowning out His voice.

Solitude and silence are valuable.

You don’t always need to be silent when you’re alone, but when you can enjoy listening to what is around you while you’re alone as opposed to hearing the sound of a phone dinging every 5 seconds, your solitude experience may be enhanced.

Getting away is essential to recoup. I mean, if Jesus did it, then why shouldn’t we?

We all know it’s important, but we fail to do it. Think about it. How often do you think about taking a bubble bath just to relax without having someone come in asking you to do something? How often do you look forward to a drive by yourself? A walk? A run?

We all have something within that moves us to being alone. Yet, we rarely find time to do it. Why?

Perhaps we try to do it for too long?

For some reason, I used to feel like in order to have a good alone time, it had to be an hour or more. I was wrong. A good 15 minutes by your self could be enough to enjoy a breather, pray, and read a few verses of scripture. Try to focus on less time, but make it worth it.

Perhaps we waste our time alone? We say we will focus on reading or praying, but we end up scanning through Facebook or texting friends. Shut off your devices and focus. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t focus on being alone right away. Our society has programmed us to be connected and never shut off. God is trying to get us to reconnect with Him and shut off the distractions set up by the world. Don’t give up because you have wasted your time, just work on figuring out what is causing you to lose focus, then get rid of it for that time.

Perhaps we feel like we have too much to do to take time alone? Let’s face it, Christ was here to save the world, but He still took time away. Our tasks might be important, but compared to Jesus, they pale in comparison. Our tasks will still be there when we get back. They won’t ever go away. We need to keep our focus on God and allow Him to give us the peace and rest as we try to accomplish all our work. He cannot go to the wayside because of how busy we are. He was not too busy for us and when you say, “I’m too busy. I’ll find time for God later”, it’s a sign of disrespect and disregard for the sacrifice He made for you. Take some time from the work and focus on the God who gives you rest.

We need to find time to rest. We need some time to reflect. God is calling us to be alone with Him in order to hear His voice. Silence is necessary, although not essential for solitude, but definitely increases the ability to focus on God.

May we find time to be alone. May we find the strength to step away. May we trust that God will honor us in our solitude and silence.

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: Where do you go to refocus?