Jesus got alone to pray | Devotions by Chris Hendrix

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July 30, 2025 · 5:40 AM

Creating Eremos

When was the last time you got alone and quiet without distractions? No phone, tablet, computer, TV, radio or people. With all the technological breakthroughs of the last century or so we have advanced in so many areas and made life better. However, with the invention of all these things, we have lost our ability to be alone. The quietest place on earth is at the Microsoft headquarters. The anechoic chamber has six layers of concrete and steel. It’s suspended by springs to eliminate ground vibrations and it’s fully padded with foam. It’s designed to absorb all sound. The problem is most people can’t stay in there for more than 30 minutes because it’s so unnatural to the modern person.

In Luke 5:16, and throughout the Gospels, it says, “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion]” (AMP). The Greek word for wilderness that was used each time Jesus did this is eremos. We have translated it as wilderness, but it’s more than that. It’s not just a lonely, quiet place, it describes a place of encounter, formation and communion with God. It was a set apart place from all distractions where He could hear God’s voice without the noise from the world. In this eremos, He met God to get clarity and renewal. If He made it a point to find these places often in a less distracted and connected world, how much ,ore should we make time for it?

In Matthew 6:6 Jesus encouraged us to do the same by saying, “But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.” We must find our own eremos where we can meet with God. It may not feel comfortable at first, but keep going to it. The goal isn’t external silence, but internal stillness. Jesus is inviting us into God’s presence where we can be still, know He is God, rest in His presence and find renewal for our soul. Creating your own eremos is critical to your spiritual growth and relationship with God.

Photo by Bruno do Val on Unsplash

Practicing Solitude

There’s a difference between solitude and loneliness. One can lead to depression and the other to self awareness or spiritual awakening. One of the shows I watched on Hulu this year was “Alone”. They take several people into some of the coldest and remote parts of the world and drop them off miles apart to survive. They are completely alone in the wilderness and the last person standing wins. Many face loneliness pretty quickly and tap out. Others it hits after several weeks. However, there are some who learn to use the solitude as a means of self discovery and start to have epiphanies. It’s incredible to me to watch these things happen as they start to describe their realizations.

I believe solitude is a lost spiritual discipline. In today’s world we are always connected and available to be reached by someone. Our brains have created the fear of missing out (fomo) and have tethered us to constant information sources. If we’re constantly connected to the things of this world, it’s hard to hear the voice of God. Our fear of missing out has been misplaced. We are missing the voice of God and looking to other voices to replace it. We are constantly connected, yet still feel alone. God is calling us to have regular times of solitude in His presence, but we rarely, if ever do it.

We know Psalm 46:10 by heart and can recite, “Be still and know that I am God,” but when are we ever still? Mark 1:35 says, “The next morning, Jesus got up long before daylight, left the house while it was dark, and made his way to a secluded place to give himself to prayer” (TPT). Jesus made it a regular habit to daily find seclusion and solitude to hear the voice of God. He is our example of this discipline that we should follow. I admit, it’s not easy to sit in silence at first. Try doing it for 10 minutes and wait on God. Leave your phone, your smart watch and all other distractions in another room. Practice being still and waiting on God, and you will find that you will know Him more and develop a deeper relationship with Him.

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

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