12 Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean." 13 Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do choose. Be made clean." Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he ordered him to tell no one. "Go," he said, "and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them." 15 But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray. NRSV
The material below is from, ”A Year With God,” by Richard Foster.
"Each day of the next ten days, seek to do exactly what Jesus did. Withdraw to a place where you can be alone with God and use that time to pray. When possible, try to have these times of solitude immediately before or after times where you are around others. If it is an extremely busy time for you---especially if that is the case---work to create time to be alone with God, even if all you can manage is a solitary cup of coffee in the morning or a few moments of prayer in your car before you drive to work. Remind yourself that these times of solitude will nourish and refresh you. Perhaps you already set aside time each day to be with God in a place that is quiet and deserted. If so, perhaps you will want to challenge yourself to withdraw even more. For example, if you usually pray in a room in your house, perhaps you can try driving or walking to a park or a place where you can be almost certain that you won’t be interrupted. You might want to begin your time of solitude with this prayer from the Northumbria Community:
Here am I, Lord, I’ve come to do your will. Here am I, Lord, in your presence I’m still.
--Celtic Daily Prayer"
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