AND THERE HE PRAYED
Mark 1: 35-39 NKJV
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
Mark, the author of the book that has his name, was known to be related to Peter. Many believe this gospel comes from Peter’s perspective. This book is the shortest of the gospels and starts with John the Baptist instead of the birth of Jesus. From what we know of Peter’s personality, short and to the point makes sense. Mark covers a great deal of ground in the first chapter with the baptism of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus, and the calling of the four fishermen, of which Peter was one. This first chapter jumps into the early part of Jesus’ ministry, and it’s here that a phrase stood out to me. “And there He prayed.”
One of the fascinating things about reading the Scriptures is that different elements can be highlighted to you from a passage you may have read for years. When I saw the verse about Jesus getting up way before sunrise to pray, it spoke to me. I would think that if anyone could skip praying, it would be Jesus. But Jesus woke up early without an alarm just for the purpose of going aside to pray. If Jesus needed to make time to pray, how much more do we need to make time to pray? Jesus is more than our Savior; He is our example of how to live. And He thought that prayer and communication with His Heavenly Father was worth skipping some sleep.
Jesus, who had never given in to any fleshly desires, got up to pray. Jesus, who never sinned in any way, prayed. Jesus, who knew the Scriptures better than anyone, spent time in prayer. Jesus, who had more wisdom than Solomon, prayed. Jesus, who was anointed with the Holy Spirit so that people were healed just by touching Him, prayed. Jesus, who was full of compassion for hurting mankind, still desired to spend morning hours in prayer. With all this going for Him and He still made time to pray, speaks to us. We are not in the spiritual condition that Jesus was in. If He thought prayer was important, how much more important should prayer be to us?
Jesus must have received direction during this time in prayer. When His disciples found Him and relayed the news that He was the biggest thing going and everyone was looking for Him, it did not faze Him at all. He said it was time to go preach to the other towns because that was His purpose. Popularity was never His purpose. Preaching the gospel and revealing the Kingdom of God to those who sat in darkness was.
APPLICATION
I meet very few believers who feel as if prayer is not important. And yet, I also meet very few who acknowledge that prayer is a top priority in their lives. Maybe because we do not sense a big purpose for our lives. It’s so easy to get caught up with life and forget that God has a plan and purpose for all of us. Jesus had it right. Get up to pray and spend time with God, then go about your day. I can’t make the time of day a hard and fast rule. Some people are much more night folks. But if Jesus saw the need to pray, then how much should we?
Before we move into a new year, let’s purpose to spend some quality time praying about God’s plan and purpose for the days to come. If it was good for Jesus, it’s good for us.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done in my life in the upcoming year. Teach me to pray.