Phase 1 Week 9 The Outward Discipline of Solitude

[New York Youth Leaders Association]

Dear students, I pray you are all doing well; I want to commend those
of you who have maintained your faithfulness with the weekly post.
The training is NOT to be done at your own pace. It is a weekly
community training. If you are behind and intend to continue your
work must be current by this Saturday March 11, 2012.

Comment on the following:
1. loneliness is inner emptiness solitude is inner fulfillment
2. Foster gives us examples of Jesus spending time alone should we
incorporate this practice in our lives? How?
3. “Real silence, real stillness, really holding one’s tongue comes
only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness”

I look forward to reading your post

[Mary.V]

1. This chapter really impacted me. Solitude is something that I
gradually have been working with; I should better say God has been
working with me in this specific concept. Not long ago I was just
thinking about how much I used to talk and more than half of the words
I said were not really necessary. I can relate myself to that first
statement “loneliness is inner emptiness solitude is inner
fulfillment”. I know the feeling of emptiness that loneliness causes
and when God showed me for the first time the need I had for solitude
and silence He took my husband for a year to Iraq. I was devastated
and felt empty, lonely. I did not know that God was taking me to the
“Dark Night of the Soul”, which I can understand a lot better after
reading this chapter, and just then that emptiness turned into the
inner fulfillment that solitude brings.
2. I think that it is imperative to set aside that “alone time” with
God. I struggled trying to make time to do so. Being a working mother
of two, taking college classes, having to take care of the house, the
family, the ministry; it was overwhelming. One day one of my sisters
in Christ, while I was just complaining about not having enough hours
in a day and that I did not have enough time to set that quiet time to
spend with God, she says “you do not have to wait until you have time
left to spend some quiet time with God, you do not accommodate God in
your busy schedule, that time with God should be your priority and
everything else will just fall into place. I started waking up before
everybody else, when the house is silent and there are not other
voices but God’s voice. Sure enough, I start my mornings fresh and
filled with joy and everything else does fall into place! Foster uses
some other good examples, like the commute to go to work in the
mornings when I have the car just to myself, when the office gets very
slow and sometimes is just me. I think that during the day we find
opportunities to incorporate the practice, sometimes as Foster states
“we miss the mark” and do not recognize those times.
3. I completely agree with this statement. As I commented before how I
notice how much I used to talk. I had a serious difficulty holding my
tongue. I enjoyed the example Foster used in page 100, about John
Woolman’s incident in the meeting because I found myself doing that
many times. I am learning to let God speak because it has caused me to
feel how Woolman felt many times and just because I had trust my own
understanding instead of God. The inward discipline of Spiritual
illness would definitely portray the outward consequence of a “prudent
tongue”.
Mary V.

[lol]

