Learning to be alone with God
One Necessary Thing
You were created for God—to be known and loved by him and to know and love him in return. Engaging in this relationship ought to be the chief business (and delight!) of our lives. This is why, for example, Jesus tells us in Luke 10:42 that sitting at his feet, listening to his word, spending time in close relationship with him—this is the one "necessary" thing for the disciple, for the Christian. Everything else is secondary. But not this.
God didn't save you to merely work for him. He saved you to be with him. And today, we understand, we can cultivate this relationship and pursue this one "necessary" thing by reading our Bibles and praying. And yet, if we're honest, many of us simply don't do it. For some, it may be because we're just lazy or uninterested. But for others, it could be that we genuinely want to but we get tripped up and don't know how to do it. The Bible is a big book and it's not always easy reading. And prayer, while exhilarating at times, is often awkward and even dull. We need help.
And that is why, at Mercy Hill, we've developed what we call "the Sacred Path." It's a path composed of five steps—all of which are intended to meaningfully guide your times with Jesus and lead you deeper into abiding relationship with him. What follows is simply a brief summary of each step for you to consider, but in the Related Resources at the bottom of this page you can find many more resources that will help you walk all this out more fully.
God didn't save you to merely work for him. He saved you to be with him. And today, we understand, we can cultivate this relationship and pursue this one "necessary" thing by reading our Bibles and praying. And yet, if we're honest, many of us simply don't do it. For some, it may be because we're just lazy or uninterested. But for others, it could be that we genuinely want to but we get tripped up and don't know how to do it. The Bible is a big book and it's not always easy reading. And prayer, while exhilarating at times, is often awkward and even dull. We need help.
And that is why, at Mercy Hill, we've developed what we call "the Sacred Path." It's a path composed of five steps—all of which are intended to meaningfully guide your times with Jesus and lead you deeper into abiding relationship with him. What follows is simply a brief summary of each step for you to consider, but in the Related Resources at the bottom of this page you can find many more resources that will help you walk all this out more fully.
Solitude
Get Alone with God
The first step is to simply get alone with God. In the gospels, Jesus would regularly pull back for times of solitude with his Father (cf. Luke 4:42; 5:15-16; Matt. 14:23). And it's something he calls us into as well (cf. Mark 6:31). There is great practical benefit to this solitude. For one thing, it allows us to engage God with minimal distraction—meaning: you can actually focus on the Lord, his words to you, his presence with you. But secondly, it also allows you to engage God with minimal reservation—meaning: you can cry and sing and pray and yell and interact with him truly from your heart without concern for any onlookers nearby (cf. Jesus in Heb. 5:7).
"God didn't save you to merely work for him. He saved you to be with him."
Silence
Be Still and Know Him
The next step is to get quiet before God. Silence before God is a return to our place in the universe (cf. Ps. 46:10; Eccles. 5:1-3). It is saying without words: “You are God, and I am not.” Putting silence here near the beginning of this Sacred Path is an attempt to let settle in our hearts the idea that it is God—his agenda, his will, his word—who is ultimate in this whole exchange. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes: “We are silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word . . .” He is, after all, God.
In this place of silence two essential things start to happen. First, we begin to open ourselves up to God as he really is. And second, we come to see a bit more of ourselves as we really are. As you attempt to enter into silence it often exposes the incessant noise of your interior world—a noise that's always been humming, but you've rarely even noticed it . . . until now. As you lift your thoughts upwards to God, you will find them continually dragged back down to earth by your own subconscious. But do not be discouraged or distressed by this. It is actually an important part of the process. When your thoughts will not quiet, when they will not tire, when they continue to rev though you are attempting to hit the brakes, ask yourself: What is it that I am thinking about? What is it that my thoughts continue to orbit around? Why am I stuck on this? How am I truly doing? What am I really feeling?
