Let’s be honest – we all don’t spend enough time in prayer and only give to God some quick points about how He should bless us, our families, and our plans. It’s almost as if we’ve reduced prayer to a spiritual commercial break in our real busy lives and are quite content to be telepathically texting Him with our urgent requests. It’s not a lot to go on, especially if we want to build up a strong relationship with our Creator. We may lament or reason that we’ve too much going on to effectively pray, but as our old preachers used to honestly chide us: if we’re too busy to pray, then we’re just too busy.
Jesus must have been one of the busiest people on the planet when He lived on Earth. Every day, He had lessons to teach, people to heal, problems to solve, and disciples to herd. I doubt very much that He had any real downtime to relax, lie on a couch, and sip some wine. People were always asking Him questions or pointing out His mistakes during meals, so how He managed to set aside some quality time to pray was a miracle in itself.
How Jesus did it was to get up early and be alone with God before the day’s work and struggles began. Simply put, He put God first before the scores of people who would soon come His way. Even in this passage (Mark 1:35-39), when Jesus has managed to find a solitary place to go and be with God, He is soon interrupted by His frantic disciples and the whole circus begins again.
It is said that the great reformer Martin Luther, whose days were equally full compared to Christ’s was once asked when he found time to pray with such a relentless schedule. Luther simply answered: “I get up an hour earlier before the work begins.”
I think this is the great secret to those who can really pray – they get up early and seek quality time with God to patiently present their thanks and requests, as well as their praises and petitions. Perhaps if we are constantly concerned with our world, both personal and global, we should also set aside an earlier time to pray about our situation, and then learn to quietly listen to God. I guess if it was good enough for Jesus, it should be more than enough for us as followers.
Point to ponder: When do I make time to pray?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You
taught us how to pray and why we should pray, but You also revealed to us when
we should pray. Encourage and enable all of us to quietly make time to talk to
You faithfully, fully, and effectively before our scheduled day begins. In Your
Holy Name, we ask. Amen.
John Stuart is a retired
Scottish pastor living in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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