January 11, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"Hear the Voice of Your Father"
Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for All God's people.
If you read through the four Gospels you can't help but notice how people and crowds were drawn to Jesus. If He Went up a hill to pray alone, the crowds would be gathered below awaiting His return (Luke 4:42). If He jumped into a boat to slip off to the other side of a lake, word of His movements would race Him to the other side (Matthew 14:13). He interacted non-stop with military officers, widows, children, the seriously ill, the demon-possessed, religious leaders, close friends, prophets, and sinners.
At the beginning of His ministry at age thirty, despite having so much to do in such a short amount of time, Jesus pulled away from everyone to spend forty days in the wilderness to pray and fast. While alone, Jesus was tested three times by Satan, but each time answered the challenge with Scripture and a profound sense of His purpose in life (Matthew 4:1-11). Again, at the end of his earthly life, Jesus pulled away from the crowds to pray alone in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:35-36). It was there, with the agony of the cross just Before Him, that He reaffirmed His most earnest desire: “Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42 NKJV).
If Jesus Christ sought solitude and quiet, how much more important is it for us? We can come to the end of the day-or week or even month-and discover that we made no time at all to be alone with God. Television, radio, meetings, chores, and a cacophony of other “noises” crowd out prayer and silent reflection.
You don't have to take a forty-day trip to the desert to create ways to spend quiet time alone with God. In fact, once you recognize what distracts you from hearing God's voice, it's just a matter of giving yourself some quiet time. Your soul will thrive as you pull away from the noise to hear the voice of Your Father.
