Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

How does transformation happen? It’s a pattern that Jesus gave us to follow. It starts with an act of our will, “Jesus got up” and a departure from our normal, familiar surroundings, “left the house”. It leads us to a new destination, “went off to a solitary place”. The pattern of our natural life must be broken before the spirit of transformation is released. Solitude isn’t about what I do its about what I don’t do. It’s a practice of abstinence. So I deliberately withdraw from people, work and any form of external stimulation to be alone with the Father. The framework upon which my natural life rests is disrupted. We see this over and over in Jesus life. It began with 40 days in the wilderness. Before He chose the 12 disciples He went into solitude. Also after the death of His cousin John the Baptist He went into solitude and after He fed the 5000 and after He sent the 12 out to do great miracles in His name.

Mark 6:31 Jesus said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while”

In solitude I might pray, read, meditate, write or simply actively sit in the Lords presence. What matters most is not what I do, it’s what I don’t do. I have removed myself from all the distractions and demands of life to find a quiet place where the noise in my soul is allowed to subside and be replaced with the peace of my spirit. Just then it stops being about me as finally, maybe for the first time in a long time the Lord gets my undivided attention in an environment where only His voice is heard and His life is imparted. This is the secret of everyone who overcomes the world. It is the key that opens the door to a different dimension. As I was writing this the Lord spoke very clearly that many times we are giving Him “leftovers”. Whatever is left of my mind emotions and will after I have placed everything and everyone before Him. The desire of His heart is that we each become a “living sacrifice”.

Romans 12:1-2 “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to Gods marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern Gods will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes”