09 Jul Spending Time With God, Part 2
Adapted from Part 1 of Be Still My Soul
Spending time with God outside our usual routine and environment is helpful and essential in developing intimacy with Him. We see this example in the lives of faithful men and women in the Bible, but especially in the life of Jesus. Consider these passages:
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12)
Jesus took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. (Luke 9:28)
*See also Luke 11:1 and Mark 6:45-47.
I am amazed at how much time He even went away with others to draw close to God together with them. As we go out into creation,experiencing the sunrise, sunshine, and sunset, we become more aware of the power of God. Spending time at the ocean, a lake, or on a mountaintop gets us out of our ordinary routine and in touch with God’s creativity. The passage below confirms the awe we experience when we experience God’s beautiful world:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day theypour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)
The times I have spent away with God have been amazingly helpful in drawing me closer to Him, and I pray you will seek out some different ways to connect with Him out in His creation.
Fasting also helps us draw close to God. Like prayer, it is recorded in the examples of our heroes in the Old and New Testament. Moses fasted for 40 days (Exodus 34:28). David humbled himself by fasting (Psalm 35:13). Jesus fasted for 40 days as he began his ministry (Matt. 4:1-11), and he later said that his disciples would also fast (Luke 6:35).Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted as they sought to appoint elders in the churches God used them to establish(Acts 14:23).
This article is adapted from Be Still My Soul, which equips and inspires men and women of God to deepen their walk with Him. It is available for purchase from ipibooks.com.
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