Alone, But Not Alone

An Encouragement and Guide to Spending Time Alone with God

Time alone with God? That’s a tough one, isn’t it? If there’s anything that is opposed by the “tyranny of the urgent” (world) and the fatigue of our bodies (flesh) and the spiritual forces that hate us (devil), it is a life given to spending time alone with God. In order for this to become a habit in our lives, it requires 1) strong conviction, 2) vision for what to do, and 3) perseverance in the face of obstacles. In short, it requires the grace of God!

1. The Scripture calls us to spend time alone with God on a daily basis. This is the strong conviction we need to have. The only way we can become convinced of this is to think about what the Bible says: It was the habit of Jesus, the Perfect Man, whom we are to fol-low, to spend time alone with God (Matthew 14:23; 26:36; Mark 1:35; 6:46-47; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 11:1). Jesus also taught us to spend time alone with God (Matthew 6:5-6; Luke 10:38-42). We are taught to ask for what we need daily (Matthew 6:11) and to meditate on God’s Word daily (Psalm 1:1-3). The spirit of all this is to say that we should spend time alone with God according to our desire to fellowship with Him and our need for Him, both of which encourages daily fellowship.

2. This time alone with God is to be shaped and filled with the Word of God and prayer, which can also be supported by other means. This is the vision we need to have. God speaks to us in the Bible. We speak to God in prayer. This is the nature of fellowship with God now, although one day it will be face to face! It helps to have a plan for Bible reading. It helps to have a plan for prayer. A plan gives us a starting point each day and prevents wasting time while providing us with the opportunity to be flexible as needed. So feel free to change what you do on any given day but have a plan in place.

Plan to read through the whole Bible. Every word of God to us is important and profitable. (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17) You can pick up a reading plan or plan your own. A 1 year plan (about 13 months) to read through the whole Bible requires about 3 chapters in the OT and 1 chapter in the NT each day; a 2 year plan about 1 chapter in both the OT and NT each day; a 3 year plan (about 39 months) about 1 chapter a day. Take your pick!

Plan to pray the Lord’s Prayer for yourself and others. This is the instruction of our Lord and we should take it seriously. (Matthew 6:9-13) But praying the Lord’s prayer is not a matter of rote but of submitting our hearts and lives to God’s prayer list! What is on God’s prayer list?

1. A heart for God and His glory

2. A heart for obedience and His kingdom

3. A request for daily, practical needs

4. A request for forgiveness and reconciliation

5. A request for grace in the fight for holiness in trial and temptation.

One of the best things to do is to pray in response to what you read in the Scripture by confessing the sin it exposes, by rejoicing in the comfort and encouragement it gives, and by requesting that God would enable us to believe His Word and to obey what He calls us to be and do, for His glory and the love of others.

But there are also other elements that are rooted in and spring from and apply the principal means of the Word of God and prayer that we can use in our fellowship with God.

1. We can write down our thoughts and questions and insights and plans and prayer re-quests in a journal.

2. We can sing to the Lord (by memory or using a hymnal or song book).

3. We can review our sermon notes and pray for application.

4. We can use devotional materials.

5. We can pray through the Coast prayer request sheet.

6. We can memorize verses that stand out in our reading and meditate on them in more depth.

7. We can read Christian biographies and pray in light of what we learn through it.

8. We can read Bible handbooks and study Bible notes to help us understand what we read.

9. We can simply pray Scripture verses for ourselves and others.

10. We can make action plans for how we will put into practice what we’ve read or how we will seek to help and encourage someone else.

The important thread in all this is to seek to hear God’s Word to us and to respond in appropriate ways: in worship (praise and thanksgiving) and confession (of sin and righteousness in Christ) and petition /intercession (prayer for ourselves and others) and obedience (applying what we see in the Word and seeking to help others).

3. There is no specific amount of time required by Scripture for this kind of personal fellowship with God, although the principle that “he who sows much, will reap much” certainly applies. (Galatians 6:6-10; 2 Corinthians 9:6) Time is not the issue, but rather, fellowship with God and the grace we need to trust and obey Him more in our lives. (1 Corinthians 1:9; Hebrews 4:12) The more needy we sense ourselves to be, the more hopeful that God will meet us during this time, and the more we get into the habit of setting aside time for this, the less of an issue that time will be. But it is good to choose the time you will spend (especially as you are cultivating a habit) and how you will spend it, whether 5 minutes a day, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, etc. Here is one plan that you can use (let’s use 30 minutes as an illustration):

1. Spend time thanking and praising God (2 minutes)

2. Read a passage of Scripture (10 minutes)

3. Pray in light of what you read (2 minutes)

4. Read a devotional passage (5 minutes)

5. Pray in light of what you read (2 minutes)

Ask God for what you and others need and close with praise and thanksgiving (9 minutes).

4. You can expect to have to fight and persevere and guard your time alone with God. So don’t be surprised or discouraged. In due time, you will reap if you don‘t give up! Having a plan is helpful and cultivating a habit is important, but the only thing that will drive us to spend time with God on a regular basis is an acute sense of need and a trust in the promises of God in Christ and the understanding that this time alone with God in the Word and prayer is a necessary means for enjoying all that God has promised to be for us in Jesus. Remember, God is your Father and He wants to fellowship with you and Jesus died so that we could! (1 Corinthians 1:9; Romans 5:1, 10)