Some Thoughts
on Having Communion
Alone
With Jesus
By Grace Wiebe - April 2007
**all Scriptures from NIV unless otherwise stated.
Recently I had a wonderful couple from the local Healing Rooms (www.healingrooms.com) over to pray for/minister to me regarding physical healing.
As they were praying, one of the things they sensed that the Holy Spirit was wanting to encourage me to do was to take communion with Jesus on my own sometimes.
I found this interesting and confirming because I had been sensing, several times in the previous weeks, a desire to have communion but when friends would come over, I forgot to ask them if they would have it with me, or it didn't come up, or there wasn't enough time, or whatever.
I had not had communion in some months prior to that because I live alone and my health had been very poor this past year; therefore I'd not been out much or had many people over that I could have had communion with.
Since I had never had communion on my own, with the Lord, thinking it was something that we were only supposed to do with others - since that is the only way I've seen or heard of it being observed in the past - I wanted to check out for myself what the Bible had to say about this, and take it from there.
Shortly before this couple's visit, I had begun to do a bit of a study on the topic of banquets, feasts, etc. in the Bible, with regard to the verse in Psalms 23 about Him preparing a table before us in the presence of our enemies, etc.
In going through these Scriptures, further, about banquets and feasts, etc., and in asking the Holy Spirit to lead me to HIS answer about whether this was something I should consider doing alone with Him or not, I found that He was giving me answers which helped to confirm to me that it's not only okay to have communion alone with Jesus, too, but seems to also be encouraged.
There are additional dynamics as well as the symbolism and realities of the Body and LIFE TOGETHER in Christ when we take communion together as a Body, which are absent to some degree - physically, though spiritually it is still a reality) if we're doing this on our own with Jesus. Since the Lord's Supper was actually a meal that the Body partook of together in the New Testament, not engaging with others in the Body for this, at times, when we sense the Holy Spirit leading us to have supper together with Him on our own, in some ways misses out on the corporate aspect of the Lord's Supper.
In praying for God's answer for me for this, and in my checking out what the Bible says, I found that usually the Bible seems to talk about banquets and feasts. Generally, I assume banquets and feasts are more of a thing that happens with more than just two people, so there is that...our normal view of the Lord's Supper taken together with others in the Body.
HOWEVER, I began noticing something in several of these passages:
Psalm 23: 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your
staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies.
Clearly this is talking about just him and God cause he's
saying "me" and "my"
and not "us" and "our".
Then there's:
Song of Solomon 2:4 - He has taken me to the banquet hall,
and his
banner over me is love.
Amplified: 4He brought me to the banqueting house, and
his banner over
me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over
my head when I was near him].
Although He is bringing His beloved, here, to His banqueting
house, the
following picture sounds very intimate - as is the story in the Song
of Solomon - so that is interesting. I love the way it puts it below!
The Message: Song of Solomon 2:4
The Woman
3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,
my lover stands above the young men in town.
All I want is to sit in his shade,
to taste and savor his delicious love.
He took me home with him for a festive meal,
but his eyes feasted on me!
Then there's also:
Revelation 3:20 - Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone
hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him,
and he with me.
Again, both times, a personal, intimate visit, sharing
a meal and having
fellowship - to me this is definitely a picture of communion with Jesus in
the 'alone'
context...not only on a spiritual level but perhaps on a physical level as
well…
And then there's the story of Mephibosheth, and although he is invited to always eat at David's table and even though others are also dining together, clearly there is a focus, here, on the relationship of David's personal favour to Mephibosheth in inviting him to his table, etc.
In the story of 'the Prodigal Son' (or the Heart of the Prodigal's Father), I also imagine that when the Father prepares the feast to welcome his son back home, his son was probably sitting right beside him at the head table; and that although there were others there, the Father's focus and the son's focus were most likely on each other - I imagine they hardly realized anyone else was there!
Therefore, in taking all of these together, it seems to me to include the picture of both 'types' of communion - the kind where we fellowship with others as we share the Lord's Table together, and the part where we also basically have it alone with Jesus, even though we are also still part of the Body.
What do believers do who are isolated or are being persecuted and not able to fellowship with or share in the Lord's Table together with other believers? I suspect that many have experienced this additional way to have intimate fellowship with Jesus over the years.
From the above, I feel that the Lord is encouraging me that 'for everything there is a time and season'…and although most of our seasons may be to enjoy the Lord's Table with other believers, there may be seasons when He desires to have us enjoy His Table with Him alone, for His own reasons.
So for me, I feel that the Holy Spirit is letting me see that having the Lord's Supper alone with Him is another part of the whole picture...helping it to become more meaningful to us by actually 'taking communion' with Him so our senses and vision are more focused on the reality of that on a deeper level of intimacy with Him.
Anyway, some thoughts... Your thoughts? Please reply to:
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