      Loneliness is an emotional state that occurs when a person
cannot find comfort or contentment in one’s own self. There’s an inner
emptiness that is constantly present even when surrounded by others,
as no contact can be made with them. A feeling of being unwanted and
unloved, coupled with the pain in being alone can drive them to
depression. Even if everyone else is having a good time and a beehive
of activity is taking place around them, these lonely souls can never
participate mentally. There is the awareness that they lack close,
meaningful contact, always wanting more social interaction than is
readily available. Joy is obviously missing from their lives as their
constant companion is misery. Their strength is overtaken by weakness
and they‘re driven to isolation as they’ve separated themselves by
building walls of defense instead of bridges. Loneliness, I might add,
they have no control over as they have buried themselves under
mountains of insecurities and fears, whether real or imagined.
      Solitude is inner fulfillment, inner peace, a state of mind in
which we take a deep breath, step away from the hubbub and focus on
God. We are completely alone with Him for extended periods of time
totally devoid of human contact. In order to get to this state we have
to de-clutter, dropping some people and possessions along the way,
when we look back at them with new vision, there’s no regret. This was
necessary in order to see things more clearly and to hear God above
the din and clatter, being still to hear His “still, small voice.” Our
troubled soul now finds rest in God because we are able to pour out
our heart to Him without restraint. When spending time with him
becomes a habit, we find it easier to go to Him in all situations,
whether there be failure, victory, plenty or want. One song writer
said “There are days I like to be all alone with Christ my Lord, I can
tell Him of my troubles all alone”, that sums up solitude pretty well.
Also, there’s another side to solitude, one in which we can be in a
crowd yet the noise does not penetrate our consciousness as His peace
permeates our entire being.  “Go placidly amid the noise and haste and
remember what peace there may be in silence.” Confusion without cannot
get within, we can “be at peace with God…and in the noise and
confusion of life keep peace with our soul.” The more we spend time
with God, the more joyful we become and we can be genuinely present
with people when we are with them as opposed to being present in body
only.
      Jesus is a leader no doubt about that, what sets Him apart from
others is the fact that He knew and taught that leadership is a
spiritual matter of the heart. He has/had the responsibility of
influencing the world and is/was not motivated by self-interest but by
the benefit of us whom He’s leading. An example of this was when the
people saw the miracles He performed and decided to make Him king by
force. He went into the mountain AGAIN by Himself. He was not worried
that His ego would get in the way, because He is god and can never
sin. He did it to show us who were “born in sin and shaped in
iniquity”, that in order to make godly decisions we have to seek an
audience with the Higher Authority. Jesus was fully God yet fully man
and went through periods of crisis as we all do. When we come upon
difficult situations we tend to seek advice from friends, family,
everyone but God. Jesus showed us by example how to get into ‘crisis
mode’. The first time it was mentioned that he was alone was at the
beginning of His Ministry. He went into the wilderness to commune with
His Father for the purpose of getting guidance and strength, showing
us by example not to ‘jump’ into situations. Even though we are called
and sent by God into ministry, we still need alone time with Him so we
can be further processed. Jesus’ purpose and perspective were affirmed
by the trials and temptations He had undergone. Our purpose and
perspective will be confirmed when we come through our trials with
flying colors, looking ahead to the next phase of our development. We
must be able to handle bad news and “broker” major deals as leaders,
but we can only be successful if we make a habit of spending time
alone with God so he will be the ‘wind beneath our wings.’
        The author having used such loaded phrases as “real silence”
and “truly silent” has indeed struck a chord in me. When I am quiet am
I really silent? Not speaking is not necessarily being silent, lips
unmoving, mind racing with some self- absorbed thoughts that drive us
farther away from God, is more in the line of unhealthy silence.
Positive silence involves listening to Him so He can show us renewed
clarity in our day-to-day lives, at the same time making us aware of
just how frail we really are without Him. Spending quiet moments with
Him on a regular basis will usher us into a more trusting relationship
wherein we can bask in His love, hence being more attentive to the
things that matter most. We will now know what it means to truly hold
our tongue as we’ve handed over our body, heart and soul to Him.
Silent communion with God will give us an edge over our weaknesses,
eventually eradicating them. When we speak, we should actually have
something to say, remember, SILENCE IS GOLDEN.
On Mar 5, 10:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association

[Pat Blackwood]

1...."loneliness is inner emptiness, solitude is inner fulfillment" is
a teachable statement.
I am learning from NYYLA with each Phase presented to us, I am lover
of the word of God and
I try to use it to correct my very thought process, if I feel
loneliness or a need for companionship,
I use the word of God, and just the blessed assurance we have in Him
which is solitude. Solitude is a
positive effective which ensures creativity in our minds, and
unspeakable, intimate joy when we think we
are lonely or afraid.

2.Loneliness is a subjective experience; if a person thinks they are
lonely, then they are lonely. Jesus
was alone many times and He used those times to witness ( e.g: the
woman at the well encounter),and to pray.
We should incorporate the practice of alone time is our lives by
witnessing, and praying for the things we forget
to pray about often (e.g:"..for the peace of Jerusalem."). When I
search the scriptures, there are many sweet commands we are yet to
obey, so the lonely times in God's presence can be the "wonder times"
with the unlimited "Sweet Wonder."

3.Awesome quote! I am so trying to be still, to hold my tongue, which

comes only as the sober consequence

of spiritual stillness...therefore, in my life I will not be lonely.
"....spiritual stillness," is to be alone
and not lonely because it is a choice we make so we can experience the
supernatrual encounter with our God.
We have a lot of earthly experiences, but heavenly living on earth can
only come alive when we just chill out
with "His presence" only, and the things of earth just becomes
strangely dim, in the light of His glory and His grace. It is an
experience where you just weep, but you are not sad!

