READING: Matthew 4, Luke 4-5, John 1:15-51
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: I wish I prayed like Jesus prayed. He simply got alone with the Father, spending time in fellowship with Him (Luke 4:42, cf. Mark 1:35). The prayer text in today’s reading that most grabs me, though, is Luke 5:15-16 — “But the news about Him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.”
The crowds came to Jesus. They wanted to hear Him preach. They brought their sick to Him. He had the power to heal them. He had come to earth because He loved these very people gathering by the numbers around Him — and still He pushed away from the crowds, withdrew, and spent time with the Father.
I really do wish I prayed this way. My fear is, though, that if the crowds gathered to hear me preach and brought their sick to me (that is, if I had the ability to heal them), I would do ministry first and then pray if I had leftover time and energy. That’s backwards, of course.
And, it explains one reason why sometimes I wear out in the work of the Lord.
Maybe it explains something for you, too.
ACTION STEPS: Find time today to get alone with God, even if it means withdrawing from the crowds, the meetings, and the work.
PRAYER: “God, I’m guilty of doing first and praying later. Forgive me. Change me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: John 2-4
