Left alone!” What different emotions these words bring to mind for each of us! To some they mean loneliness and grief, but to others they may mean rest and quiet. To be left alone without God would be too horrible for words, while being left alone with Him is a taste of heaven! And if His followers spent more time alone with Him, we would have spiritual giants again.

Our Master set an example for us. Remember how often He went to be alone with God? And there was a powerful purpose behind His command, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray” (Matthew 6:6).

The greatest miracles of Elijah and Elisha took place when they were alone with God. Jacob was alone with God when he became a prince (Genesis 32:28). In the same way, we too may become royalty and people who are “wondered at” (Zechariah 3:8 KJV). Joshua was alone when the Lord came to him (Joshua 1:1). Gideon and Jephthah were by themselves when commissioned to save Israel (Judges 6:11; 11:29). Moses was by himself at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1–5). Cornelius was praying by himself when the Angel of God came to him (Acts 10:1–4). No one was with Peter on the housetop when he was instructed to go to the Gentiles (Acts 10:9–28). John the Baptist was alone in the wilderness (Luke 1:80), and John the Beloved was alone on the island of Patmos when he was the closest to God (Revelation 1:9).

Earnestly desire to get alone with God. If we neglect to do so, we not only rob ourselves of a blessing but rob others as well, since we will have no blessing to pass on to them. It may mean that we do less outward, visible work, but the work we do will have more depth and power. Another wonderful result will be that people will see “no one except Jesus” (Matthew 17:8) in our lives.

The impact of being alone with God in prayer cannot be overemphasized.

If chosen men had never been alone, In deepest silence open-doored to God, No greatness would ever have been dreamed or done.

It is certainly unnecessary to say that turning conviction into action requires great sacrifice. It may mean renouncing or separating ourselves from specific people or things, leaving us with a strange sense of deprivation and loneliness. Therefore the person who will ultimately soar like an eagle to the heights of the cloudless day and live in the sunshine of God must be content to live a relatively lonely life.

There are no birds that live in as much solitude as eagles, for they never fly in flocks. Rarely can even two eagles be seen together . And a life that is dedicated to God knows divine fellowship , no matter how many human friendships have had to be forfeited along the way .

God seeks “eagle people,” for no one ever comes into the full realization of the best things of God in his spiritual life without learning to walk alone with Him. We see Abraham alone “in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities . . . near Sodom” (Genesis 13:12). Moses, although educat ed in all the wisdom of Egypt, had to spend forty years alone with God in the desert. And Paul, who was filled with all the knowledge of the Greeks and who sat “at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3 KJV), was required, after meeting Jesus, to go immediately “into Arabia” (Galatians 1:17) to learn of the desert life with God.

May we allow God to isolate us, but I do not mean the isolation of a monastery . It is in the experience of isolation that the Lord develops an independence of life and of faith so that the soul no longer depends on the continual help, prayers, faith, and care of others. The assistance and inspiration from others are necessary , and they have a place in a Christian’ s development, but at times they can actually become a hindrance to a person’ s faith and welfare.

God knows how to change our circumstances in order to isolate us. And once we yield to Him and He takes us through an experience of isolation, we are no longer dependent upon those around us, although we still love them as much as before. Then we realize that He has done a new work within us and that the wings of our soul have learned to soar in loftier air .

We must dare to be alone, in the way that Jacob had to be alone for the Angel of God to whisper in his ear, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel” (Genesis 32:28); in the way that Daniel had to be left alone to see heavenly visions; and in the way that John had to be banished to the Isle of Patmos to receive and record “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him” (Revelation 1:1).

He has “trodden the winepress alone” (Isaiah 63:3) for us. Therefore, are we prepared for a time of “glorious isolation” rather than to fail Him?

If you saw one of the intimates of the King on his knees, you would marvel at the sight. Look! He is in the Audience Chamber. He has a seat set for him among the peers. He is set down among the old nobility of the Empire. The King will not put on his signet ring to seal a command, till his friend has been heard. “Command Me,” the King says to him. “Ask of Me,” He says, “for the things of My sons: command the things to come concerning them!”

