One thing is clear; the temptation of power is greatest when intimacy is a threat. Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love.” (10)
We are told that at the conclusion of the three temptations ‘the devil left him and angels came and ministered to him”. (Matthew 4:11)
Jesus did not succumb to the temptations, but that does not mean they were over. At the end of his ministry we see the challenge Jesus would face. Alone in the garden of Gethsemane with his three closest followers asleep Jesus again faced an incredible challenge. Would he accept the will of the Father and walk in obedience to the cross or evade the ones who sought his death. The agony was so great that ‘his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground’. (Luke 22:46)
There will be times when we are alone and the silence is pervasive, that temptations will arise within us.
Solitude also brings periods of testing. We do not need to run from it, in fact there is a sense in which we can almost welcome it if we bring God with us into the situation. If we know the presence and power of the living Christ in our life then we know that he is with us and that ‘He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world’. Not only will we grow through this experience but we will be victorious if we hold onto Christ.
Exercise
1. Take some time to recall an experience where you faced temptation or testing that came in solitude. What was the experience like? What were the feelings you experienced?
2. Read the account of Jesus temptation Matthew 4:1-11 and his testing Luke 22:39-46.
3. As you recall your experience did you deal with it well? Do these two accounts of Jesus experience help you to see how you might deal with temptation and testing differently?
4. If you are dealing with some temptation or testing at this moment write out a prayer that expresses not only your struggle but also your desire.
5. Memorize 1 John 4:4. Make this your prayer and offer it several times during this day.
Day 6. To Develop your Prayer Life
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mk.1:35
Henri Nouwen states: “in the middle of sentences loaded with action – healing suffering people, casting out devils, responding to inpatient disciples, traveling from town to town and preaching from synagogue to synagogue – we find these quiet words.
In the center of breathless activities we hear a restful breathing. Surrounded by hours of moving we find a moment of quiet stillness. In the heart of much involvement there are words of withdrawal. In the midst of action there is contemplation. And after much togetherness there is solitude. The more I read this nearly silent sentence locked in between the loud words of action, the more I have the sense that the secret of Jesus ministry is hidden in that lonely place where he went to pray, early in the morning, long before dawn
In a lonely place Jesus finds the courage to follow God’s will and not his own; to speak God’s words and not his own; to do God’s work and not his own. He reminds us constantly: “I can do nothing by myself … my aim is to do and not my own well,” but the will of him who sent me” (John 14:10). It is in the lonely place, where Jesus enters into intimacy with the father come that his ministry is born.” (11)
In solitude Jesus was able to listen to the voice of the Father and not be directed by the needs and demands of the people. In prayer the first thing we need is to be silent before God so that we can hear Him speak to us.
Jesus also told his followers that when they prayed they were to ‘go into their room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret’. Prayer was never intended to be an act whereby one reveals their piety before others. This was something the Pharisees loved to do. In the silent place we are able to simply ‘be’ with God not distracted by our surroundings or the presence of others so that we can focus upon and listen to God. Solitude is the place where we can risk being transparent before God. He knows our heart, and it is important if we want to develop an intimate relationship with him that we be totally honest with him and with our self. We will only risk doing this when we are in the presence of one who loves and accepts us as we are unconditionally.
Exercise
1. Go to a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for 30 minutes.
2. Read. Matt. 6:6-15.
3. In silence wait upon God. As thoughts enter your mind offer them in a prayer to God. Be careful not to avoid painful or disturbing ideas. This is a place where you can be open and vulnerable with God.
4. At the end of your prayer, conclude with the prayer Jesus taught in Matt.6:9-13.
Day 7. To Prepare for Ones Death
Developing the discipline of silence and solitude as a mean of preparation for dying seems rather strange if not morbid. Yet dying, a reality that will happen to all of us, is something we need to face.
It is fascinating to understand that when people are dying they desire to have others with them, they do not want to go through the experience alone. Part of this can be explained by the fact we develop emotional bonds with people we love. They have become a part of our life and dying means there will be a separation of theses relationships. So at the time of death many experience ‘separation anxiety’. They are afraid to let go, because they do not know what life will be like without the other.
I was with my youngest brother when he died. Quite suddenly he became very ill and was taken to the critical care unit at the local hospital. In the middle of the night I was called by the hospital staff to come and be with him because he had taken a turn for the worse and was not expected to live through the night. In that hospital room my parents, my wife and I gathered to be with him as he was dying. He was surrounded by people who loved and cared for him. We talked to him, we prayed with him and we held his hand. In that moment I wondered ‘what is it like to die’? Regardless of the fact that he was surrounded by those who loved and cared for him, he still had to die by himself. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? What was this dying experience like?
As Christians we are given the promise of Jesus ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
It suddenly became evident that as I learned to experience, and not just theorize about the presence of Christ in my life, I would be able to face my own dying without anxiety and fear because I would know the awareness of Christ’s presence in my day to day living. I would be able to identify with the Psalmist who said ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me’. Ps.23:4.
There are different places in life where we are forced to be alone. It may be through sickness, times of forced confinement, and even death. All of these are places where no one else can enter with us. How we cope in these situations will depend upon our preparation. Learning the discipline of silence and solitude is part of that preparation.
Exercise
1. Take an extended period to enter into silence. What is it like for you with no one around? What are the thoughts that keep coming to the forefront of your mind? What does this reveal to you?
2. Read Ps. 23. How do you identify with the writer? What comfort does the text give you as you face the challenges of your life?
3. In what way do you ‘experience’ the presence of Christ? Is this more than a theological concept? Explain.
4.