Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 3
Solitude

Shana Mason • Creative Coordinator
August 18, 2026

4 Minute Read
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 3 | Solitude

Shana Mason

"But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray." - Luke 5:16

Solitude / sol·i·tude /ˈsäləˌtoo͞d: the state or situation of being alone.

“Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life... We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.”– Henri Nouwen

In our digital age, are we ever truly alone? Lonely, certainly at times. But I can spend my “alone time” with any number of YouTubers, musical artists, TV show casts, preachers, podcasters, or social media influencers. I’m technically alone, but not solo. I can fill the silence with whatever I want at the click of a button. In the quiet, every screen—perhaps all technology—is making a subtle bid for my attention. In only the last 24 hours, I’ve asked various strangers on Instagram to weigh in on how to prune trees, how to market a book, and how to master the Disney Dining Plan. My silence and solitude is easily-divided, easily-distracted, and easily-disrupted.

Jesus did not model this kind of solitude. Luke 5:15-16 tells us, “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”

A “desolate place” is free of entertainment and distraction. It’s also probably not somewhere you’d be excited to go to for fun. However, our Biblical heroes like Moses, Elijah, Esther, David, or Paul—like Jesus—modeled a very present, intentional, “desolate place” form of solitude.

They set themselves apart—temporarily, but consistently. Biblical solitude withdraws from the noise and the demands of daily life to focus on God. A solitude of silence, reflection, meditation, and prayer. This type of solitude is different than the “getaways” that the world offers. It’s not simply being alone or getting a bit of “me time.” In the words of pastor John Mark Comer, “Solitude is a place that’s free of all inputs. The only inputs are God and your own heart laid open before God.”

This type of solitude reconnects us to ourselves, rather than distracting us from our own thoughts. It reconnects us to God, rather than drowning out His still small voice. Solitude positions us to hear from God.

Sometimes, I think we expect God to shout at us. We fill up all our time; we fill up all our silence. Then we wonder why God hasn’t been speaking to us. We want God to reach us where we are, rather than seeing that we might need to change up our pace, our place, or our priorities. Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

This set-apart time comes with a promise of strength and renewal. How often do we expect to find strength and renewal from just zoning out with a TV show or doomscrolling on social media? How often do those things actually deliver what we’re looking for?

God’s ways are always the best ways. Even when everything in us wants to avoid this Biblical form of silence and stillness. Galatians 5:17 tells us, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

If you’re anything like me, you often want to practice solitude and then all of your coping mechanisms start jumping in the way—ideas, responsibilities, entertainment, and smart devices produce an escape. Solitude often puts us face-to-face with the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that we’re avoiding. The things we push down and try to ignore rise back to the surface. Addressing all this with the Lord is what I want to do! And then the internal war rages against it. My flesh and my spirit compete for opposing desires. Solitude forces the fight in a way that gives way to growth, healing, and fulfillment.

Solitude is an essential ingredient for fulfilling what Romans 12:2 talks about. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Do not fear the process by which God will transform you for His perfect plan.

So this week, I’d love for you to reflect and try practicing solitude.

How do you do with solitude?

What renewal are you seeking from the Lord?

When is the last time you prioritized silence and stillness?

Wait on the Lord today.

