I don’t know about you, but I find more and more that I cherish my time alone, and that I need it more than ever, every day.

I believe that in this day and age, that the alone time is going to be more and more important for us.

For those who are called to a prophetic ministry, this time before the LORD is crucial and can’t be over-stated.

But this should be true for all of those who would desire a life of being able to hear the voice of the LORD.

We are told by many that we need to be in fellowship with one another, and this is true, and yet our fellowship can’t restrict our ability to come before the LORD in quietness and reverence.

As there are many voices in the world that vie for our attention, this is also true of many within the body of Christ.

There is obviously good and bad fellowship as well to be found within the body of Christ, and because of our humanity, opinions and speculations can run rampant.

Having said these things then, those who seek to hear clearly from the Holy Spirit, must live a life that is separated from many.

For in this separation, a life of servitude and deep devotion to the Almighty can more readily come.

While there can be dangers in a lifestyle like this, the clarity and wisdom to be gained from it outweighs anything else.

And yet as we well know, we are “in the world but not a part of it.”  We have daily things to do each and every day and we encounter many struggles.

There are those who live in monasteries that are set apart from the world.

Those who live such a lifestyle have the luxury of already being set apart from the world; and yet, because of their separation, they don’t necessarily have to confront or deal with the many ordeals that many of us are accustomed to.

Their daily routines are made up of getting up early for prayer, eating a meager breakfast, and then back to their austere room, where they spend more time in contemplation.

Every hour of their day is planned to follow a regime of this type of discipline.  Their spiritual muscles become so used to the routine, that over time they may well develop atrophy due to not having to deal with the everyday hassles and confrontations that are so common place to us in the world in which we live.

Our LORD knew the importance of taking the time to separate Himself from others, even those who were closest to Him.

Without this time the hurling questions and demands put upon Him may not have come as easily, even for One who was the Son of God.

And so if the Son of God knew of the importance of this alone time, how much more important is it for us.

How would He have been able to answer the cutting questions of the Pharisees and those who followed the law, if He had not sought out communion with the Father?

How else would He have known of the one who would betray Him?

One must quiet themselves apart from the crowd to a place where the noises and demands of the world, can be dispelled.  And yet even in this alone time, then one finds out that there are other voices within that may still vie for our attention.

But over time and with diligence then, the one true voice is heard.  However, it is a life time of knowing how to separate the wheat from the chaff, as that place within enlarges so that His servants can then be called friends of the Almighty.

Over time one realizes more and more that those times before the LORD are precious and that they can’t be compared to any of the attractions or distractions of this world.

Those around us will continue to speak and yet at times much of what is heard may well taste like cardboard to our spirits.

Over time one learns that the good is kept and the foul is spit out upon the ground because it is useless and not for our good.

This is especially true as one exercise their spirit to recognize the false from the true.

For with the litany of a flood of supposed prophecies in this hour, one eventually must stand firm to what is true and what is not.

Just because something sounds good and appeals to what has the right wording, doesn’t mean that it is a true word from the LORD.

There are certain phrases that are repeated lately in the prophetic community, and one would be wise to recognize them.

There are repeated themes of three days of darkness and messages that speak of the one who is the supposed Antichrist.

If one hasn’t trained their spirit to know what is true and what is not, then these messages may well be swallowed quickly and not be allowed to digest.

And yet, it’s not as if “some” or part of these messages are true, but when a mixture comes then it easily taints the whole message.

Just as the prophet Elijah ran into the wilderness, may we be given water and food from above as the ravens had come to feed him.

He was sustained in his time there and then was able to come back with more strength and wisdom for the task that he was called to do.

In closing, our times spent in deep communion with the Almighty are indeed for our sustenance and clarity, and yet just because one then may be able to hear more clearly, then they also would develop a greater humility of spirit.

For the relationship is not meant to elevate one’s self, but on the contrary, we then begin to realize how dependent upon this relationship we have become.

For we are not then elevated, but rather He is elevated within us, as the old life eventually passes away, and the new one comes.

 

Selah,
~ Stephen Hanson

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Stephen Hanson of In His Truth Ministries came to the LORD is a special way in 1975 and has prophesied regularly since.  In these end-time birthing pangs we are reminded that judgment must first begin with the household of God.  Will we be prepared and ready?

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