As Christians, we often are looking for ways we can be more like Jesus. We might try to be more loving, or more patient. Or, maybe we are striving to be more peaceful or to be more self-controlled. While all of those are worthwhile endeavors, I believe striving to emulate His rhythm of spending time alone might be one of the most effective ways to become more like Him.
If you have read through the Gospels, you undoubtedly have noticed the many times they say, “Jesus often withdrew…” or… “Jesus went out to a solitary place.” If Jesus, who is fully God and in constant communion with God, found that His humanness made it necessary for Him to often withdraw and pray, what does that mean for us? We are fully human and not God at all, so my guess would be that we need to pray more often than Jesus! Wow! That seems like a lofty goal.
Since that seems out of reach, maybe we can look further into the verses to help break it down into steps that can be attained. First, in thinking about the word “often,” that could mean that Jesus withdrew every day, or it could mean He withdrew every few days, or maybe that He found a solitary place once a week. But, I don’t think a frequency of less than once a week would be described as “often.” How often do you withdraw to pray? Would it be described as often? If not, can you set a goal of withdrawing to pray more often than you do now? If there’s no regularity to your times of solitary prayer, I encourage you to start with something attainable, like 30 minutes once a week.
Almost every time Jesus went out to a solitary place, he prayed. So, He is getting away from the “noise” of life every day, or at the very least, once a week. And, while He’s in that quiet and private place, He prays. And I would bet that a lot of His prayer time would have been sitting in silence and listening to God the Father. I wonder how often we - living in America in 2025 - go to a quiet, private place and sit silently listening for God’s voice. My guess would be that for most of us, that doesn’t happen often. Can we do it more often? When was the last time you got away and unplugged, and were intentionally silent?
Let’s challenge ourselves. Starting this week, let’s find half an hour, once a week to withdraw and pray. Think of a place that you can truly get away and unplug for 30 minutes. And, if you want to take it further, spend some of that time being silent and listening. Can you sit in silence for 5 minutes? Or maybe longer? After you master withdrawing for prayer once a week, add another day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to keep adding until this became a habit every day! I’ll be joining you on this journey. Let me know how you are doing and how this new habit is affecting your walk with Jesus.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
- Mark 1:35