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From this Collection: Pastoral Letters
August 22, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 7
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Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 5
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August 19, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 4
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 4 | Persistence When God Keeps You Waiting | Pastor Scott Watkins "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" - Luke 11:8-13 During this week of prayer and fasting, we have been focusing on one thing we’re believing God for. And when we first begin believing God for something, it can be incredibly exciting. 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First, remember this: maybe today is the day. God is still good. You are still His child. The Holy Spirit will still help you pray. None of that has changed, even if you have been praying for years. So, why not today? But perhaps you hear that and think, ‘I can’t get my hopes up one more time.’ It’s easier to not believe today could be the day than to have your hopes dashed again. Then can I offer you a different hope? While God hasn’t promised to meet every one of our temporal desires, this passage reminds us that he has promised us Himself. Amid our crying out, our lamenting, our petitions and pleading, God will meet us with His presence. He offers us His love, His peace, and His strength. Often, He gives grace in the middle of our journey that we can only receive because we are waiting. God may not be answering our request right now, but He is offering us Himself. But some have waited so long, even this doesn’t sound hopeful. You've prayed, but the answer hasn't come. And you can’t find God’s comfort anymore. You don't feel strengthened. You don't feel God's presence. You simply feel tired. What does persistent prayer mean in those seasons? In these hardest of places, we must remember that every time we cry out to God, we’re participating in a relationship. Even if all we can muster is, ‘Father help’. Those words declare that you are a child who has a heavenly Father. Even if all you can do is give an honest lament of your hurt, you're in the company of many other faith-filled believers like David, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and even Jesus. Think about writing a letter to someone you love. You sit down, take out some paper and think of the person. You consider what you want to say. And you write because you have a relationship. You write because you know them and are known by them. Before you ever get a reply, something happens just by putting pen to paper. You open your heart and you live, for a few moments, inside that relationship. That is prayer in times like these. Every time you say, ‘Father...’ you are not trying to convince a reluctant God to listen. You are speaking to your good Father who has made you his child through Christ. When we say, ‘Father help’, we are living in a relationship that no amount of waiting can undo. Waiting is hard. Often confusing. But Jesus reminds us: keep talking to your Father. You aren’t waiting alone.

Scott Watkins

Administrative Pastor

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August 18, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 3
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 3 | Solitude Shana Mason "But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray." - Luke 5:16 Solitude / sol·i·tude /ˈsäləˌtoo͞d: the state or situation of being alone. “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life... We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.”– Henri Nouwen In our digital age, are we ever truly alone? Lonely, certainly at times. But I can spend my “alone time” with any number of YouTubers, musical artists, TV show casts, preachers, podcasters, or social media influencers. I’m technically alone, but not solo. I can fill the silence with whatever I want at the click of a button. In the quiet, every screen—perhaps all technology—is making a subtle bid for my attention. In only the last 24 hours, I’ve asked various strangers on Instagram to weigh in on how to prune trees, how to market a book, and how to master the Disney Dining Plan. My silence and solitude is easily-divided, easily-distracted, and easily-disrupted. Jesus did not model this kind of solitude. Luke 5:15-16 tells us, “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” A “desolate place” is free of entertainment and distraction. It’s also probably not somewhere you’d be excited to go to for fun. However, our Biblical heroes like Moses, Elijah, Esther, David, or Paul—like Jesus—modeled a very present, intentional, “desolate place” form of solitude. They set themselves apart—temporarily, but consistently. Biblical solitude withdraws from the noise and the demands of daily life to focus on God. A solitude of silence, reflection, meditation, and prayer. This type of solitude is different than the “getaways” that the world offers. It’s not simply being alone or getting a bit of “me time.” In the words of pastor John Mark Comer, “Solitude is a place that’s free of all inputs. The only inputs are God and your own heart laid open before God.” This type of solitude reconnects us to ourselves, rather than distracting us from our own thoughts. It reconnects us to God, rather than drowning out His still small voice. Solitude positions us to hear from God. Sometimes, I think we expect God to shout at us. We fill up all our time; we fill up all our silence. Then we wonder why God hasn’t been speaking to us. We want God to reach us where we are, rather than seeing that we might need to change up our pace, our place, or our priorities. Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” This set-apart time comes with a promise of strength and renewal. How often do we expect to find strength and renewal from just zoning out with a TV show or doomscrolling on social media? How often do those things actually deliver what we’re looking for? God’s ways are always the best ways. Even when everything in us wants to avoid this Biblical form of silence and stillness. Galatians 5:17 tells us, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” If you’re anything like me, you often want to practice solitude and then all of your coping mechanisms start jumping in the way—ideas, responsibilities, entertainment, and smart devices produce an escape. Solitude often puts us face-to-face with the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that we’re avoiding. The things we push down and try to ignore rise back to the surface. Addressing all this with the Lord is what I want to do! And then the internal war rages against it. My flesh and my spirit compete for opposing desires. Solitude forces the fight in a way that gives way to growth, healing, and fulfillment. Solitude is an essential ingredient for fulfilling what Romans 12:2 talks about. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Do not fear the process by which God will transform you for His perfect plan. So this week, I’d love for you to reflect and try practicing solitude. How do you do with solitude? What renewal are you seeking from the Lord? When is the last time you prioritized silence and stillness? Wait on the Lord today.

