GETTING ALONE WITH GOD
Definition: Getting alone with God refers to times of private prayer and communion with the Jesus.
1. The secret of prayer is secret prayer.
Isaiah 26:20 [Secret prayer protects God’s people from His judgments on the wicked] Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
2. We cannot do the Master’s work without the Master’s power; and to get it, we must spend time alone with the Master.
Isaiah 30:15a For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Lamentations 3:25,26 The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
John 15:4,5 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.
3. Every great man of God had to retreat alone in order to meditate, pray and commune with God.
Genesis 24:63a And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.
Exodus 24:15,16a,18 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16a And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai. … 18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
1 Kings 19:11,12 [Elijah had to get alone with God in order to hear His still small voice] And He said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
Daniel 6:10Daniel … went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Acts 10:9,30,31 [Peter takes quiet time in prayer, while miles away Cornelius prays, and the Lord tells each of them to get together so that Cornelius and his household can hear the message of salvation. They had never met, but were united through prayer] On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. … 30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard. [For the whole story read all of chapter 10]
4. If Jesus needed to spend time alone with God, how much more do we?
Matthew 14:23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone.
Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Mark 6:46 And when He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray.
Luke 5:16 And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 22:41 [Private desperate prayer gave Jesus the courage and strength to go the last mile:] And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed. 42 Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto Him from Heaven, strengthening Him.
5. We need to learn to talk to the Lord, and learn to listen most of all.
1 Samuel 3:8b-10 And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child [Samuel]. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth. [See verses 3-10]
Psalm 85:8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
Acts 9:6 [Newly converted Saul of Tarsus, later called Paul, gets his directions from the Lord in prayer:] And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
6. Start the day off right. Before doing anything else, talk to the Lord.
Psalm 4:4b Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.
Psalm 5:3 My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.
Psalm 63:1 O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.
Psalm 119:147 I prevented [rose before] the dawning of the morning, and cried [prayed]: I hoped in Thy Word.
Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.
7. When we get alone with the Lord, He heals and restores our souls.
Psalm 23:2,3a He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3a He restoreth my soul.
Malachi 4:2a But unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings.
2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
8. The Lord longs for the sweet communion of heart with heart, and we should likewise. He loves to have our undivided attention.
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 27:8 When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Psalm 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 84:1-3 How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
Psalm 84:10a For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand.
Psalm 130:5,6 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
Lamentations 3:41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the Heavens.
John 17:21-26 [Jesus’ prayer to His Father was] that they [we, His followers] all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. 22 And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given Them; that they may be one, even as We are One: 23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. 26 And I have declared unto them Thy Name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
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