“O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” Psalm 5:3
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35; 6:46
“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him.” “He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.” Luke 4:42; 5:16; 6:12-13
Through the ages, men and women of God found solace and strength in the hush of time with the Lord. The place of alone is a place of sacrifice, offerings of praise, of emotion, of self-will, of trust. In quietness the Lord speaks to encourage and guide, to direct decisions and impart stamina to endure. (Deuteronomy 32:2; 1 Kings 19:9-15)
As God has ordained the rhythm of day and night, heat and cool, He designs dew to refresh in the harshest of times. Man is ofttimes foolish, impulsive, and thoughtless, and can find center again in stillness before the Lord. Weighted by stresses and straining, bothered by lusts and dissension, twisted by false teaching and temptations, God’s people need reclothing, realigning, redeeming, restoring. All these are found in the quiet, secret place of communion.
Do we actually value and therefore prioritize quietness with Jesus? Think of all the noise-makers we turn to, or prefer, over time with Him. What can we do practically to carve out the quiet? What will we leave alone, turn off, put away, or not consult that will enable us to give full attention to His still small voice?
Have we experienced His dew? When have we tasted the sweetness of comfort when we are bereft, of hope when we’re broken? How has His love bolstered our security, His touch allayed our fears? Where are we dry, in need of inspiration, passion, vision? Drawing away from all that detracts us to taste God’s heavenly dew is always worth the effort. (Psalm 34:8)
“Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
in purer lives Thy service find,
in deeper rev’rence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of Thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!” ~John Greenleaf Whittier (1872)
Amen!
As the rain and snow 