In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1:35–39
Was he purposely hiding? His friends hunted high and low for him and others frantically joined in the search. He was nowhere to be found.
Q. What IS he doing?
A. Praying, conversing with his Father.
Q. Why on earth does he of all people need to do that? He’s Jesus the greatest, God incarnate, our Messiah?
A. Because he entered history as a man, a servant, active, on the move, serving, healing, sacrificing, and saving. Constantly giving out, teaching, preaching, facing rejection at every turn, yet relentless, and desiring that all who heard his message would choose to follow him, and consequently know his Father. Vs 38. “This is what I came out to do”.
“In the morning while it was still very dark” – You know those dark night times when we lie in our beds churning, fretting, and feeling very alone, “how am I going to manage what’s ahead?’ It’s so encouraging to know that Jesus, the Messiah, Son of God, but also fully human, knowing the frightening path he had to take, found it absolutely necessary to come to his Father, quiet and alone, in prayer. Prayer - a ‘life line’ to his Father, for focus, nurture, guidance, quiet council, realignment, companionship, assurance, energy and impetus just for the next moment.
Matthew 11:27 - 28 (Message). Jesus says “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself. I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone ready to listen.---------Get away with me and you’ll recover your life--------learn the unforced rhythms of grace-------Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly…”
By regularly finding the time and place alone to chat with our Father, bringing our worship, our concerns, our thrills, our whole life really, to Him. This readies us to go out and live meaningfully and purposefully trusting He is with us through it all, because Jesus came to make it possible. Jesus, our perfect role model!
Nan Lewis
