The Solitude Practice
Join us on a journey to explore the practice of Solitude in the way of Jesus. Each week there will be a talk on Sunday and an invitation into a solitude practice that week. See The Solitude Practice Companion guide and other helpful resources from Practicing the Way below.
The spiritual writer Henri Nouwen once said that “solitude is not a private, therapeutic place ... it is the place of encounter.”
We live in a therapeutic culture, where far more emphasis is put on feeling good than being good. Inside a culture focused on wellness spirituality, it’s easy to view practices like solitude, silence, and stillness as no more than spiritual disciplines for introverts who like that sort of thing.
But this is not the solitude of Jesus or John the Baptist or any of the great ones of the Way. For them, solitude wasn’t a day spa for the soul. They may have spent time in the quiet resting, but ultimately, the goal wasn’t to run away from the world but to run to God. And then come back to the world to love and serve.
You see solitude all over the life of Jesus. As the Gospel writer Luke put it, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
And yet: In the digital age, it is now possible to go your entire life without ever being truly alone with God. Our devices keep us tethered to the world of noise and regularly drown out the voice of God in our heart. We are starved for solitude, living through a global famine of quiet; noise refugees, seeking a new home where we can find rest in God.
Solitude is not an easy path, but it is the ancient path — the Jesus path — to a strong, deep, joyful, vibrant life with God.
Practice Resources
Read
Essential
The Solitude Practice: Companion Guide, From John Mark Comer and Practicing the Way.
Recommended
Invitation to Solitude and Silence
by Ruth Haley Barton.
Watch
Watch the weekly sermons on Solitude from John Mark Comer on our YouTube channel.
“The two primary places we discover God are in community — in deep, long-term, loving relationships with other apprentices of Jesus in the family of God — and in solitude, silence, and stillness …
… Most of us get intuitively that we need relationships with other followers of Jesus to flourish, but many of us are less in touch with our need for intentional times in the quiet to be alone with ourselves and our God. As Henri Nouwen put it, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” All close friendships require dedicated time alone together.”
Listen
The Solitude Series on the Rule of Life Podcast
Solitude 01: Introduction to the Solitude Practice
Solitude 02: Going to the Quiet Place (with John Ortberg)
Solitude 03: Encountering Our Self (with Bethany Allen)
Solitude 04: Encountering Our Enemies with Ken Shigematsu
Solitude 05: Encountering Our God with Emily P.Freeman
Solitude 06: Question + Response with John Mark Comer, Bethany Allen, and Bryan Rouanzoin