Alone Time After Dinner with 5,000 Men
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. Mark 6:45–48 Read More
Notice the “immediately” up there again. Jesus sent everyone home full of fish sandwiches and it’s time for a little rest and another adventure. He has sent the disciples out alone before. They probably expect to meet Him in Bethsaida. All of the events of the day are over, and Jesus needs to go up to the mountain to pray.
It is so easy to pray while we drive, or pray while we fold laundry, or pray while we _____ which is great, and there is life in that. But sometimes we need to go up the mountain, alone, and just pray. We make fools out of ourselves and Jesus if we think we don’t need time for solitary prayer like He did. Even if all we do it sit in the car for a minute before going into work, or be still in a locked bathroom for an extra minute to pray, that time rebuilds and refreshes our bond with the creator of the Universe!
When Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, notice that it says what He saw. That was important enough to write and include in here. He saw that the disciples were having a hard time. They were making headway painfully, it says. When you take time away from people to pray, you will more easily see their struggles. God changes our vision when we pray to see someone in need instead of someone to fear or loathe.
Just like kids pick up sayings at a lock-in or men tell the same stupid jokes after a weekend of fishing, we pick up the language and the tone of the people we spend time with. When we spend time in solitude with the Lord, we pick up His compassion, mercy, care, and wisdom. Take some time away from the phone today to thank God for the work He has done in you, and see what He shows you in others.
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