God bless us all, and help us all to experience the rapture of
solitude.

On Mar 5, 10:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association
<youthleaderstr...@gmail.com> wrote:

[New York Youth Leaders Association]

I enjoyed reading you post, we are thankful to your husband for his
military service.

[New York Youth Leaders Association]

I like what you said "Jesus showed us by example how to get into

‘crisis mode’. The first time it was mentioned that he was alone was
at the beginning of His Ministry. He went into the wilderness to
commune with His Father for the purpose of getting guidance and
strength"

[New York Youth Leaders Association]

On Mount Olive's sacred brow Jesus spent the night in pray'r,He's the
pattern for us all, all alone, If we'll only steal away In some
portion of the day, We will find it always pays to be alone.

There are times I'd like to be
With the sanctified and blest,
There are times I like to be all alone,
God can always grace impart,
To my weary, saddened heart,
There are times I'd like to be just all alone.

There are days to fast and pray
For the pilgrim in his way,
There are days to be with Christ all alone,
We can tell Him all our grief,
He will give us quick relief,
There are times I'd like to be just all alone.

When a heart is broken up
With the tearful, lonesome cup,
Then's the time to go to Christ all alone,
In our blessed Lord divine,
There is peace and joy sublime,
When we take our sorrowss all to Him alone.

Chorus:
There are times I'd like to be
All alone with Christ my Lord,
I can tell Him of my troubles all alone.

[michca...@yahoo.com]

Loneliness is one of our greatest dreads. Most of us felt it, most of
us fear it. To feel lonely is to be overwhelmed by an unbearable
feeling of separateness at a very deep level. When God created man He
created man for relationship with him, therefore there is always a
need for communion and there is nothing that can fill that void. One
will feel lonely when or she feels they have abandoned, unloved,
insecure and alone.
Being alone is not the same as being lonely. Solitude is a state of
being alone or to withdraw from society for a specific time and
purpose. For us as Christians, it is the time we take to be alone with
our creator and friend. During that period we get to know more about
our God and understand more about ourselves and strengthen our
relationship with God. The more we know him is the more we become
satisfied with Him and with what He is doing in our lives. When we
give God our undivided attention, we will hear clearly what he is
saying to us and will be obedient to his words. Solitude involves the
act of listening. How well we listen determines our level of
productivity and maturity.
Jesus came to earth and lived as an example for us. He on many
occasions showed us that it is important for him, the son of God to
spend time alone, indicating that we who are totally dependent on God
cannot and will not maximize our potentials without taking time out to
be alone. We as children of God should incorporate spending time alone
in our lives. Being alone helps us to focus on who we really are and
what we really want to do. We spend time meditating and concentrating
on the word of God. When we want to hear from God we have to move
away from all distractions and noise and steal away to a place of
quietness. The song writer penned I come to the garden alone while the
dew was still on the roses, and the voice I hear no other has ever
known. And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am
his own….God can only walk and talk with us when we are listening. It
is during my late night hours when the kids are off to bed and the
lights are off that I normally spend intimates moments with God. Once
we can free ourselves from the chaos of this world and spend time
alone with God our relationship with others will improve, we will
reach out to others with less need to receive and more ability to
give.

Talking too much stems from spiritual imbalance. Speaking less and
listening are virtues and sights of maturity. One should only speak
when necessary. Power and authority is not in our words but in our
actions. There is an idiom that states “a still tongue keeps a wise
head.” The wiser we become the less we speak. As a child of God, I
do not have to speak to defend myself. I trust God to defend and fight
for me. We should never try to impress others with our choice of words
or speech. The further we are away from drowning others with our words
over the words of other people, the stronger our relationship will be
with God. God wants us to serve him in humility. Hence serving the
world will become easier. As we make ourselves to God let us practice
the discipline of solitude so we will be able to fulfill the will of
God in our lives. God bless you all.

