Bible Lesson: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009

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Published: October 3, 2009

"In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”

— Mark 1:35

How would our lives be different if we began each day as Jesus began His day? Jesus’ followers knew His habits. And Mark especially noted that Jesus began each day with prayer "while it was still very dark.” The first thing Jesus did upon awakening was turn His thoughts to His heavenly Father, because the most important thing for Jesus was spending time with God. Jesus looked to His Father for the guidance and power to do His will for that particular day. The time Jesus spent in prayer helped Him determine His agenda for the day; for as Jesus told His disciples, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to complete the Father’s work” (John 4:34).

Notice, too, that Jesus made some effort to spend time alone with His Father. He awoke, left the comfort and warmth of His bed, and sought a lonely place to pray. In some sense, we see how Jesus sacrificed the daily comforts that others take for granted to spend time with God. Obviously, Jesus considered spending uninterrupted quality time with His Father each morning the most important way to begin each day.

Throughout the Gospels, we see the difference prayer made in Jesus’ life. Prayer never became a formality for Jesus to perform in the temple, a synagogue or on a street corner. Though He sometimes prayed in public and others heard Him, He longed to pray in quiet surroundings as soon as He could each day.

— L.G. Parkhurst Jr.

Send e-mail to lgp@prayersteps.org.