“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12)

Intentionality is an idea that gets drilled into our heads as a Christian culture—having a point of conversations and relationships, making that extra effort to intentionally love someone or make them feel cared for. It’s a great teaching to know and live out.

But this can get exhausting and even overwhelming. Always being surrounded by people may sound nice for a while, but if you are always going, you may miss the one intentional relationship that is the most important.

Our love for our Heavenly Father is crucial to our walk as believers. It is only when we are able to be filled up with this sacred time with God that we are able to pour out all we are to those around us.

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16).

This verse carries a certain mystery yet a familiar humanity to it.

The verses that precede Luke 5:16 say that Jesus was gaining popularity among the sick and broken, that people flocked to Him. They wanted healing and to hear Him preach. They witnessed the result of His miracles and they wanted a bit of whatever He had. Jesus was outpouring His love to everyone around Him.

Even Jesus needed time to retreat and pray. In the middle of brokenness and people begging for His attention, Jesus prayed. Alone, He found Himself spending this special time with the Father. Jesus spent years in ministry, constantly pouring out to the people around Him. However, in the midst of constant ministry, Jesus retreated and prayed.

In the middle of the chaos of life, we need to take this as a lesson. When we are overwhelmed with this idea of pouring ourselves out to other people, the most important piece is probably missing.

So whether it is getting up an hour earlier or spending that break time between classes alone, find some time in the craziness of the week to be filled and spend time in the presence of your Heavenly Father.

Find more inspiration by catching up with our Weekly Devotionals.