Quality Time

After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone. - Matthew 14:23 HCSB

There is something particularly sacred about the private times we spend with God in prayer. There should be some prayers that are so intimate, so revealing that we cannot bring ourselves to share them with anyone but God. If we feel free to share everything that we have shared with God with other people, then perhaps we may want to consider that we might not be really getting down to business with God.

Imagine if we shared every moment of our spousal relationship publicly. What if there was never a time when we could be alone with our loved one? What kind of a relationship would that be? The conversations would be shallow. The gaze of the public eye would limit the intimacy. This is one of the great difficulties of leadership. If we are in any position of leadership, it becomes difficult to set aside time with our loved ones that will be uninterrupted.

Surprisingly enough, one of the toughest things I find to do as a pastor is to get time alone with God. I spend so much time praying with people all day long every day, that I sometimes neglect praying with my spouse or worse yet, praying alone with God.

If Jesus, who was as public as they come, took time to send away the crowds and the disciples, then so should we. If He found time to be alone with the Father, then so can we. He didn’t even have a house to retire to. He didn’t have an office with a lockable door. He had to climb up into the hills to pray. That took time and effort that we don’t have to put out.

To get this time alone with God, we need to get away from the phone, the fax, the emails, work, duties, chores and responsibilities for a set time just to be with Him. This doesn’t mean that we should forsake our duties – we just don’t worry about them for an hour. Just like fasting, this allows us to show God how important He is to us. He is such a priority in our lives that everything else takes second place to quality time spent with Him.

This might be easier if we do this at a regular time so that others get used to not being able to contact us at that time and quit trying. If our time with God is not a regularly scheduled thing, it will be much easier to let it slide.

Just as there are aspects of our marriage that we hold too sacred and holy to share with other people, we should have at least the same level of intimacy with our Maker. That time alone will develop tenderness to the Holy Spirit that no amount of public devotion could ever bring.

Just as we find it easy to share a knowing glance, a gentle touch with our loved one after being able to spend some time exclusively with them, our relationship with God will be that much more special after spending some one-on-one with the Lover of our souls.