This is the first post in an eight-part series looking at the rhythm of going to ‘a quiet place.’ I hope and pray it’s a blessing for your life in Christ!

The struggle to find quiet.

Life is busy, sometimes even chaotic. We all feel it, and we often say it; ‘I’ve been good, just busy with…’

People are addicted to screens, bombarded with information from every angle all day long.

And let’s face it, even if we’re diligent with our time—the simple everyday responsibilities of life often mean we don’t have much margin in our schedules.

Sometimes it feels like reading the Scriptures and praying blends into the noise of life, and becomes just another part of every day.

How do we listen to God and spend time with him in a world like that?

Jesus and the eremos.

There’s a rhythm from the life of Jesus that is crucial for us to recapture in the busyness and clamour of modern life.

Throughout the four gospels we’re told that ‘Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed’ (Luke 5:16). It’s a pattern throughout his life and ministry. The word used for ‘lonely places’ is the greek word ‘eremos’—which can be translated as the wilderness, a solitary place, a desert place, or a quiet place.

In short; it’s a place intentionally away from other people and distractions—not only physically but also emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Jesus practiced removing himself from the noise, pressures and clamour of his everyday life. And he did that by regularly going to the eremos—a quiet place.

Why we need a quiet place.

Here’s the pointy end: even Jesus needed to spend time in the quiet with his Father. We need it too. 

It doesn’t need to be out in the physical wilderness—it could be an armchair by the window, a park or beach nearby, or the kitchen table once the kids have gone to bed.

A quiet place is less about the place, and more about the quiet. It’s a way to remove the distance we feel from God, be reminded of our identity in Christ, confess our sin and be honest with our need for Jesus, cast our anxieties upon God, and allow the Spirit to minister to us with our Bibles open and hearts directed toward God.

Finding a quiet place.

What many of us need is not simply to read our Bibles or pray more—but to find a quiet place to be with Jesus.

Phone away. Distractions removed. An unhurried pace. Just you and your Maker.

When was the last time it felt like that for you?

And more importantly; when can you find time to sit alone in a quiet place, and just be with God?