Session Six:Solitude

…purposely being alone while focusing on God.

“The life alienated from God collapses when deprived of its support from the sin-laden

world. But the life in tune with God is actually nurtured by time spent alone.”

~Dallas Willard

Solitude forces us to look inside

Creates within us compassion for

others

Helps us relate better to others

“Silence is the way to make solitude a reality.” ~Henri Nouwen

“Just as silence is vital to make solitude real, so is solitude need to make the

discipline of silence complete. Very few can be silent in the presence of others.”

~Dallas Willard

“The purpose of silence and solitude is to be able to see and hear.” ~Richard Foster

“It is easier to be silent altogether than to speak with moderation.” ~Thomas à Kempis

There is a “time to keep silent and a time to speak.” Ecclesiastes 3:7

“How rarely are we ever truly listened to, and how deep is our need to be heard… God

gave us two ears and one mouth, it’s been said, so that we might listen twice as much

as we talk, but even that proportion is far too high on the side of talking.” ~Dallas Willard

… is trust.

God becomes your justifier.

God will teach us when to speak.

Find your own place of solitude and

silence

Visit it daily

Redeem the “lost time”

Waken to listen at night

Consider a “silent retreat” of a few

days

“There are no ‘mere’ men. Moral splendor comes with the gift of life.

Each person has within him a vast potentiality for identification, dedication, sacrifice, and mutuality. Each person has unlimited strength to feel human oneness and act upon it.

The tragedy of life is not in the fact of death but in what dies inside us while we

live.”