As these attempts at silence expose our inner noise—our anxieties and idolatries—we quickly begin to roll all of these things over towards God. We cast our cares, yield our wills, and open our hearts (and ears!) . . . to him. In the silence, you see, we position ourselves for real Christianity, for an authentic encounter with Jesus. Finally, we begin to sit somewhat unhurriedly, undistractedly, undividedly, attentively. Now at last we are ready, willing, and even desperately longing, to hear from him!
In this place of silence two essential things start to happen. First, we begin to open ourselves up to God as he really is. And second, we come to see a bit more of ourselves as we really are. As you attempt to enter into silence it often exposes the incessant noise of your interior world—a noise that's always been humming, but you've rarely even noticed it . . . until now. As you lift your thoughts upwards to God, you will find them continually dragged back down to earth by your own subconscious. But do not be discouraged or distressed by this. It is actually an important part of the process. When your thoughts will not quiet, when they will not tire, when they continue to rev though you are attempting to hit the brakes, ask yourself: What is it that I am thinking about? What is it that my thoughts continue to orbit around? Why am I stuck on this? How am I truly doing? What am I really feeling?
As these attempts at silence expose our inner noise—our anxieties and idolatries—we quickly begin to roll all of these things over towards God. We cast our cares, yield our wills, and open our hearts (and ears!) . . . to him. In the silence, you see, we position ourselves for real Christianity, for an authentic encounter with Jesus. Finally, we begin to sit somewhat unhurriedly, undistractedly, undividedly, attentively. Now at last we are ready, willing, and even desperately longing, to hear from him!
"Silence before God is a return to our place in the universe. It is saying without words: 'You are God, and I am not.'"
Scripture
Let Him Have the First Word
Realistically, in your times with God, you may give only a few minutes to the things we’ve been discussing thus far. But, however long you sit in the silence alone with him, the point is to ready yourself to hear from him in Scripture. Scripture is God's self-revelation to man. It's the disclosure of his heart and will to us. That is why we must give such special attention to it! But it can be hard to know where to start. Here are a few suggestions to get you going . . .
Get a Good Bible
For this, we'd recommend in particular that you check out the ESV Study Bible. A good study Bible like this can be a tremendous asset to you in your times with God. As you’re reading through and come to places were you’re just scratching your head, of course you pray, of course you ask God for help and the gift of illumination in the Spirit, but you also humbly receive help from those who are a few steps ahead of you. You can look at the cross-references and maybe make connections that grant you a bit more understanding. You can read the included commentary on the verses and find your bearings once more in matters of interpretation.
Get a Good Plan
Let’s imagine you want to try to read through the Bible in a year or so. Now, it takes about seventy-five hours to read the Bible's 1,189 chapters. This may sound a bit daunting at first, but when we break these numbers down, we come to find that we're only talking about reading something like three chapters for fifteen minutes each day. Not so hard, right? But how exactly are you going to go about this? What’s going to be your plan? Now, there are many helpful plans at this point (see this and especially this!), but the one we recommend is quite simple. We call it the 3x3 Plan (three books and three chapters). You begin reading simultaneously in three books—Genesis, Job, and Matthew—and then you progress reading a chapter or so a day from each starting point. This essentially divides the Bible into thirds and, assuming a relatively even pace, you will finish each section at approximately the same time. Check it out!
Get a Good Method
So you’ve got a good Bible. And you’ve got a good plan to keep you going. Now you need a good method. What we mean here is you need to know what to do with the Bible as you read it. For this we commend to you what we've come to call the DNA Method of Bible study (see the next step: "Sanctum"). We must not read the Word of God and let it run in one ear and out the other as water runs through a pipe. We must instead draw it down into our hearts as if it were rain percolating into soil. Take it into the deepest parts of you and let God satisfy you there and bring transformation out from it. The DNA Method has been designed to aid you in this process. Read on to learn more!
"We must not read the Word of God and let it run in one ear and out the other as water runs through a pipe. We must instead draw it down into our hearts as if it were rain percolating into soil."
