The Simplest Way to Be Like Jesus – Pray
[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. [36] And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, [37] and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” [38] And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” [39] And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Mark 1:35–39 ESV Read More
Jesus had a busy day for a Sabbath. He preached with authority, silenced a demon, then went to Peter’s house where He healed Peter’s mother-in-law and then healed the whole town after dinner. It is enough for anyone to want a break in their early morning.
Jesus went out and prayed until the disciples found Him. He was in a desolate place and spent the time there praying. So often we spend our quiet prayer time reading (like you are right now) or scrolling through Facebook (like I was doing for too long before I wrote this.) What if we made sure to spend some time praying? Some people sit and pray for a little bit every day. Some Mennonite men Pensecola, Florida roll out of bed and onto the floor on their knees to pray as soon as the alarm goes off. When Jesus went to pray, He didn’t take anything with Him to distract Him and He stayed there for a good long time.
One great way to get a little taste of this is with a 5 minute prayer time. Find a place and a way to not be interrupted and set a timer for 5 minutes. Spend part of that time praising God for how great He is and then be quiet. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. You’ll be surprised at first at how long that five minutes can be! At some point, you’ll be surprised at how fast five minutes goes by and you’ll want to pray longer.
After this time of prayer, Jesus was laser-focused on what He was supposed to do next. He wasn’t distracted when the disciples said “Everyone is looking for you.” Instead to going back and talking to “everyone” that heard Him yesterday, He set out for all of the unsuspecting people of Galilee. He knows from His time praying to the Father that the Father wants Him to move on.
Jesus did some great things after a time of prayer: choosing the disciples, walking on water, and going to the cross to die for our sins. It’s amazing that the single act that Jesus participated in the most that brought amazing results is not magical. It is an act that we can do too with all of the same tools. The Holy Spirit is here to lead us as we learn how to pray, as we are becoming people of prayer.
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