Shana Mason

Creative Coordinator

August 17, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 2
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 2 | Confession Search Me and Lead Me | Matthew Harvey "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" - Psalm 139:23-24 There's a moment in every serious relationship — with God, with a spouse, with yourself— where you stop asking to be comforted and start asking to be seen. Not seen as you'd like to be seen. Seen as you actually are. That's the move David makes in the final two verses of Psalm 139. "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxious thoughts. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." To understand why this prayer matters, you have to see where it comes from. The psalm opens with wonder: God has searched him, known him, hemmed him in behind and before. Every thought, every word before it's on his tongue — already known. That kind of knowing could feel invasive. Instead, David marvels at it. He can't outrun it either — heaven, Sheol, the far side of the sea, the deepest dark — there's no address where God isn't already present. And in the psalm's theological center, he remembers why this searching, present God is trustworthy: because this is the same God who formed him in the womb, knit him together, saw his unformed substance, and wrote out his days before a single one existed. Belovedness came before behavior. Identity came before performance. Then something shifts. Verses 19 through 22 turn hard toward the wicked — David wants nothing to do with those who rise against God, he counts them enemies. It's jarring after all that wonder. And most devotionals quietly skip past it, because it doesn't fit the warm, comforting tone of the rest of the psalm. But don't skip it. Because verse 23 only makes sense in light of it. David has just spent four verses pointing outward at wickedness in others. And then, almost as if catching himself, he turns the same searching language back on himself: "Search me... know my heart... see if there is any wicked way in me." That word "search" is worth slowing down on. In Hebrew, it's chaqar— pronounced khah-KAR. It's the same word for prospecting and mining: Job uses it for miners digging into rock and darkness, searching out ore "to the farthest limit." It's not a glance. It's an excavation. And here's what makes it land: chaqar is the very same word David used in verse 1 — "O LORD, You have searched me and known me." That's not incidental. Verse 1 is a statement of fact: You have already searched me. Verse 23 is a plea: Search me — do it again, do it now. The passive knowing of verse 1 becomes an active, invited excavation by verse 23. David isn't asking God to start something new. He's asking Him to keep doing what He's always done — except now David is the one opening the door, asking God to dig past what's presentable, down to what's actually buried. That's a dangerous prayer if you don't trust who's doing the digging. But David can pray it precisely because of everything established earlier in the psalm. The One searching his heart is the same One who knit him together before he had a heartbeat. This isn't a hostile inspector looking for a reason to reject him. God isn't searching your life looking for grounds to walk away — He's searching it looking for what needs to be healed, so He can lead you out of it. That distinction matters more than it might seem. Most of us resist being fully known because somewhere along the way we learned that exposure leads to shame. Say the true thing, and you'll be judged for it. So we manage what gets seen. We curate. We keep the anxious thoughts to ourselves, the wicked ways hidden, the real internal weather unreported — even in prayer. But David's prayer assumes something different: that being fully known is not the danger. Staying hidden is. Whatever's buried doesn't disappear because it stays private — it just keeps steering from the dark. The invitation to be searched isn't an invitation to condemnation. It's an invitation to correction, which is a form of care. And notice where the prayer ends. Not "and punish me." Not even "and forgive me," though that's implied. It ends with "lead me in the way everlasting." The goal of the digging isn't exposure for its own sake — it's direction. David isn't asking God to catalog his failures. He's asking to be walked somewhere. The searching is in service of the leading. That's the whole shape of a transformed life. It doesn't start with trying harder in the dark. It starts with opening the door and asking to be searched — not because you're confident about what will be found, but because you trust the character of the One doing the searching. So here's the application, plain and practical: where in your life have you been managing what gets seen instead of inviting God to search it? Is there an anxious thought you've kept off-limits, even in prayer? A pattern you've rationalized because naming it honestly feels too costly? David's prayer gives you a way back in. Not "fix me." Not "hide this from me." Search me. Know me. Dig deep. And lead me somewhere else. That's not a prayer of fear. That's a prayer of trust — the kind you can only pray once you know who's on the other side of the search. So as we bring our requests to God this week — as we believe Him for what's ahead — let's start there: be willing to let Him search you first.