Sanctum
Find Renewal in His Presence
To understand this word “sanctum” it might help you to think of the related word “sanctuary.” It’s the idea of a sacred meeting place between man and God. It’s a word that in the Latin was used with reference to the Most Holy Place in the Jewish temple where God was said to dwell in his glory. The basic sense here then is this: in our reading of the Bible, we trust, by God’s grace, there will be times where we will become suddenly, even surprisingly, aware that we are no longer merely reading words on a page, but are, in fact, sitting in the very presence of God; that God, by his Spirit, is speaking to us through the ink and paper; that Jesus is in the room!
But what does it actually look like to read the Bible in such a way that you encounter Jesus there? For this, let us introduce you to what we call the DNA Method of Bible study. DNA here is an acronym that stands for Discover, Nurture, and Apply. Below you'll find questions to reflect on for each of these three steps. We encourage you to select some section of Scripture, pull out your journal and a pen, and try it out!
But what does it actually look like to read the Bible in such a way that you encounter Jesus there? For this, let us introduce you to what we call the DNA Method of Bible study. DNA here is an acronym that stands for Discover, Nurture, and Apply. Below you'll find questions to reflect on for each of these three steps. We encourage you to select some section of Scripture, pull out your journal and a pen, and try it out!
Discover: What Do I See?
What do you see in this text? What questions do you have? What answers can you find? What is God revealing to you here—about himself, about yourself? Is there an attribute to adore, a truth to trust, a promise to hope in, a command to obey, a warning to heed, an example to follow (choose one)? How does what he is revealing here connect to what he has revealed to us in the person and work of Jesus? Every verse in Scripture becomes good news when run through the cross of Christ. Preach the good news to yourself once more.
Nurture: What Do I Believe?
Do you believe the things God is revealing to you in this text? If there’s an attribute, are you adoring? If there’s a truth, are you trusting? If there’s a promise, are you hoping? If there’s a command, are you obeying? If there’s a warning, are you heeding? If there’s an example, are you following? Why or why not? What's in the way? How are these things being tested in what you are currently facing? How can Jesus come to your rescue? Make the good confession once more.
Apply: What Do I Do?
What would this text look like walking out into the details of your life? Think again about what you are currently facing. If you adored, trusted, hoped in, obeyed, heeded, followed, how would it change your next 24 hours? Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:34). If this word from God can touch the next few hours, it will start to touch your life as a whole. Identify one thing you can do to apply this. Who else might need to hear this? Bear the good fruit once more.
"In our reading of the Bible there will be times where we will become suddenly, even surprisingly, aware that we are no longer merely reading words on a page, but are, in fact, sitting in the very presence of God!"
Solace
Pour Out Your Heart in Prayer
So you’ve discovered something of the truth of God and the gospel, you’ve nurtured these things in your heart through repentance and faith, and you’ve worked out how you might apply the text to your life in reliance upon Jesus and his grace. Is there anything else? Well, yes! All of this leads naturally to the last step in this Sacred Path: what we've here called “Solace.” With this we are referring simply to prayer. This is where we might set aside special time to intentionally take refuge in God—talking to him, worshiping him, requesting from him, and so on. No doubt prayer has been happening through each of the steps prior, but here it becomes our primary focus.
Consider the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on this point:
Consider the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on this point:
Scripture meditation leads to prayer. . . . [T]he most promising method of prayer is to allow oneself to be guided by the word of the Scriptures, to pray on the basis of a word of Scripture. In this way we shall not become the victims of our own emptiness. Prayer means nothing else but the readiness and willingness to receive and appropriate the Word, and, what is more, to accept it in one’s personal situation, particular tasks, decisions, sins, and temptations. . . . According to a word of Scripture we pray for the clarification of our day, for preservation from sin, for growth in sanctification, for faithfulness and strength in our work. And we may be certain that our prayer will be heard, because it is a response to God’s Word and promise. Because God’s Word has found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, all prayers that we pray conforming to this Word are certainly heard and answered in Jesus Christ. (Life Together, 84-85)
Take Your Next Step . . .
Wherever you're at in your journey with Jesus, it would be our joy to help you take the next step!