Solitude

By Guest Writer

Scripture Reading: Genesis 28:10-22, Genesis 32:24-32, Matthew 14:6-14, Matthew 14:22-23, Mark 1:35-39, John 16:32

The world buzzes with distractions and noise. We keep our phones on hand at all times, and it’s easy to get sucked into the social media vortex. The voices that vie for our attention scream all the louder when we try to slow down and regain our bearings. Is this how we’re supposed to spend our days, spun with worry and every inch of our minds and hearts full of noise, clutter, and hurry?

This isn’t how God created us to live, and He doesn’t want us broken down and depleted by our busyness.

Solitude is the spiritual practice of abstaining from the external inputs that crowd our souls, to intentionally take time to be alone with God. It’s setting aside space to prioritize communing with Him.

Jesus Himself took time amid the demands of daily life to sit with His Father, linger, and be replenished. Our key Scripture, Matthew 14:23, comes after Jesus’s miracle of feeding five thousand men, plus women and children. Ministry must have been exhausting as the constant hours, relentless requests, debates, teaching, and healing weighed on Him. Yet there He was, fully God and fully man, prioritizing time to get away and return to the relationship that mattered most.

One of the ways we as followers of Jesus can stay in step with the Spirit in our own lives is to cultivate a rhythm of solitude. What does this look like, practically?

Start by taking fifteen minutes somewhere in your day, whenever you can weave in time to yourself. Keep your phone in another room or in the house or car if you’re outside. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Pay attention to sounds that may naturally be around you, but don’t say anything. If your mind wanders, it’s okay. Acknowledge that and bring your mind back to the present. Invite God into this time. Sit with Him, aware of His presence with you. You may want to read a psalm or passage in the Bible. Read it a few times, slowly, and ask God if there is anything He wants you to linger on in the reading or what He wants you to know about Him. Thank Him for who He is and how He shows up for you. Before you get back to your day, look for another time to continue this practice tomorrow.

Setting aside time to be alone with God, coming to Him with an open heart and mind, is something He made us for. When we recognize how much our souls crave this slow, deep connection to our Creator, solitude becomes not just a practice but a necessity. Over time, it can become a welcome rhythm of our lives.

There is nothing sweeter than being in God’s presence, and solitude ushers our hearts closer to His.

Written by Sarah Freymuth