Matthew Harvey

2026 Board Member

August 16, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 1
Week of Prayer & Fasting - Day 1 | Proclamation Pastor Rick Mason "And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." - Mark 11:22-24 As we begin our week of prayer and fasting with the focus on having faith for something, our emphasis today will be on the power of proclamation. From a biblical perspective, proclamation, confession, and to preach are closely related words. They all relate in some way to saying what God is saying. When we speak out loud what God has said or is currently saying, it sharpens our focus and helps to eliminate distractions. It activates our faith as our spirit, called the inner man in the Bible, hears our prayer. Scripture tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Even the centurion in Matthew chapter 8 understood this principle when he said to Jesus, “Speak the word only, and my servant will be healed.” He was well aware of the place of authority when words are spoken. Those spoken words carry tremendous power when there is authority to back them up. That’s where confession comes in and how it relates to proclamation. The word confession means to say the same thing as. In our case, it means we need to say the same thing that God is saying. When we confess with our mouth God’s Word, we position ourselves to receive the full backing and authority of Jesus. Hebrews 3:1 says that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession. If I don’t confess God’s word, there is no authority backing my words, no matter how forceful or how loudly I say them. If we remain silent on earth, we silence our Advocate in heaven. Therefore, the more we confess God’s promises, the more we release His high priestly ministry on our behalf. A key element in this process of proclamation is that we need the Word of God and the Spirit of God working together. In Genesis chapter 1 we see the Spirit of God moving and the word of God spoken and thus creation came into being. The Hebrew word “ruach” means spirit or breath. We need breath in our lungs in order to speak words. We cannot enunciate words without breath in our lungs. Outgoing air from our lungs pushes past our vocal cords so they can vibrate and with our mouth, tongue, and lips we produce words. In the same way, we need the Spirit of God to give us God’s words to proclaim. It is essential that we say (confess) what God is saying about a circumstance involving our personal lives. That is why Jesus could boldly say in Mark 11:23-24: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that these things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” How can He say that?! That is one very bold declaration! The key is found in the verse before. In Mark 11:22 Jesus says, “Have faith in God.” That’s where the confidence comes from, by saying what God is or already has said. A great example of a godly proclamation is when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were threatened by King Nebuchadnezzar. They refused to serve and worship the Babylonian gods and were threatened with being thrown into a furnace if they would not bow down to the foreign gods. Their response was very bold and decisive. In Daniel 3:16-18, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” They declared their faith in the true and living God of Israel. No matter how God answered their situation, they were going to put their full faith and trust in their God. Whatever you are believing God for this week as we seek Him through prayer and fasting, know that He will answer that prayer according to His perfect will for your life. As you proclaim the promises of God over your circumstance, rest assured that God will answer according to His perfect timetable concerning your life situation. We have the promise of Isaiah 55:11, which states, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Thanking God in advance for all that He is about to do in our lives and our church this week and the weeks to follow. Remember to hold fast to the promises of God by continually and consistently speaking them over your circumstance.

Rick Mason

Pastoral Support