Praying Together on Monday...

I praise God for these morning when I am alone with YOU, where you can speak to my heart and I can respond to yours. 

Today, R. T. Kendall writes: The Value of Loneliness

After he has dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 

Matthew 14:23

Loneliness isn't for nothing. If you are in a situation of enforced solitude, there is a reason. God does not send the thorn in the flesh for nothing. Moreover, it is not punishment. Don't say, "Oh, I am getting my dues!" Wrong! 

God got even at the cross. The thorn in the flesh is preparation. We all need preparation in some way. Part of my own preparation has been learning to cope with loneliness. 

There is loneliness in leadership. Every church leader knows the pain of having to make unpopular decisions, the pain of not getting very close to those you minister to, the pain of treating everybody the same. The loneliness of leadership is part of the job. 

But there are advantages to loneliness. For example, you have time to pray; you may never have such time again. One reason for enforced solitude is that God wants you all to Himself. He loves your company, and you could be lamenting the very thing that He has designed in order to have your company. 

This is your moment to develop two things: (1) to become an intercessor, where you start praying for people, and (2) to get to know God with an intimacy beyond anything that you dreamed possible. 

Another value of loneliness is to make you sympathetic towards others. That is one of the main purposes of any trial. As Paul put it, "And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort" (2 Cor. 1:17). It produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings. You will be able to sympathize, and you will be able to identify with another person. Pray you will never forget what it was like, should this thorn be withdrawn from your flesh. 

(Excerpted from The Thorn in the Flesh (Charisma House 2004) 

Abba, 

today I thank you for loneliness, these moments and times when I feel so very much alone, abandoned etc. Thank You For What???

Yet, it is your Spirit that comforts me in knowing I am not alone, "...for thou art with me..." With me how? When no one seems to notice or for that matter care, your voice whispers, "I am here, I am near, fear not!" I sometimes wish you'd SHOUT, and make yourself heard above the noise and loneliness of my life. 

Yet, I thank you for R. T.'s words today, You call me to be a leader, and it is often an lonely job. I feel forced to make decisions I rather wish I could avoid, to do work I wasn't trained for, so Help me here as well. I thank you for making me aware of my need to spend time alone with you. My life is so filled with administrative tasks, that I almost forget the real purpose you me into ministry, to be your voice and bring your Word to this generation. It is your desire that i have an intimate relationship with you, Lord you know I'm not that crazy about that term. I almost wish you'f 'muscle' your way in, at least I could say "you made me do it!" but you want to love me and that I can know the gentle love of my Abba, (Father). 

Without this loneliness, I would not seek you, long for you or chase after you, nor care to be an intercessor. So here I am, Just me and you Jesus, I need to get away from rush of the 'madding crowd;' but I haven't yet learned, you're not often found in the crowd, but in the desert, valley and yes even the rough side of the mountain. Jesus, I may be lonely, but I am not or never alone. Thank you for your purpose, for sharing and showing me, "the value of loneliness." 

In your matchless Name I pray. AMEN!!!

--
T.A.B.