Thoughts for Life: Grace to Stand Alone

George Shaw- "Can we stand it to be alone? Dare we join the small minority, and, like Daniel, 'dare to stand alone'? Dare we climb alone the Alpine heights of the consecrated life?

Are we willing to serve our God when duty calls us to stand alone in our community or church for a holier life and a loftier vision of God? Dare we hold opinions that are not accepted by the crowd, and seek ideals which must of necessity lessen our friendships and make us lonely souls? (Google image, Desperate prayer)

God grant that we may have grace to be alone when duty calls us to this soul wilderness. We need not seek the cloister of the hermit's cell, for there is a deeper solitude than the hermit's; it is this — to live out the Christlike life among men who have not yet left the carnal life, to walk in the spirit while your fellows walk in the flesh.

This is soul loneliness, and such was Christ's in an infinite degree. This loneliness did not separate Christ from men. He never was so far from them that He could not touch their wounded hearts and heal them.

If He spent the night on the mountain with the Father, He spent the day in the valleys casting out devils and going about doing good to the bodies and souls of men. His loneliness drove Him to communion with the Father, and this communion made him the helper and healer of mankind.

There are two thing absolutely essential to a well-balanced Christian life: nights of prayer and days of activity. If we turn to prayer alone, we lose touch with our fellow men; and if we turn to help men alone, we lose touch with God.

Both are fatal to the highest usefulness in the world. Inactivity among men, and lack of communion with God, both breed doubt in the soul. True piety, lofty ideals and nobleness of mind will make the soul lonely at times, but will not separate us from our fellow men, but rather fit us to better help them."

[Taken from Herald of His Coming newspaper, Vol 77, No 9 (921), p. 8. Used by permission.]

Let's pray-

Father, help us to be willing to stand alone to serve You when we're called to a holier life and a loftier vision.

Help us hold opinions that may not necessarily be accepted by the crowd around us, but to seek ideals that may necessitate less friendships, which may make us lonely souls at times.

Inactivity among men, and lack of communion with God, both breed doubt in our souls. Both are needed for lofty ideals and nobleness of mind.

Help us see there are two things absolutely essential to a well-balanced Christian life: nights of prayer and days of activity. If we turn to prayer alone, we lose touch with our fellow men; and if we turn to help men alone, we lose touch with You, Father.

True piety, lofty ideals and nobleness of mind will make our souls lonely at times, but will not separate us from our fellow men, but rather fit us to better help them.

Guide our search for the balance needed to be effective witnesses. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

2 Cor. 13:11, 14 (NKJV) "Finally, brethren, farewell.
Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one
mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace
will be with you. (v. 14) The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of
the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible
to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him."

James 4:7, 8, 10 (NKJV) "Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (v. 8) Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse
your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded. (v. 10) Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Today's quote-

~ Jennifer Eivaz- "Heaven is not always open, which means angels are not always on assignment to help. The prophet Isaiah seemed to shout in frustration, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!" (Isaiah 64:1). If we read further in the passage, we see the Israelites had stopped praying and were experiencing the consequences of their sins. Prayerlessness keeps heaven closed, which blocks God's angels and blessings from reaching us.

For us, Jesus has now become the "open heaven," which is characterized by perpetual angelic activity (see John 1:51). We step into an open heaven the same way Jesus did: when we pray. We pray to our heavenly Father in Jesus' name, asking for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This puts us in direct proximity to the angels coming and going, between earth and heaven, having come in response to our prayers and with our prayers putting them on assignment in earth's realm."

THE INTERCESSORS HANDBOOK
by Jennifer Eivaz
(pp. 86, 87

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