35 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!” 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mark 1:35-39)
Over the last two days we focused on the importance of Bible Study. We now turn our attention to the Discipline of Prayer. As a reminder, our theme for our 40 Days of Discipline journey is: Be like Jesus.
Phillip Yancey is a noted author who recently wrote a book on prayer. Yancey’s publisher conducted a poll on the topic of prayer, and of the 678 respondents only 23 people (3 percent) felt satisfied with the time they were spending in prayer. This level of dissatisfaction is certainly not God’s prescription. So, today and tomorrow we will try to pick up some important pointers on prayer from Jesus.
Please read the passage above (Mark 1:35-39) and answer the questions below.
Today’s Questions:
- From the passage, what do you learn about Jesus and prayer?
- How does what you observe in the passage compare with what you observe for most Christians you know?
February 24, 2016 at 5:32 am
From the passage, what do you learn about Jesus and prayer?
How does what you observe in the passage compare with what you observe for most Christians you know?
Prayer allows us to establish a high level of relationshionship and communication with God like no any other discipline does.jesus has proved this beyond any doubt .
In the film: ‘WAR ROOM’, the importance of prayer was so apparent that we now know lukewarm attitude of our prayer lives cuts us off from communication with God.
Our attitude towards prayer determines our altitude in our relationship with God.
The survey sampled above is a testimony that most family altars have become lukewarm and cold and we need Gods grace to revitalize it.
The daughters of Zelosephad,five of them petitioned the law of the that established inheritance from a father who had died only to sons. Moses went up to the Lord on their behalf in prayers to the Lord, He agreed to their request and they got the inheritance.
Prayer is key in our Christaian race, we ask God to help us to keep faith with it in Jesus name. Amen.
Daniel
February 24, 2016 at 9:15 pm
Jesus took prayer very seriously. It was not a flippant action. The brief description of His movement tells us so much. He very easily could have waited until it was later in the morning or prayed in the house, but He was purposeful. He placed priority on making this time with the Lord alone, without distraction.
I am very blessed to know many Christians who make prayer a priority as well, and I use them as models in my prayer life.
February 24, 2016 at 10:16 pm
Thanks for these reminders of the power and prescribed priority of prayer!
February 24, 2016 at 11:37 pm
Before dawn, Jesus left the house to pray in a solitary place. One can extrapolate that he expected distractions at home so he tried to “get away from it all,” however, I find it ironic that the distraction(s) that He tried to avoid still presented themselves when His disciples found Him and told Him that the people were looking for Him. Jesus never saw this as a distraction but as fulfilling His mission by ministering to the people (preaching to them and healing them, casting demons out of those who were possessed). Jesus’ prayer preceded the powerful ministry that ensued in this episode. Even as the sinless Son of God and the Saviour of the world, He knew He had to pray!
It is important to remember Jesus’ example that He has set for us by praying. Most Christians I know do not make prayer their priority like Jesus did. No wonder we are not always as effective in our Christian ministry as we should be. Prayer provides power for service. We also need to spend quality time in prayer before the crowd starts rushing us or the activities start chasing us around the clock.