On Mar 5, 10:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association
<youthleaderstr...@gmail.com> wrote:

[michca...@yahoo.com]

Hi Mary, im inspired by your response. we overcome by our
testimonies,
and evidently God is working through you. I encourage you to continue
to spend
time alone with God and for sure you will do greater things than
christ did on earth.
God bless You.

On Mar 7, 10:52 am, "Mary.V" <cogsjcyouthminis...@gmail.com> wrote:

[PATRICIA R. BLACKWOOD]

NYYLA:

OMG! *tear...this song is awesome. I sing it and remember  a dear church mother Johnson who

thought me the old songs from the "Redemption Song" book back home in Jamaica W.I., (I need one to buy)...God bless her soul..

Thanks for this song!

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[lol]

Love it!!Love it!!Love it!!Sad to say but as with many songs I tend to
pick out the part I love which in this case happens to be the chorus.
It's good to talk over matters, some need to be said with many words,
some with few, others, silence does it best.We all find ourselves from
time to time in situations where we just want to set the record
straight,guess what? Those are the times we need to let go and let God
the Righteous Judge be our defender.On the other hand,not speaking
does not necessarily mean we're allowing God to lead.Pray we all leave
this course with greater insight and when our words are few,it
actually means deep self-examination has already taken place.God bless
you all and God bless NYYLA.

On Mar 8, 11:41 pm, "PATRICIA R. BLACKWOOD"

<blackwood1...@verizon.net> wrote:
> NYYLA:
> OMG! *tear...this song is awesome. I sing it and remember  a dear church mother Johnson who
> thought me the old songs from the "Redemption Song" book back home in Jamaica W.I., (I need one to buy)...God bless her soul..
> Thanks for this song!
>

> ________________________________
> From: New York Youth Leaders Association <youthleaderstr...@gmail.com>

> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to nyyla+un...@googlegroups.com.

[PATRICIA R. BLACKWOOD]

Great insight! you have said it so well. God bless your Ministry.

Pat

> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to nyyla+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/nyyla?hl=en.

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[Jbl...@yahoo.com]

1. I believe what Foster stated in chapter 7 " the fear of being left
alone petrifies people". We live in a society where spending time
alone doesn't fit into our busy schedules. Despite this, inner
solitude is vital. It helps keep us balanced and centered when we go
throughout our busy lives.

2. I loved when Foster spoke about this. Mark 1:35 states "Before
daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated
place...." Jesus, the man who walked the earth and perfect, spent time
alone. How much more should we do the same? We need to incorporate
some time alone, away from all the chaos life sometimes brings. Like
Foster mentioned, this can be done in the early morning when everyone
is still sleeping or driving to work in car. You can also schedule
time alone or stop every once in a while to take some time away from
it all. This time can be used to reflect on YOU and ask God to help
you in various areas of need.

3. As Foster stated in the chapter, "Silence can make us feel so
helpless". We often don't want to be silent because it make us feel
like we are not in control of anything. This is not true. I think most
of us believe that we ought to control everyone and everything. If the
truth be told, we cannot! It is important to set time apart to be
silent. If we really think about it, we were given two ears and one
mouth. I would think that would mean we must do more listening than
talking. Sadly, some of us have this concept understood in reverse.
Our words have power and can do serious damage, so we need to take the
time to "still from within" so that God can do what's needed.

[Jbl...@yahoo.com]

Yes Michca, I agree with you. More time spent with God will strengthen
ourselves, as well as our relationsip with Him. This is only done when
we set time aside and spent time some alone time with Him

On Mar 8, 11:01 pm, "michca_st...@yahoo.com" <michca_st...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

[Jbl...@yahoo.com]

I love that phrase that is so often used "silence is golden". You hit
the nail on its head lol. For some of us, silent time is a time to
think of all the things you have to do, or you own self-absorbed
thoughts. That's not supposed to happen during our silent time. When
are to quiet our on-going minds and listen to the voice of the Lord.

