In our increasingly busy world with all our modern communication systems, such as the mobile phone, which appears to be permanently fixed to peoples ears all day long. It seems rather odd that one of the fastest growing problems in our villages, towns and cities, is loneliness. People assume that loneliness only affects the elderly and whilst it is true that elderly people do feel lonely sometimes, this is a problem that has no age barriers and affects both young and old alike. There are many different kinds of
loneliness, for instance you can feel alone at a crowded party when you suddenly realise that everyone else except you, seems to be talking and laughing with someone else and having a good time. You can sometimes feel terribly lonely inside a relationship or a marriage, because you feel that even those who are closest to you don’t seem to listen and fail to understand how you are feeling. You can of course feel lonely simply because you haven’t made the effort to try and make new friends, which sometimes isn’t always easy if you are a shy nervous person and not very outgoing.

You would think that living in a large city with all the leisure activities on hand would solve the problem, but research has shown that living in a busy city is no protection against loneliness. It is in fact among large groups of people, as opposed to small groups in villages that loneliness is most widespread. Today, loneliness is a problem that will have to faced by many of us in our daily lives and although prayer is no substitute for a good friend, we have to remember that Jesus is also our good friend. Praying and passing on our worries to a God who understands, can also sometimes help us through our difficulties.

On the night of his betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus also went through an experience of intense loneliness. He told his disciples, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

“Loneliness, is knowing what you are looking for and not being able to find it anywhere but in yourself.”