Mark 1:35 says, “Jesus went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” This dialogue must have been common among His friends:
“Has anyone seen Jesus?”
“Oh, you know. He’s up to the same thing.”
“Praying again?”
“Yep. He’s been gone since sunrise.”
Jesus would even disappear for an entire night of prayer. Prayer for most of us isn’t a matter of a month-long retreat or even an hour of meditation. It’s a conversation with God while driving to work or waiting for an appointment.
God will teach you to pray. We speak, He listens. He speaks, we listen. This is prayer in its purest form. God changes His people through such moments. May I challenge you?
Every day for four weeks, pray for four minutes.
Then, get ready to connect with God like never before!
I will never forget, when I was a kid, we had a pretty big game room in the house. When you walked into the room, there was a bar that you could stand behind to get drinks, ice, or whatever. For me though, it was my secret prayer spot. I would just sit or lay down behind the bar for periods of time to pray. I have no idea why I chose this place to pray. (Maybe it was my hide-and-seek spot at first.) Matter of fact, I am not sure why I prayed at all. We went to church, but I had no idea what I was really doing. I am sure my prayers sounded pretty funny to the Lord. (And they still may.) I did see my parents and grandparents pray though, so I guess it was important. We also prayed every night before we stuffed our faces with some great cooking. We prayed at the Methodist church when we attended. We even prayed when we were at weddings and funerals. So from a kid observer, from day one, I saw prayer was beneficial.
I want to leave you with something I am taking from Max Lucado’s devotional above. If Jesus prayed and He was the Son of God…I feel we should be praying too. It must have done something for Him that nothing else could replace or satisfy. This is why we see Him doing it all the time. Think about it. He was talking to the God of the universe. He was sharing His heart with His Father. He was seeking direction from His Counselor. He was receiving strength and power from His Lord. Here are just two of many that I find overwhelming:
Psalm 4:1 “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!”
Psalm 145:18-19 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.”
So, have you found your secret spot? Have you made time with Him today to go over tomorrow? You may say to yourself, “Troy, I do not know how to pray. I sound silly.” Can I remind you that God loves you and loves that you are just talking and listening to Him? With anything in life, you get better with practice. With the Lord though, He says in Matthew 18:2-3: “He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So just come as you are each day and he will be waiting.
Troy