[Darell]

On Mar 5, 10:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association
<youthleaderstr...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Darell]

Loneliness is a temporary spiritual disorder, where in your state of
mind you feel like you are alone and need something or someone to
elevate your spirit. I would not quite say it is inner emptiness.
loneliness is not something I experienced much because I always have
something worthwhile to do with my time. I do not allow myself to be
lonely, I would meditate on God instead. Solitude, I would agree is
inner fulfillment or contentment, it is more a state of mind and heart
than a place as Foster says, But I would add also, it is a place where
you are not being disturbed by anyone or anything which is essential
for true solitude. I like the way Foster put it "without silence there
is no solitude".
I believe we can learn from Jesus that there should be a time where it
is us and God individually so that we can hear God speak to us by what
ever means He wants to do it. We should be eager to incorporate this
practice in our lives by finding any time where it is God and I in
fellowship.

"Real silence, real stillness, really holding one's tongue comes only

as the somber consequence of spiritual stillness" I understand it to
mean to be be a spiritual disciplined person, where by you analyze and
try to understand any issue for a Godly response. It can not be
achieved by flesh and blood but by the molding and making of the Holy
Spirit. May in drawing near to God we find true fulfillment in our
daily lives whatever the circumstances may be. Our almighty God is
able!

On Mar 5, 10:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association
<youthleaderstr...@gmail.com> wrote:

[michael desire]

. loneliness is inner emptiness solitude is inner fulfillment

1) As  followers of Christ, the life of Jesus is always the perfect example  to comment on any subject.

when we look at the world,or if we would remenber some of our  past experiences back there.

we would remenber that the people with out Christ always tend to have a fear of beeing lonely,some times they either, could not stay alone ,or they feared of something.most of the times anxieties.

But as for us Christians ,beeing lonely is inner emptiness,because, to experience the real power of the holy spirt,we have to be in that zone called "Solitude" which means to be alone: not with one an other,but  with Christ Jesus.

by beeing empty in the flesh,could be, left alone by somebody, could be parents,friends , lovers,coworkers,rejections,persecutions,and all kind of deceptions.allowing us  to remenber Jesus says "come to me ,you that labor with heavy laden, i will give you rest." sometimes we need to be lonely so we can drop the weights.

now in a rest,we enter into a fulfillment of joy ,peace,secured,patience,and loved,that's inner fulfillment of solitude,because now  we are solo with Christ, cause when every thing is gone ,Christ is our comforter,it's not a place,but it's,  a state of mind ,meaning, our hearts  is speaking,cause we are alone with Christ,it's letting us know ,if God is  us ,who can be against us, because the joy,peace,and love can be used all the times,it is the word of God for us.

.

 

 2) Foster gives us examples of Jesus spending time alone should we

 incorporate this practice in our lives? How?

Beloved, i know for sure, we should always practice the way of christianity,this is why we're annointed for ,is  to be followers of Christ:

spending time alone,should be our weekly ,or monthly practices,because certain things that we desired of the Lord ,requires sacrifices and obedience.Jesus was an intercessor,therefore we are called to pray for others,sometimes forget ourselves and make intercessory prayer for the world.

 Prohet Isaiah" declares the "Spirit of the Lord is upon me,for He has annointed me to preach,comfort,set captives free,and proclaimed the good news,and good tidings to the poor.the Church have work to do,( you and I) our Job is to pray. but where do we pray? Jesus says ,when we pray we ought to go to a closet.meaning to tarry or to wait " untill you are filled with the holy Spirit.in order to do so,we need to be in a complete secret place within ourselves ,where there is no worrynes,heartaches,pains,unforgiveness,hypocrites,lies,and hurries,empty ourselves so the Holy Spirit can find a room in our heart.Jesus often times left and went to mountains for the sake of humanity, because he came ,so the world ,might be saved. so we need to take time aside to pray for our love ones,and friends,or even our ennemies.but it requires time alone, where sometimes no one needs to know where we are or what we are doing" Jesus is accustomed of leaving all the times.Richard Foster quoted a few paces in his book, for instense,matt 4:1,11.mat,14:13.mark 6:31, Jesus called them to be in a lonely place.

 3)“Real silence, real stillness, really holding one’s tongue comes

> > only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness”

 i would go with, james 3:1,12. the person who can control his tongue is perfect, and eccles.3:7, a time to keep silent and time to speak.

once again, as christians,we should always slow to speak and easy to listen,our great victories come from listening,thru real silence,and stillnes.