And, as if that were not enough, that man-of-all-prayer is still on his knees. He is wrestling there. There is no enemy that I can see, yet he wrestles like a mighty man. What is he doing with such a struggle? Doing? Do you not know what he is doing? He is moving Heaven and earth. He is casting this mountain, and that, into the midst of the sea. He is casting down thrones. He is smiting old empires of time to pieces. Yes, he is wrestling indeed.

ALEXANDER WHYTE

Break through to God, He fully understands Thou art in His dear Hands, To fulfill all His commands, Break through to God! Break through to God, Be dauntless, faithful, strong, E’en though the fight is long, Raise to Him the victor’s song, Break through to God. Break through to God, Though thy heart may quail, And the foe may rail, Calvary’s victory shall not fail, Break through to God!

Looking back over the Welsh Revival about 1904, the Revelation Seth Joshua wrote: “The secret of the Lord was with many even before the blessing came. I know a man, who, for five years, was carried out by the Spirit, and made to weep and pray along the banks of a Welsh river. At last the travail ceased, and calm expectation followed the soul pangs of this man about whom I now write. He lived to see the answer to his heart-cries unto the Lord. He was present in the services in which the first historical incidents took place.”

Break through to God!

In this passage, God is wrestling with Jacob more than Jacob is wrestling with God. The “man” referred to here is the Son of Man—the Angel of the Covenant. It was God in human form, pressing down on Jacob to press his old life from him. And by daybreak God had prevailed, for Jacob’s “hip was wrenched” (v. 25). As Jacob “fell” from his old life, he fell into the arms of God, clinging to Him but also wrestling until his blessing came. His blessing was that of a new life, so he rose from the earthly to the heavenly, the human to the divine, and the natural to the supernatural. From that morning forward, he was a weak and broken man from a human perspective, but God was there. And the Lord’s heavenly voice proclaimed, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome” (v. 28).

Beloved, this should be a typical scene in the life of everyone who has been transformed. If God has called us to His highest and best, each of us will have a time of crisis, when all our resources will fail and when we face either ruin or something better than we have ever dreamed. But before we can receive the blessing, we must rely on God’s infinite help. We must be willing to let go, surrendering completely to Him, and cease from our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness. We must be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) and yet alive in Him. God knows how to lead us to the point of crisis, and He knows how to lead us through it.

Is God leading you in this way? Is this the meaning of your mysterious trial, your difficult circumstances, your impossible situation, or that trying place you cannot seem to move past without Him? But do you have enough of Him to win the victory?

Then turn to Jacob’s God! Throw yourself helplessly at His feet. Die in His loving arms to your own strength and wisdom, and rise like Jacob into His strength and sufficiency. There is no way out of your difficult and narrow situation except at the top. You must win deliverance by rising higher, coming into a new experience with God. And may it bring you into all that is meant by the revelation of “the Mighty One of Jacob” (Isaiah 60:16)! There is no way out but God.

At Your feet I fall, Yield You up my all, To suffer, live, or die For my Lord crucified.

Napoleon was once reviewing his troops near Paris. The horse on which he sat was restless, and the Emperor having thoughtlessly dropped the reins from his hand in the eagerness of giving a command, the spirited animal bounded away , and the rider was in danger of being hurled to the ground.

A young private standing in the lines leaped forward and, seizing the bridle, saved his beloved Commander from a fall. The Emperor , glanc ing at him, said in his quick abrupt way, “Thank you, Captain.” The private looked up with a smile and asked, “Of what regiment, sir?” “Of my guards ,” answered Napoleon and instantly galloped to another part of the field.

The young soldier laid down his musket with the remark, “Whoever will may carry that gun; I am done with it,” and proceeded at once to join a group of officers who stood conversing at a little distance. One of them, a General, observ ing his self-possessed approach, angrily said, “What is this insolent fellow doing here?”

“This insolent fellow ,” answere d the young soldier looking the other steadily in the eye, “is a Capta in of the Guards.” “Why , man, ” responded the officer, “you are insane; why do you speak thus?” “He said it,” replied the soldier, pointing to the Emperor , who was far down the lines. “I beg your pardon, Captain,” politely returned the General, “I was not aware of your promotion.”

To those looking on he was still a private, dressed in the coars e rough garb of a common soldier; but in the bold assertion of his dignity , he could meet all the jeers of his comrades and all the scoffs of his superiors with the ready reply , “He said it.”

He said it! He said it!

By his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him.

Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Lord, increase our faith.