Depart and pray

08
Sep

Mark 1:35 – “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Jesus was a very busy man. Just the previous day, He taught in the synagogue, cast out an impure spirit and healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Just when He thought He could turn in for the night, the whole town gathered at the door and He spent the next several hours driving out demons and healing the sick. He must have been exhausted when He hit the bed that night. And yet, we see that He rose up very early the next morning, while it was still dark, to pray.

No matter how busy or tired Jesus was, He always made time to pray before He did anything else. And so must we. If we are too busy to fit a time of prayer into our schedules, it means we are too busy doing the wrong things. Take time to evaluate your daily schedule and make sure you set time apart to commune with God. Most preachers suggest early mornings because no one is likely to interrupt you at that time. No matter when you plan to pray, make sure you depart to a place where you cannot be disturbed and spend some quality time with your Creator.

Elisabeth Elliot says it best in her book Discipline: The Glad Surrender, “Time management, a highly developed science today, begins for the Christian with time set aside for God. Other things cannot fall into a peaceful order if this is omitted.”