Resilient People Know How to Be Still

[Resilient People Know How to Be Still]( Current Teaching Series [Strategies for Stressful Times]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Resilient People Know How to Be Still]( By Rick Warren — 12/14/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35 (NIV) The key to resisting stress is the very thing that many Christians do the least: spend time alone with God. And yet this spiritual practice is absolutely essential to building a resilient spirit and managing chronic stress. Prayer is a great stress reliever. It’s a decompression chamber, where you can release the stress of keeping up appearances and living up to others’ expectations. It’s how you unload your burdens and admit you can’t carry them on your own. It’s where you are reminded that God is ready and willing to help you with every stressful thing you experience in life. It’s cathartic. How do you develop a habit of spending time alone with God? Habits are developed through practice and repetition. It’s not a habit unless you do it over and over again, until it happens regularly and consistently. Jesus developed spiritual habits. The Bible says in Luke 22:39 that it was Jesus’ habit to leave Jerusalem and go across the valley to the Mount of Olives to pray. And Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (NIV). Jesus was convinced that, no matter how busy he was, he needed time alone with God to pray. Do you have any time like that in your life? Do you ever slow down and get quiet before God so you can reflect and be renewed? If you want to be a resilient person, then you have to develop the habit of spending time with God. While word spread about Jesus and huge crowds of people were coming to hear him speak, Jesus made time alone with God a habit. The Bible says, “Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray” (Luke 5:15-16 NCV). If Jesus felt the need to frequently leave the crowd and get alone with God, then think about how much more we must need that. Because noise often causes stress, you need to start your morning with God instead of with your phone, TV, radio, or social media feeds. Be still, be quiet, and be open to the work God wants to do in you make a habit of meditating on his Word and being in his presence. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - How do you need to change the way you think about spiritual habits or disciplines so that you are more motivated to practice them? - What keeps your body and mind from being quiet and still in God’s presence? - We’re often not willing to take the bigger steps that would make us more diligent in our quiet time. What do big steps look like for you? The post [Resilient People Know How to Be Still]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the Daily Hope Prayer Journal when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( God uses your generous support to reach people around the world with the hope of Jesus through Daily Hope—and for a limited time, your gift will be doubled thanks to a $100,000 Matching Grant! And we’ll say thanks for your generosity by sending you a powerful tool to give your prayer life a boost in the year ahead—the brand-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal! This year’s theme, Experiencing God’s Peace will help you tap into God’s power and presence as you discover the keys to praying with passion and purpose. 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[Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created [The PEACE Plan]( to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, PO Box 80448, Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688, United States