We need to pray. We need to follow the example of our Lord Jesus who made prayer a priority. We will look at the passage of scripture that tells us about when Jesus got up very early and got off by himself to pray.
There was a cartoon where one praying mantis was talking with another and said, sure everyone thinks we pray, but how much do we really do it?
Jesus called out the Pharisees as hypocrites. They were merely play actors because they had the prayer postures down, but they were not really praying. Our example for prayer is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our passages tells us about Jesus in the activity of prayer.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” (Mark 1:35-37)
We notice a few things about how Jesus prayed from these verses and others that give us insight into how Jesus prayed. Jesus would get up early to pray. He would at times pray all night. Jesus agonized in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus prayed because he wanted fellowship with God. Jesus was as busy as anyone could be. All of his responsibilities could have kept him from prayer. This whole situation we are looking at now, where he rises early to pray, is a time when the crowds are looking for him. They are pouring in just to have a moment with Jesus. They are seeking his heavenly touch.
Jesus got up early that Sunday morning but think of all he had been through the previous day, Saturday, the Sabbath day. That day before Jesus taught in the Synagogue in Capernaum. It was on the previous day that he amazed the synagogue crowd with his teaching. While he was there at the synagogue a demon who possessed a man there cried out, I know who you are Jesus, you are the Holy one of God. Jesus cast out the demon from that man.
When they left the Synagogue, they went to the home of Peter’s mother-in-law. Peter’s wife’s mother was there with a fever and Jesus healed her. Then the crowds flooded the place.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door. 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. (Mark 1:32-34)
Those who give of themselves in ministry find that, like Jesus, they too become exhausted. After a very exhausting day like this Jesus got up early, while it was still dark, he departed from the home of Peter’s mother-in-law to pray. The emphasis is on how the time was early and the place was solitary. When he was all alone Jesus prayed there. Jesus needed to depart. Jesus needed to be alone. Jesus needed to pray.
For Jesus prayer was even more important than his needed sleep. It even says before he selected his disciples, he spent the whole night in prayer. He chose them with much prayer.
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke 6:12-16)
When Jesus was the most sought after by the crowds was the time that he most sought God in prayer. He did not wait until things slowed down for prayer, he made time in the most demanding of situations, to spend time in prayer as his priority. Keep in mind that prayer is your most valuable resource.
Peter and the other disciples that were there woke up and Jesus was missing from the house. He was already gone. They went out to find him and call him back. After all he was in demand. He was sought after. They may have thought Jesus was wasting precious time.
Jesus had need for a quiet communion with God. In his time alone praying he got new direction to go to new places. The obvious thing would be for Jesus to go back to where the crowds are. But he is sensitive to God’s leading him to the new places.
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:38)
When we get busy and when we have many demands pressing on us, then we need to be alone with God. This is what Jesus modeled. This matter of prioritizing time with God in prayer is throughout the New Testament. Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) We are told to pray on all occasions. (Ephesians 6:18)
There are some things we are told not to do in prayer like praying with meaningless repetition and drawing attention to ourselves when we pray, but we are to pray. We are to spend time in our “prayer closet”. Prayer unleashes the power of God. Prayer is a vital part of our Christian life.
We all need a daily pattern of prayer. Sometimes we also need an extended time of prayer. To be a praying church it means more than good attendance at prayer meetings. It means we are following the pattern of our Lord and really making time for solitary prayer along with our corporate time of prayer.
We need a dynamic individual prayer life and then corporately we will see power in our prayer time. Our church will be a house of prayer when we follow the model of Jesus to be people of prayer.
“Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? (Isaiah 56:7, Matthew 21:13, Luke 19:46, Mark 11:17)
It is exciting to get a renewed vision for prayer and plan to follow the example of our Lord to get up early and pray. It can be hard to get away alone, but it can be done. There are the stories of Suzanna Wesley the great prayer warrior, putting an apron over her head to get alone to pray when there were children all around her. When you sense our Lord is working in your life you need to pray.
There are other spiritual disciplines that are more tangible like bible study our witnessing or hospitality. You are to slip away and pray. Look how Jesus did that. When the disciples saw Jesus alone and praying, they did not really understand that. Now we know that prayer is our most valuable investment of time.
There are different ways Jesus prayed. He fell on his face in prayer. He looked heavenward and prayed. He slipped away to be alone. He prayed in public. He prayed in the morning. He prayed at night. He prayed before a meal. In the Lord’s prayer he instructed his followers on how to pray.
We need to be reminded often how much we need to pray. God created you for fellowship. You are fulfilling your purpose when you spend time alone with God in prayer. What does God expect from you when you pray? He expects humility and a sincere heart.
Prayer is the priority of the hour. I hope that you will get excited about your prayer life. When you develop your prayer life your whole walk with the Lord will be moved to a closer walk with God. Getting alone with God in solitary uninterrupted prayer helps you to see your situation from the Lord’s perspective.
Our time of concentrated praying will be a time for personal revival and spiritual renewal for us. To begin a vital prayer life, make sure you know Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord. Being born again is vital to everything spiritual with the Lord. Let Jesus be your model for prayer.
