Life Lessons from Her Holy Place and Space!
Where is your holy “place” where you pray alone to God? Do you have a holy “space” in your schedule when you spend time with God? Seeking our Savior in seclusion is vital! Jesus commanded a routine of intentional fasting from people, saying, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6, ESV). In our solitary time, the Holy Spirit effectively guards the intimacy we need to hear God and speak back to him.
“I had to get up”
For most of us, finding a quiet place in our homes and schedules is a manageable task. However, for the renowned missionary Bertha Smith, her “quiet hour with the Lord” took tremendous effort. Her zeal to spend time with Jesus at all costs serves as a powerful example for us. It was her dedication to her “quiet hour” that fueled her amazing 42-year missionary ministry in China (1917 – 1948) and Taiwan (1948- 1959). Her comments about her devotional routine are just an aside in her autobiography, Go Home and Tell. She thought nothing of her cold morning routine!
Sometimes I spent a month at a time out on these trips, never hearing a word of English except what I spoke to the Lord. Neither did I see a fire, though it might be December. The thirty pounds of clothes that I wore kept me warm during the day, and my warm bedding and hot water bottle were sufficient at night. But, oh, the transfer time from warm bed to cold room in the morning! I had to get up in time to have my own quiet hour with the Lord before the neighbors began to stir, since I was always on exhibition. What an ordeal getting into those three suits of “long handles’' down under the covers in the dark! Of course, the foot usually went a few times where the arm should go! And those eight stockings, how they twisted!
After breaking the ice to wash my face, I was awake quite enough to pray, so down the street, I would go to the haystack—my prayer place… Raking aside the frosted part of the hay, I would kneel down. Being the only one awake for miles around, I knew I would not be disturbed. As I looked up to the stars and worshiped and interceded... 1
Notice all that she planned for her successful devotional hour: 1) Rising early, 2) Using ice water to wake up enough to pray, 3) Relocating to a cold haystack, and 4) Kneeling in humble submission and supplication. She copied the patriarch Isaac (Genesis 24:63), who sought isolation for prayer and meditation. She knew that “deep thoughts require a retirement.”2
Consider the long legacy of “God-seekers,” in Scripture and across centuries of Church history. God will not regularly use women and men who do not treasure time with Him. Even if you could minister apart from secluded devotional times, why deny yourself the greatest joy this side of heaven? Let Thomas Watson assure you that “the enjoying of God’s sweet presence with us here is the most contented life.”3
Establish (or Re-establish) Your Place and Space!
Though not an exhaustive checklist, consider these suggestions. Rejoice in those that you are already doing. Re-plan and restart what has fallen by the wayside.
1. Have a regular space that is yours for spending time with God. Can you spend time in your house in a “space” in the schedule when no one is around, or could it be a place to which you alone go? It is wise to let those around you know your plan. Assure them that they will get the best “version” of you if they help guard your time to become Spirit-filled by being Scripture-filled. What a great model for children to grow up knowing they should not interrupt mom or dad’s highest priority – Jesus-time! Reassure them that they are almost the most important in your life, after God and your spouse!
2. Have a regular plan or pattern. Will you pray first or read the Bible first? What will you read each day? Will you read and meditate on a certain number of verses or chapters? Or will you use a Bible reading plan? What will you memorize? Will you write down or type something insightful from that time to carry into your day for quick meditative moments?
3. Have special places where you can occasionally commune with God in different ways. Take a prayer walk by yourself in the park. Go to the lake or a scenic overlook and meditate on God’s creation. Jonathan Edwards loved to be riverside: “I very frequently used to retire into a solitary place, on the banks of Hudson’s river, at some distance from the city, for contemplation on divine things and secret converse with God; and had many sweet hours there.”4 Or can you take an afternoon or day off work for a personal spiritual retreat somewhere, just you, your Bible, and Your Heavenly Father? John Stott loved his monthly “Q” (Quiet) days of retreat to be with God, something he intentionally practiced more often as his ministry became busier.5
As you seek to serve God passionately, spend planned time with Jesus. The highest joy of heaven will be seeing him face to face (Matthew 5:8; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 21:23) in eternal fellowship. Already, you can experience some of that joy, even as you practice each day for the final yet of eternal bliss with him.
Here is a helpful, related article:
"Galatians 2:20 & Bertha Smith, A Soul-Winning Missionary" by Daniel Akin
1Bertha Smith, Go Home and Tell (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1965), 51-2.
2Thomas Manton, The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, vol 12 (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1874), 264.
3Thomas Watson, The Select Works of the Rev. Thomas Watson, (London: 1855), 19.
4Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 1 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), lvi.
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