God told king jehosaphat to be still,and He also told Joshua to tell the children of Israel to stay silence,He was about to proclamed His victory in the midst of His people, by holding up our tongues, sometimes it can lead us to great victory.

we ought to leave a spiritual stillness life,so the will of God can be established in our lives,means "be still,in know that i'm the Lord your God"i exalt in the heavens and on the earth". 

 

From: New York Youth Leaders Association <youthlea...@gmail.com>
To: NYYLA <ny...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 8, 2012 10:32 PM
Subject: Re: Phase 1 Week 9 The Outward Discipline of Solitude

[kourtney baines romero]

1.Loneliness is inner emptiness, the feeling of being alone. I was
feeling this emptiness and I Thank God he has been working on me! I
got married the end of September and soon after in October I was laid
off a position I had been in for almost 5 years. I had this
overwhelming feeling of being pushed through so much becoming a wife,
now unemployed; I found myself home alone all day. I went through a
period of loneliness the silence of my apartment compared to my daily
hustle and bustle was deafening. It was a temporary period where I was
allowing that inner emptiness to make me believe the walls were caving
in on me and all this hope for a new exciting journey was overshadowed
with this fear of what’s next for me. The Scripture “Seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 kept hitting me from all angles, I saw
it everywhere. I was unhappy in my career anyway and I had plans on
leaving but how many know things don’t happen the way we want it’s all
part of God’s plan! I am now allotted the time to reevaluate goals and
objectives in my life and making sure they are aligned with what God
has planned for me. I started to fast, then I really wanted to learn
more about fasting and then my husband said you always say you want to
do this and that at church and you never have enough time, I flew home
to Buffalo for a few weeks working in the church daily, My Mom and
Pastor told me about this class so I enrolled, this has time allowed
me to focus developing my relationship with God, the loneliness crept
in because I was failing to visit God throughout the day and night.
The transition from loneliness to solitude has been a journey which
continues. The silence that was once deafening is now replaced with
sweet whispers of freedom, and inner fulfillment. I am learning and
developing and it feels awesome TYJ (Thank You Jesus :)

2.Absolutely we should incorporate the practice of spending time
alone. Before this time I have been blessed with, I was running from
here and there 7 days a week. All my family is in Buffalo I am here in
NYC; I am constantly back and forth, then the normal hustle and bustle
of work and life etc. I have learned that the priority is spending
time alone with God and everything else will be scheduled around this
special time. I would always use my commutes on the train to and from
work to read the word or daily devotional, quietly cleaning in the
early mornings; traveling to buffalo alone would allow me hours of
alone time.

3.“Real silence, real stillness, really holding one’s tongue comes

only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness” Being silent and
still allows God to take control. I must say I am also developing this
area of solitude and stillness and I can’t actively listen to what God
has for me during this intimate time if I am talking, or if I am
answering someone without waiting for what God wants me to say if he
even wants me to say anything.


On Mar 5, 11:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association

[careforyou...@gmail.com]

i needed to here this!
-----
Sent from my Virgin Mobile.

[lol]

Great testimony, really uplifting to my spirit.No matter how out-of-
sorts we feel, we "can do all things through Christ who strengthen
us."I'm reminded it's not by might or power but by His Holy Spirit.
Keep on the prayer line because some things goeth not away except
through prayer and fasting. God bless and continue to 'push through'
and you will 'pull through.'

> [ Attached Message ]From:kourtney baines romero <kourtney.bainesrom...@gmail.com>To:NYYLA <ny...@googlegroups.com>Date:Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:47:53 -0700 (PDT)Local:Sun, Mar 11 2012 2:47 pmSubject:Re: Phase 1 Week 9 The Outward Discipline of Solitude1.Loneliness is inner emptiness, the feeling of being alone. I was

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[PATRICIA R. BLACKWOOD]

God bless you and your Ministry...stay focus, the best is yet to come!

Pat

From: "careforyou...@gmail.com" <careforyou...@gmail.com>
To: ny...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 5:57 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Phase 1 Week 9 The Outward Discipline of Solitude

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[PATRICIA R. BLACKWOOD]

K, you are an overcomer in Christ...we love your post!

Pat

[PATRICIA R. BLACKWOOD]

Great Post! God bless your Ministry.

Pat

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[twi...@yahoo.com]

On Mar 5, 11:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association

>  I look forward to reading your post I used to always fear being alone as a result I needed to always have friends around me and I always felt the need to be in a relationship. It was not until the lord thought me after alowing me to truly be alone that I could find total peace in him if I learned singleness of heart if I learned how to allow my heart to always belong to him and my mind to focus on him even in the midst of a crowd . I was then able to shift my lonley fellings to feelings of knowing my God was with me and I that I would always be able to hear him if I listened and trusted him for my next step. I found out that in doing so I was no longer needy and more people were drawn to me because now my life reflected a different meaning .they were able to talk to me easier because I now sought God on how to deal with everthing .

Everytime Jesus had a moment of solitude he either used it to worship
or do good we should do the same in our lives . The bible talks about
going into or closets and praying I know that may reefer to somthing
else but can be used in this context we can use that as a moment of
solitude a time when we fast pray and wait for futher instructions .as
we should also use those moment to pray for someone else or study or
encourage someobe else do somthing that edifies.

Be still and know that he is God to be still is to know that the next
move you make will be ordered by God . I stated before how the lord
had to draw me away from crowds and he also allowed me to be
completley still so he could transform my life now I wont make a move
without fisrt pausing for instructions I consider stillnes as I do the
nurses office at my doctors a place where I can be preped

[Ava]

1. loneliness is inner emptiness solitude is inner fulfillment.
Long before I became a born-again believer,  one of my  grandmothers
 told me that she has never the time to experience loneliness.   That
statement in my young mind seemed totally  absurd but the reason
needed to be explored.  So, I asked her how comes.  She mentioned her
alone time is the time she spend with her Savior to tell Him thanks
for all He has done.   Time she spends reading her bible, praying and
praise.   What makes this so mind boggling to me that this grandmother
was not a church going believer.  Her common phrase to us is that she
has a "Christian baptism of the heart."
Now don't be bogged down with the bad part.  Look into the fact that
she was practicing solitude... Look at the fact that she showed me a
better way to enjoy life.   She was able to dispel the notion of
loneliness from my life by her simple talk.

Since the day I took up the cross, I have heard countless of Christian
soldiers - like Bro. Lawrence, Bro. Fenelon and Madame Guyon - say
solitude brings us closer to God.   It ushers in the presence of
Gods... It invites God to our conversation and into our space.  
Again, the author defines solitude as a state of the mind rather than
a place. It is the inward attentiveness that dispels the fear of being
alone.  This solitude gives us the ability to be settled to hear the
divine whisper of our Master.  1 believe that my life is becoming
richer because  of this discipline. It has given me the ability to
enjoy inner fulfillment.  It is in this place that meditation upon God
and His word truly takes place.  I also believe that this is the place
where maturity and growth takes place.


2 Foster gives us examples of Jesus spending time alone should we

incorporate this practice in our lives? How?

All over scripture and throughout this book,we are given examples of
how Jesus spent time alone.  He would withdraw to a lonely place, to
the desert and so forth.  I especially like in Mark 6:31 where He
called His disciple to come away by yourselves into a lonely place.
 It signifies that He wanted them to draw nearer to God than to gloat
in the temporary success.  He was calling them to not lose focus on
godly perspective in their Christian walk and ministry.  The same call
is being made to us today.  We ought to fellowship and enjoy sweet
communion with our Master.
We can create a lonely place in our home,  it could be a chair  where
when you sit in it everyone knows that you want to be alone with your
Father.  One could designate a time where retreat from work to  spend
time with God - a place like "the Cove"could help greatly.  Time and
again find a safe park or simply the church back yard to sit down and
listen to God.

3. “Real silence, real stillness, really holding one’s tongue

comes only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness.
This is a true statement and also a sign of being mature.  As the
author puts it a frantic stream if words flows from us because we are
in constant process of adjusting our public image... One of the fruit
of silence is the freedom to let God be our justifier.


On a side note, help me to pray that my grandmother will surrender
wholeheartedly to Christ.

On Mar 5, 11:43 am, New York Youth Leaders Association
<youthleaderstr...@gmail.com> wrote: