Take Time to Be Holy | Finding Solitude and Silence Daily

Lately I've been thinking a lot about solitude and silence and how often we actually take the time to be still. With all of life's demands, it can seem impossible to set aside time to ponder, meditate, and evaluate where we are in life. However, this quiet time is a form of spiritual exercise, a form of prayer. It is a place we can find clarity and connection. For me, it is during these quiet moments, I have gained perspective and have experienced some truly sacred moments.

Finding the Time

As I thought about the efforts we make to 'sneak away' in order to find peace and quiet, this clip kept coming to mind. 

No matter the stage of life we are in, we all have responsibilities that require our attention. Occasionally I feel overwhelmed by the long list of things I SHOULD be doing everyday. (One time I wrote all of them down and tried to schedule my day out minute by minute... it lasted for about an hour.) With all that we do on a daily basis, it's easy to find the idea of personal quiet time as a distant memory or far off dream. In my life I have discovered that although we only have twenty-four hours in a day, time is flexible. 

When Tyler and I were both in school we were living on love and a prayer. Like most college students we felt so poor. We honestly had no money to spare. One weekend we were given free tickets to a theme park a couple hours away. We packed our brown paper sack lunches and started our drive. About 30 min away from the theme park, our car broke down on the freeway. It really broke down. Long story short, the engine had overheated and parts had melted together. It was unfix-able. Now all the sudden, we were in need of a car. That day we got a ride home, went to the bank, took out a loan and bought a car off the used car lot. Had you asked us a week before if we could have added a small car-payment into our budget? We would have said absolutely not. But that's the thing about money and time, they are both expendable to a degree.

It's like an experience my mom had the day before she was trying to leave town. She had a complete layout of how her day was "supposed" to go. She had appointments in the morning, she needed to go grocery shopping, pick up one kid, move another one home from college, finish her laundry... the list went on and on. That morning she made it to the grocery store, bought her items and went to load them up only to find she had locked her keys in the car. The rest of her day consisted of one unfortunate event after another. The first locksmith that was sent to rescue her keys had apparently gotten in an accident on the way (she was assured he was OK) leaving her to wait even longer for another one to meet up with her and unlock her car. The unplanned string of events ended up taking the majority of her time that day. Now, had you asked her that morning if she had an extra few hours to sit around and wait to have her car unlocked? She would have said absolutely not. But, she did... and still, everything worked out in the end. Do you get the idea?

We have more time then we think we do. When we take time out of our day to be self nourishing and exercise our spirituality, we are blessed in many ways.

“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.” Ezra Taft Benson

I learned this principle as a youth and have reflected on it often. As a teenager I was heavily involved in the community and at school. Between soccer, homework, friends etc. how was I supposed to find time for church activities or scripture study? It was my mom who would then remind me of this quote.

Following the Example of Jesus Christ

In an address titled "Be Still and Know That I Am God" Elder M. Russell Ballard shared these words:

"[...] People living in the past enjoyed an abundance of natural heavenly light and comfortable darkness, without streetlights, headlights, and light pollution found in all our cities across the world. In the cities of today, it is almost impossible to see the night sky as Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Elisabeth, Jesus, and the early Latter-day Saints did.

They also enjoyed a natural silence, with few man-made sounds interrupting their days and especially their nights. Modern noise from cars, planes, and something some of you may refer to as music has completely drowned out the natural world. (You have to understand, from my generation, what you think is music and what I think is music—we’re a long ways apart.) You can no longer go to a restaurant without music being played in the background. Even in remote forests in the world, the silence is often broken by the flight of a jet above in the sky.

Finally, the people of earlier times experienced solitude in ways we cannot imagine in our crowded and busy world. Even when we are alone today, we can be tuned in with our handheld devices, laptops, and TVs to keep us entertained and occupied.

As an Apostle, I now ask you a question: Do you have any personal quiet time? I have wondered if those who lived in the past had more opportunity than we do now to see, feel, and experience the presence of the Spirit in their lives.

Seemingly, as our world gets brighter, louder, and busier, we have a greater challenge feeling the Spirit in our lives. If your life is void of quiet time, would you begin tonight to seek for some?

It is important to be still and listen and follow the Spirit. We simply have too many distractions to capture our attention, unlike any time in the history of the world.

