Extended Time With Jesus

Dear Aletha,
My devotions have been especially dry lately. I feel as though I have not really been fed spiritually for a long time. I would love to spend an extended time alone with Jesus. What do you suggest I do to make the block of time a fresh encounter with God?
Fern

Dear Fern,

For nearly a week one summer my family was out of town or otherwise away from home at meal times. What a splendid time I had being out of the kitchen! I found myself at McDonald’s once and sometimes even twice a day. After about four days of cheeseburgers and McNuggets, however, I began craving some real food—even if I had to cook it.

Sometimes I sense the need for a full-course meal on my knees, too, and I think that is what you are sensing. A period of dry devotions or a special need can make us long for an extended time with the Lord.

Even Jesus felt the need for unhurried praying. “He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said if we invite Him, He will come in and sup with us. The Greek word for “sup” means a long extended meal. Jesus longs to have unhurried fellowship with us just as He did with His Father when He was on earth.

Consider giving God a gift of time. Not just a few minutes here or there, but a substantial gift—perhaps even as much as three hours. If the Spirit whispers, “I want to meet with you,” or implants any longing to be alone with Him, gratefully respond with anticipation. Honor His invitation, and He will meet you. “Blessed are they which do hunger…for they shall be filled.”

Look ahead in your schedule and block out a morning or an afternoon in which you could be alone. If you would not be alone at home, find a place outside, a room in your church, or even rent a hotel room, if necessary. One friend told me she had arranged to go to a friend’s home when everyone was away.

Trust the Spirit who calls you to prayer to also lead you in that time alone with Him. Follow the desires and ideas He provides. Here are some suggestions, but know that not every time will be the same.

Find a specific time and a place away from the regular routine. Your time could include praise, singing, prayer, silence, meditation, and keeping a journal of your thoughts and insights.

Praise Him. Just as there was a gate into the Old Testament tabernacle, there is a gate into the presence of God. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Psalm 22:3 reminds us that God inhabits the praises of His people. Draw near to Him with praise, and He will draw near to you. In Destined for the Throne, Paul Bilheimer suggests, “Satan is allergic to praise, so where there is massive triumphant praise, Satan is paralyzed, bound, and banished.”

Sing your praises. Take your hymnal so you can sing alone in God’s presence. At least forty-one Psalms specifically refer to “singing praises” to the Lord. Amy Carmichael said, “I believe truly that Satan cannot endure it and so slips out of the room—more or less!–when there is a true song.”

Read Scripture. Ask the Spirit to direct your reading. You may want to read an entire book such as Colossians or read a series of Psalms. Follow the hunger of your heart and the suggestion of the Spirit.

Absorb His Word. Sometimes I’m so hungry to hear God that it seems that only memorizing His Word makes me feel that I’ve been fed. Memorizing a portion of His Word or writing our own paraphrases may at times be the best way for us to hear the Spirit.

Humbly listen. As you go to prayer, allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart. If we search our hearts without direction from the Spirit, we might assume false guilt. But consider it a blessing, if the Holy Spirit pinpoints an attitude that He is not pleased with. God seeks those who worship Him in truth (John 4:23), without pretension, without hidden motives. “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (Psalm 145:18).

Pray. As you pray, allow the Spirit to direct what you pray. Sometimes He might say, “You mean well, but that is not what I see is the real need.” Or He might reveal that you are asking with a wrong motive. “His understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:28). He understands better what will satisfy the desires of our hearts than we do. We don’t pray for our will to be done, but His.

Claim God’s promises. George Mueller prayed with an open Bible and searched to have a Word from God that promised to give what He requested. Spurgeon wrote, “God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as paper; He intended that they be used. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His children bring them up to Him and say, ‘Lord, do as thou hast said.’”

Intercede specifically. The Holy Spirit will teach us how to be specific in our petitioning. Andrew Murray suggests, “Let your prayer be so definite that you can say as you leave the prayer closet, ‘I know what I have asked from the Father, and I expect an answer.” The greater our intensity for a particular need, the longer we’re willing to stay in God’s presence until we know exactly what to ask and know that He’s heard us. “And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:17).

Listen to Him. God will speak more often than we know if we wait before Him in a time of silence. Write thoughts He gives as you write as though He is speaking to you. Sometimes I simply close my prayer time with a time of silent communion. I pray, “Dear Jesus, I want Your Spirit to commune with my spirit.” I often leave those times strengthened.

If you began your prayer time anticipating specific guidance or assurance, and you haven’t received it, trust that He has heard and will give you what you need at the right time. God promises, “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23). Allow God to answer you in His time and in His way. A part of faith is not demanding answers in our way and on our time table.

Satan wants us to lose the sense of God’s presence when we leave our prayer time, so don’t be surprised if you encounter temptations to be annoyed or impatient. The Holy Spirit is our help in prayer and will be our power throughout the day.