October 9, 2007
In Mark 1:35 we read, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed”.
Prayer! Prayer is a very real concern in my own personal life. There are many things in my spiritual life with which I am dissatisfied, not the least of which, is my prayer life.
A survey by Christianity Today reveals that the average Pastor prays only three minutes a day. Another survey showed that 93% of students preparing for the ministry in a well-known theological college confessed that they had no devotional life! My only comment to those statistics is that the curse of prayerless preachers is powerless pulpits and problem pews!
On the other hand, prayer should not only be the priority of ministers, but also the priority of the members as well! It should be the equal concern of both pastors and parishioners!
The context of Mark 1:35 is that Jesus had a very busy day and was in need of a long night’s rest. Yet God’s perfect servant considered it necessary to rise early the next day for prayer. In light of His example, we cannot excuse our lack of a daily quiet time on the grounds of a busy program! If Christ, the God-man, needed a regular prayer time, how much more you and I need a regular time of prayer each day!
When we speak of a specific period of time for prayer in our daily life, I am not overlooking the fact that prayer is both an attitude and an activity. There is a sense in which we should be living in the atmosphere of prayer moment by moment, throughout the day.
Jesus said, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Paul’s instructions were similar; “Pray without ceasing”. (I Thess. 5:17) We can pray while driving a car, jogging down the street, digging in the garden, or cleaning the house.
However, it must be a part of our devotional discipline to have a specific period of time for prayer in our daily program. For me, that must take place the first thing each morning.
The late Henry Ward Beecher said, “Let the day have a blessed baptism by giving your first waking thoughts to God”. Dr. Stephen Olford used to say, “If we want to pray well, we should pray early”.
May I encourage you to make time each morning to pray? Notice that I said, “Make time”, not “Take time”. Prayer must be a priority in our walk with Christ. We must make time to pray because we will never find time to pray. Prayer is a time of sweet communion and worship; a time of getting to know our Lord better and a time in which we get to know ourselves better.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews encourages us with these words from Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.
That is my prayer for you and everyone who attends SouthPoint Church. I hope each of us, every day, will go boldly and reverently to the throne of grace. I don’t know about you, but I need all need the mercy and the grace I can get.
Pastor David