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The Praying Lord
Read Mark 1:21–35 and Luke 4:31–42. What lessons can you learn about His habits of prayer? What should this say to us about our need to pray?
Jesus is found going to the synagogue on that Sabbath in Capernaum, teaching the Scriptures to an amazed group of people who recognized His authority and healing a demon-possessed man. After the meeting, Jesus and His disciples went to the house of Peter and Andrew, and there He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. At sunset, many (“the whole town” [Mark 1:33, NIV]) congregated around Jesus and brought all sorts of ill and demon-possessed to be healed.
“Never before had Capernaum witnessed a day like this. The air was filled with the voice of triumph and shouts of deliverance. Not until the last sufferer had been relieved did Jesus cease His work. It was far into the night when the multitude departed and silence settled down upon the home of Simon.”—Ellen G. White, Lift Him Up, p. 86.
That must have been an exhausting day for Jesus. However, He did not sleep late the next morning. He needed to be in communion with His Father; so He got up before dawn, went to a solitary place, and spent time in prayer. Jesus, the Son of God, He who had been with the Father before the world began (John 17:5), He who had created the entire universe (John 1:3), nevertheless felt the need for prayer? The concept is remarkable.
After stressful days, we tend to postpone prayer and communion with God. But it is precisely during those moments of psychological drain that we most need the soothing balm of prayer and time in the Word of God. Jesus knew this and practiced consistent closeness with His Father. If this was necessary for Jesus, how much more should it be for us?
Prayer is a positive factor in well-being and mental health. However much we don’t understand about prayer, about how it works or even about why it works, we are admonished to pray (Luke 18:1, 21:36, Rom. 12:12). Who, spending time in communion with the Lord through prayer and reading the Word, hasn’t felt the positive impact this can have on our spirit and mind? We don’t have to understand all the mysteries of prayer in order to know how crucial it is to have a close relationship with God.
What kind of prayer life do you have? How much time do you spend in the Word of God? What are ways you can make your devotional time more meaningful and life-changing? However important that we spend time in prayer and reading the Word, time alone isn’t the only element. What other factors are needed?
| SUNDAY | March 20 |
Read Mark 1:21–35 and Luke 4:31–42. What lessons can you learn about His habits of prayer? What should this say to us about our need to pray?
Jesus is found going to the synagogue on that Sabbath in Capernaum, teaching the Scriptures to an amazed group of people who recognized His authority and healing a demon-possessed man. After the meeting, Jesus and His disciples went to the house of Peter and Andrew, and there He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. At sunset, many (“the whole town” [Mark 1:33, NIV]) congregated around Jesus and brought all sorts of ill and demon-possessed to be healed.
“Never before had Capernaum witnessed a day like this. The air was filled with the voice of triumph and shouts of deliverance. Not until the last sufferer had been relieved did Jesus cease His work. It was far into the night when the multitude departed and silence settled down upon the home of Simon.”—Ellen G. White, Lift Him Up, p. 86.
That must have been an exhausting day for Jesus. However, He did not sleep late the next morning. He needed to be in communion with His Father; so He got up before dawn, went to a solitary place, and spent time in prayer. Jesus, the Son of God, He who had been with the Father before the world began (John 17:5), He who had created the entire universe (John 1:3), nevertheless felt the need for prayer? The concept is remarkable.
After stressful days, we tend to postpone prayer and communion with God. But it is precisely during those moments of psychological drain that we most need the soothing balm of prayer and time in the Word of God. Jesus knew this and practiced consistent closeness with His Father. If this was necessary for Jesus, how much more should it be for us?
Prayer is a positive factor in well-being and mental health. However much we don’t understand about prayer, about how it works or even about why it works, we are admonished to pray (Luke 18:1, 21:36, Rom. 12:12). Who, spending time in communion with the Lord through prayer and reading the Word, hasn’t felt the positive impact this can have on our spirit and mind? We don’t have to understand all the mysteries of prayer in order to know how crucial it is to have a close relationship with God.
What kind of prayer life do you have? How much time do you spend in the Word of God? What are ways you can make your devotional time more meaningful and life-changing? However important that we spend time in prayer and reading the Word, time alone isn’t the only element. What other factors are needed?
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