LUKE 9:28 – Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

THEME OF THE DAY. CLIMB ANY MOUNTAINS LATELY? I have friends who are serious mountain climbers. And I am not talking about day hikes on a little hill. They do “big ones”, like “big ones” one may see on the National Geographic channel or flying over if you take a flight over the Rockies in the western part of our country. The views they (and even we who may not climb them, but view them) enjoy, are breath-taking, even awe-producing. Now observe the “mountain climb” in today’s scripture. It, too, was breath-taking and awe-producing, not because of the scenery but due to the scene and the Person dominating the scene. Imagine the Lord Jesus looking us in the eyes and saying, “Come with me. We are going up the mountain for an extended prayer meeting.” Words really cannot describe what would be racing through our hearts and minds. Yet, we must not let this literal account with Peter, John, James, and Jesus be something we read about and perhaps dream a little of the experience. This invitation is for us. Today. Right where we live. We are to be “regular mountain climbers” when it comes to time alone with Jesus. And that leads to two questions for us; questions requiring serious self-examination and perhaps some alterations in our lifestyles.

Question # 1 – Have we been alone with Jesus recently for extended times of prayer to know Him, behold Him, adore Him, and just be at His feet meditating on His Person? Friends, this is the Christian life – “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The devil will do all he can to keep us from these sacred times in the prayer closet. If we allow him to use busyness, worldliness, and distractions to prevent seasons of “mountain top” prayer with the Lord, the spiritual damage in our lives will be significant. The devil knows if we neglect fellowship prayer with the Lord, two things will happen – our joy will be gone to be replaced by stress, worry, and anxiety; our representation of the Christian life will be wrong, lacking biblical substance and spiritual reality. People will not see Christ in His people who neglect Christ. We may do all the “right” Christian things, but we will lack the spiritual reality of Christ in those things.

The second question I hope applies to none of us, but I am afraid it will hit home to some of us – “If we are not able to answer question # 1 with a Christian life affirming experiences of faithful alone times with the Lord in extended prayer, why not?” It is extremely important we grasp the priority place time alone with Jesus is to be a healthy Christian living out an influential life for Him. And our lots in life are not excuses to neglect such times. Every one of us has huge demands upon our time and person. We have families to raise, jobs to perform and responsibilities to fulfill, but none of those gives us a pass in neglecting time with the Lord Jesus in prayer and the Word. We will find not one single justifying statement in the Bible from God saying, “I know you are busy. It is okay to neglect me. I understand.” Actually just the opposite occurs. God demands and expects every child of His to discipline themselves to seek Him, to know Him, and spend time with Him. Do a study sometime of the various words “seek, know, and find” in relationship to God commanding us to “go after Him.” It will change our lives in doing so. However, don’t look at alone time with the Lord as something we “have to do” based on commands. God’s commands are for our good, our pleasure, and our delight. Every command obeyed glorifies Him and satisfies our innermost being. And alone time with Him is the height of human experience in the realm of soul-contentment.

So, climb any mountains lately? If not, schedule one soon and make it a regular habit; a habit of getting alone in a secluded place to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus in prayer. It is why we are His children and what brings the deepest delight to the human heart. .

PRAYER: “Father, help me to be in awe of You by seeing Your hand in all the circumstances in my life.”

QUOTE: “It has been said, ‘If we don’t come apart from the world, we will come apart’. Alone time with Jesus is a must”