Hitbodedut

So today, I needed to make a greater connection with God and I went to a beautiful park, north of Indianapolis to do Hitbodedut.  What is hitbodedut?  It's the act of being alone with God, talking with Him about EVERYTHING that's on your mind, and listening for the answer. Hitbodedut is a Hebrew word and seemingly a Jewish concept.  But it is for everyone, at all times. It was emphasized by a great rabbi of the late 17- early 1800's - Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. 


However, it was the basis for Jewish prayer for all the patriarchs. As a believer in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), it is clear that not only did He practice Hitbodedut, but also encourage it.

After sending the crowds away, He went up on the hillside by Himself to pray.

When evening came, He was there alone. Matthew14:23

In the morning, while it was still very dark,

Jesus got up and went to a deserted place and prayed there.

Mark 1:35 

After saying goodbye to them,

He went up on the hillside to pray.

Mark 4:46

At daybreak He left and wen to a deserted place,

and the crowds kept looking for Him.

Luke 4:42

However, He continued His habit of going away

to deserted places and praying.

Luke 5:16

One day while Jesus was praying privately

and the disciples were with Him,

He asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

Luke 9:18

Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray.

He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12

So then, where are we encouraged to keep this practice?  First of all, Jesus was our Rabbi (teacher) and He led us by example. For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. I Peter 2:21 

However, in the Sermon on the Mount, He admonished us: Whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is in secret. And your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6:6 

About two years ago, I was blessed to stumble across a group of Breslov Hasidic Jews who are spending hours each day talking to the Father. The Rabbi teaches from the Torah and also words of Rebbe Nachman the importance of daily fellowship with the Creator. 

I encourage you to learn this practice.  We often make prayer such a holy thing, that we put off doing it.  Prayer is a holy thing, but we should make it part of our daily life.  Whether it's in a field, a forest, your closet, your backyard, a religious structure, or just driving down the road in your car.  God is everywhere and He is always ready to hear from you.

I find that when I'm out in nature, whether hiking up hills or beside a babbling stream or just walking in a deserted meadow, God is right there and whatever I ask, He is already answering.

My father loved to spend hours at the back of a pasture, beside a rushing creek.  Whenever he would be unable to go a church on Sunday morning, he would go to the pasture to pray.  I remember one Sunday he came home and told me he was late for church. I was a little bewildered because I knew he didn't go to church that day. But I asked him anyway why he was late.  He told me, "The birds were already singing when I got there."  I knew exactly how he felt as I walked through the forest, this morning.  God was already there and the birds were already singing.  It reminded me of the old Hymn, "When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees..."

God is not some far-off mythological being that is so remote and distant from our current state of being. He is right here with you, desiring communion and fellowship, just as Adam who first walked with Him in the Garden.