– Scripture:

One day in one of the villages there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus he fell down before him in prayer and said, “If you want to, you can cleanse me.” Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there his skin was smooth, the leprosy gone. Jesus instructed him, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.” But the man couldn’t keep it to himself, and the word got out. Soon a large crowd of people had gathered to listen and be healed of their ailments. As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him.

                             Luke 5:12–17 MSG

Key Verse – As often as possible, Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.

 – Reflection:

Grabbing Some Solitude: Invitation to a Changed Life

Why are we so bad at solitude? Our king did it quite well. As a man, Jesus knew his limitations. He understood his need to connect with his father to his guidance and power. He knew how good that connection was. He wants us to know, too. If it’s so good, though, why do we struggle? Well, it’s because we’re busy. Solitude is hard when you’re working and/or married and/or have kids and/or have friends. And, it’s a little because we’re not well practiced. Our culture trains us for motion and multitasking, not for slowing and simplifying. And it’s a little because, deep down, we know solitude means confrontation. But if we avoid his confrontation, we’ll miss his companionship, counsel, comfort, restoration, and rescue. So, we must take courage. We must not worry that we don’t yet do it well. We must make solitude a priority, just as Jesus did.

Where do we go from here?

You see, solitude removes distractions and leaves us, for a few minutes, alone with God the Holy Spirit. Solitude is sometimes defined as being alone, but we aren’t. The Spirit dwells within us. God’s right there. And we never know what might happen when we’re alone with God. He might ask us to stop something we don’t want to stop or start something we don’t want to start. He might. He does that.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, allow us to start small. Allow us to find something that works for us. Let us turn off our devices and walk at work at lunchtime or during breaks. Allow us to get some air in our neighborhoods after dinner. Let us slip outside just before bed and sit quietly in the dark. And, when we’re ready for more, let us take a half-day, full-day, or overnight solo trip into the outdoors to be with you. With the grace and mercy you provide us every day. We can all say. Amen.