Making a Withdrawal

"But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." Luke 5:16. (NLT)

Such a simple verse but a major ingredient for a successful prayer life. The dictionary states that to withdraw is to remove oneself from active participation; to become detached from social or emotional involvement.

The other night I had plans to meet a dear friend for dinner around 6:00. Other than our dinner I didn't have any plans until 9:00 that evening at which point I had to leave to pick up my husband at the airport. I never dreamed we would sit there for three hours until I had to leave. We had set this time aside and didn't have any preconceived notion of how long we would stay. There is nothing better than meeting a dear friend for dinner without placing time constraints on the time together. There is just the beautiful ebb and flow of two people who care about each other with a comfortable flow of thoughts, concerns and sweet conversation.

Such should be with God in our prayers. As we enter our time together our focus should be on things other than how long we have, what needs to be "covered" and the prayer etiquette of routine set by our own agenda of time. We would never set up a dinner date with a friend and repeat the same conversation. It would be different discussions each time powered by love, needs and sought after genuine advice.

Setting time aside for Christ is essential for knowing God and receiving fellowship. We would never accept a dinner offer knowing we only had ten minutes to run in, say hello and catch up on the run...many times that is our best when praying.

Withdraw, set aside time and sit at the table with Him. Talk...enjoy... taste..reminisce..and above all, linger....