Time Alone with the Lord is Always Worth It
[1] And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness [2] for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.(Luke 4:1–2 ESV)
[15]But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. [16]But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.(Luke 4:15–16 ESV)
There were several times during Jesus’ life that He was THE most popular guy in the world. Crowds would push in to see Him; men would rip apart the roof of a house to lower down a friend. It was crazy. Also in that day, if a man dressed like a Rabbi came to your house, it was a high honor to feed and house him as long as he wanted. Jesus could go to many different houses and ask for shelter or company and they would be happy to give it.
But Jesus would withdraw to desolate places and prayed instead.
Many people have taken a few hours or half a day to get away, be alone, and pray. None that I know have complained that it was a waste of time.
Focus is a rarity in our current culture, so the sheer act of getting alone with the Lord can take some work. You can tell people are longing for focus, though, with “No wifi” at coffee shops being promoted as a good thing and the Chick-fil-a cell phone challenge. (It’s a challenge?!) People are starting to appreciate paper Bibles again because you can read about Jesus and not be notified about nearby Pokemon or an incoming email from your boss.
Just like getting some alone time with a spouse or an old friend, you have to plan to get alone with the Lord. The more you do it, the more you’ll want to do it again. The mother of John Wesley, Susana Wesley, would have her peace and quiet prayer time by sitting down and pulling her apron over her head. All of her dozen or so kids knew not to bother mom when the apron was on her head.
I could go on and on with examples and reasons to be alone, but I’ll just give you a small list of things that happened after Jesus was alone and prayed.
He began His ministry (Mark 1:12)
He walked on water (Matthew 14:23)
He chose His 12 disciples (Luke 6:12)
He was killed and then rose from the dead (John 17)
The Lord desires to spend time with you. Make some time, take a Bible and a notepad along, and spend some time with Him.