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Mark 1:35
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.
Mark 6:30-31
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Mark 9:30-31
30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples.
Luke 6:12
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 9:28
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
Luke 11:1
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place…
A mountainside. A mountaintop. A solitary place. Early in the day. All through the day. All through the night. Anyplace. Anytime. Jesus had a vibrant, free-flowing prayer life. He even had a “certain place,” which sounds like his usual breakfast place or coffee shop.
Jesus depended on prayer, rest, and solitude. Why then, do we insist on moving from one thing to the next with little regard for our own prayer, rest, and solitude? Why do churches reward staff for accomplishment and productivity and not for rest and solitude?
We will hear about the record number of students attending an event, but we won’t hear about the day off a youth pastor took for restoration and rejuvenation (whether because of the record-setting event or simply to create some solitude space). Our culture, be it American or church, doesn’t place premium value on non-producing activity.
If we are to emulate Jesus’ vibrant, free-flowing prayer life, we are going to have to carve it out ourselves, swimming upstream against church and cultural expectations. This may mean taking a few hits for having blocks on our calendar that are not dedicated to accomplishment and productivity. In Ephesians 3 Paul prays that his readers (that’s us!) have power to grasp the full dimension of Christ’s love. He doesn’t pray that we have power to perform miracles, or power to change the world. He prays for power to grasp love. Maybe that should be the sole subject of your next 10 prayer times.
We’re all familiar with Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Some Bible versions say “Cease striving.” This verse implies that our striving and lack of stillness will rob us of the most powerful tool in our spiritual arsenal: knowing that God is God. Apparently Jesus got this. And we should, too.
Jesus’ prayer situations at the top of this blog give us something specific and practical to imitate. Here’s an idea: Plan six prayer times that emulate the setting and timeframe of these prayer situations. Obviously if you’re not near a mountainside or a mountaintop (most of us aren’t) you’ll need to get creative in representing that location (e.g., the highest point in our city happens to be a church with an open field).
In fact, click here for an exercise you can try, either for your personal enrichment or with a group of students.
Here is a vlog version of this post: