2015 thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail by Samson
The Need for Solitude
“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,” (Matthew 14:23, NIV)
Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again.
“The thoughtful soul to solitude retires,” said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today? Science, which has provided men with certain material comforts, has robbed them of their souls by surrounding them with a world hostile to their existence. “Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still” is a wise and healing counsel, but how can it be followed in this day of the newspaper, the telephone, the radio and the television? These modern playthings, like pet tiger cubs, have grown so large and dangerous that they threaten to devour us all. What was intended to be a blessing has become a positive curse. No spot is now safe from the world’s intrusion.
Lord, help us somehow to escape today and retire to solitude, even if only for a brief time. Amen.
A. W. Tozer, Tozer for the Christian Leader (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2015).
2015 thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail by Samson
The Need for Solitude
“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,” (Matthew 14:23, NIV)
Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again.
“The thoughtful soul to solitude retires,” said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today? Science, which has provided men with certain material comforts, has robbed them of their souls by surrounding them with a world hostile to their existence. “Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still” is a wise and healing counsel, but how can it be followed in this day of the newspaper, the telephone, the radio and the television? These modern playthings, like pet tiger cubs, have grown so large and dangerous that they threaten to devour us all. What was intended to be a blessing has become a positive curse. No spot is now safe from the world’s intrusion.
Lord, help us somehow to escape today and retire to solitude, even if only for a brief time. Amen.
A. W. Tozer, Tozer for the Christian Leader (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2015).