Everyone needs time to meditate and contemplate. Even the Savior of the world, during His mortal ministry, found time to do so”

In the scriptures there are many examples of Savior taking time to set himself apart from the world.

Mark 1: 30-38

35] And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

36] And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.

37] And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

38] And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Christ had just spent the whole day teaching and healing. Then, he got up very early in the morning, probably while it was still dark. He left the house, went off to a solitary place, and prayed. Everyone was looking for Jesus but after his time in prayer he told his disciples that it was time for them to move on to another Village. It is clear to me that during those moments of quiet, Christ received inspiration and direction from God.

Luke 6:12-13

12] And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13] ¶ And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Jesus went out to the Mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose his twelve apostles.

Luke 5:16

Christ had just healed a man of Leprosy and in verse 14 it says, “And he charged him to tell no man” despite Jesus's plea that his miracles be kept secret the news about him spread all the more so the crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sickness”

16] ¶ And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Now, I don't believe he left anyone hanging, especially not those who were sick. I think the written story just moves a little more quickly. I can imagine however, that after these moments he was so exhausted and he needed time to be apart.

Matthew 13:1-2

In the chapter previously the Pharisees are plotting against Christ.

Chapter 12

15] But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

The Pharisees see this and they blame, question and accuse him of being evil.

Chapter 13

1] The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2] And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

The multitudes follow Jesus, so many surround him that he goes into a ship for solitude. He had to have felt like that sweet mom in the pantry. But being perfect, he finds it in his heart to still teach them after he takes a minute to pray and ponder.

Matthew 14

In this Chapter, Christ learns that John the Baptist had just been beheaded. This is John, the son of Elizabeth (Mary's Cousin) Luke 1:41 I'm certain these men, who were just months apart were not only family but close friends. After learning of his death I can assume that the Savior just needed some solitude.

13] ¶ When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

14] And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

As we continue reading we see this is where Christ performed the miracle of the loves and fishes.  

22] ¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

It is after this that Christ then proceeds to perform the miracle of walking on water. 

Wouldn't you love to know what kind of conversations Christ had with God in those quiet moments? What type of insight and faith he gained to be able to perform miracles right after his personal sacred time?

While studying these stories I couldn't help but think how Christ had to have felt like he was constantly needed. He would find a place to be alone and inevitably be found, often not just by one person but by multitudes. Yet, he never lost patience. He responded only with love and compassion.

In Stillness Find Clarity

A few months ago I enrolled in a “Mindfulness Course." I took a class once a week for 12 weeks. In that course I learned so much!

There are two thoughts specifically that I want to share:

1. The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy, they come when the mind is still

2, When you do thing twice as slow, you gain twice as much

When I take time to slow down or be still, my thoughts are much more clear. When I started this blog, almost a year ago, I quickly came to realize that meditating, pondering and writing was really helping me to increase my relationship with God. It has helped me come to know Him. Although there are many ways we can set ourselves apart from the world, learning to turn off my phone and how to pray have been two of my favorites.

Elder M. Russell Ballard said,

"In addition to finding time to contemplate and meditate, we also need to find a place [...] that will be 'a defense, and a refuge from the storm.'

We need a special place of refuge where we can wean ourselves from the distractions of our electronic devices by unplugging them so we can connect to the Spirit of God."

When I feel over stimulated by the demands of life, I turn of all my electronics. Often times I get a better nights sleep knowing my phone is completely off instead of just on silent.

Once we unplug and find a private place, we can engage in true and sincere prayer. Sister Neill F. Marriott gave a fabulous address at a BYU Women's Conference. (You can find the entire talk here.) In it, she shares how she prays to God.

She said-

"Pray out loud. Have you found this, sisters, like I have? That when I pray in my mind- and there plenty of times to pray in our minds- but I often will start off with real intent and before long, I find myself telling Heavenly Father the price of gasoline and you know, my next haircut, and then I have to apologize and start over again. So pray out loud. Talk out loud. You will hear yourself say things that the Holy Ghost has instructed you to say. It will teach you and surprise you."

When we take time to be holy, we will recognize what the Lord is instructing us to do. We will find clarity and peace. We can find solitude and silence, growing closer to God, everyday.

May you find peace in your heart daily! Please comment, like and share if you've enjoyed this post!

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