Today’s Verses: 

“But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” Luke 5:16

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that He will receive what He will make known to you.” John 16:1-14

Devotional: 

We live in a world constantly fighting for our attention—distractions are everywhere. It can be hard to focus on God through all the noise. Perhaps the biggest distraction is the one we carry in our pocket every day. In fact, the average person spends over three hours a day on their smartphone! What if we decided to spend a small portion of that time each day listening and focusing on God?

Maybe your phone isn’t the biggest distraction to you, but we all have something that monopolizes our time and attention. If we become too focused on the temporal, we forget that God desires to be with us. Jesus didn’t live in the digital age, yet He still often withdrew to the wilderness to pray. He deliberately pulled away from the crowds and demands to spend time with God. Jesus’ example to retreat from the noise to commune with God serves as a reminder that God is still speaking—the question is, are we listening?

During this season, turn down the noise of the world to focus your life and attention on God. Take 15 minutes today to enjoy His presence—spend five minutes in prayer, five minutes in the Word, and five minutes in worship. Pray and listen for the voice of God. Like Jesus, let this become the wilderness part of your day, free from rushing and agendas, free from distractions and demands. The goal isn’t to check prayer and fasting off your list, but to create closeness with God and rhythm in your life that lasts well beyond these 7 days.

Question:

During your time of prayer and fasting, what distractions can you remove or minimize to focus on God?

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for your example of withdrawing in the wilderness to pray. Help me to minimize distractions and hear your voice. During this time of prayer and fasting, I pray that I would receive clarity and draw closer to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.