Do you spend time alone? Do you take time to think through your situation? Are you one who doesn’t like to be alone, preferring to always be with someone else, always socializing? Will you take time to be alone with God?
Our hustle and bustle society has us all on the move. Even during a time when many of us are spending most of our time at home or with family, we still keep ourselves busy. We are constantly doing something or talking about something or watching something. It has become second nature for us.
Approximately seventy-five percent of us are considered to be extroverts or lean more that way than toward being an introvert. When we couple that with our culture, we just never sit down to be quiet. Even those who are introverts have gotten in the habit of always being on the go. It is expected by our family and friends.
Yet, this isn’t healthy for us. We need to spend quiet time with God. Though extroverts likely can’t spend much time at one sitting without becoming restless, they can still spend a few minutes sitting quietly reading Scripture, praying, or simply waiting to hear God’s voice.
For those who are introverts, they can spend hours sitting quietly, and should at times. For introverts, the constant going causes anxiety and wears them out. They need to have quiet time to recharge themselves.
All of us need to spend some time with God, whether we are extroverts or introverts. It is only when we do, that we see our anxiety, fear, and worry levels decrease. It is in those quiet times that we get to know who God is. It is in those quiet times that we will hear God’s small voice, His whisper that tells us who He is and what He wants us to do. We discover that God really is in control. We can use that time to pour our hearts out to God. We relieve ourselves of our worries, turning them over to God.
We see that even Jesus needed to spend quiet time in prayer with His Father. We could argue that He was the strongest person, mentally, to walk this earth. Yet He needed the quiet time. So much so that He spent an entire night in prayer on a mountain.
I pray each one of us will find time in our busyness to spend quiet time with God. I pray we will purposely set aside time periodically to be alone with God. I pray we all listen for God to speak to us through His Spirit. Set aside time to spend with God. Be quiet with God. Pray to God, releasing your worries. Be quiet and listen for God to speak. Trust God, He is always there.
Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Marty Pressey 