Jenni Moeller's Reviews > Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence

One of my goals in 2023 is to tune out the voices of the world and be in tune with the Holy Spirit. I was hoping this book would help guide me through ways to do that. The audio book begins with an author interview where she states that she's a Christian and often with the subject of solitude comes other philosophies that are not Christian. She claims that she isn't taking an alternate path, however, by the end of the book she was talking about "true self" verses "essential self" and I was lost. Those ideals are most definitely not found in the bible, nor are they Christian terms. As the new age philosophies began spilling out I was disappointed.

The author does take a look at 1 kings and the story of Elijah hiding in the mountain waiting to hear from God. Also, when Elijah was exhausted from doing the work God gave him and sat beneath a tree where God nourished him with food and drink and rest. She compared our busy stressful world and the ways it wears us down to the fatigue Elijah was feeling. God met his physical needs and then his spiritual needs. Both are important. She drew from her personal experiences with life wearing her down and how her desperation lead her to seek solitude. I wish she had gotten into parts of scripture where we see Jesus going off alone to pray. He took time for solitude and prayer and I'd love to learn more about his example.

At the end of each chapter, she guides you through a time of silence and prayer. While I don't agree with her philosophy, this book did encourage me to take time to be silent before the Lord by sitting and listening or keeping a journal, and also to make time to get outside for nature walks- unplugged!, so that I can talk to him and also hear from him :) I'm not interested in long days of solitude that were mentioned in the book, but rather the small things that I can fit into my daily life.