REFOCUSING our PRIORITIES EVERYDAY!
October
17 Bible Reading: Mark Chapters 1-3
REFOCUSING our PRIORITIES EVERYDAY!
Now in the morning, having risen a long
while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there
He prayed. And Simon and those
who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him,
"Everyone is looking for You." But He said to them, "Let us go
into the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I
have come forth." (Mark 1:35-38)
Our Lord
Jesus was a very busy person after he started his public ministry, as he was
always surrounded by people who wanted to witness the various miracles that He
performed and hear the wonderful words of wisdom from his mouth. Even after
ministering the whole day, people would still come to him in the evening time
after the sun had set and bring sick and demon possessed people for healing (v.
32). In fact, he was so much in demand that Mark records in verse 33: "and the whole city was gathered
together at the door" where Jesus was. In order to avoid further
publicity, Jesus even told the healed individuals (1:43, 3:12) or, the demons
(1:34b) not to speak about Him. However, the news that Jesus was a healer
spread rapidly, and many sick and demon possessed came to Jesus and He healed
them all (v. 32-34).
In the midst
of such a busy schedule, Jesus rose up early in the morning before daylight,
and went to a “solitary” place and
spent time communicating to His heavenly Father. This was the time for Him to prayerfully refocus His priorities. This
is evident due to the fact that when His disciples came to Him and told Him
that everyone were looking for Him, Jesus wanted to move on to the other parts
of Galilee and reach other people in Judea as well. This new direction was only due to Jesus being able to refocus His
priorities through prayer!
Jesus saw
the need to gain inner refreshment, renewed intimacy with God, and strength for
facing the challenges before Him. He opened His ear each morning to receive
instructions for the day from God the Father about how He will accomplish His
work for that day. If Jesus felt the need
of this early morning quiet time, how much more should we! Notice too that
He prayed when it cost Him something; He rose and went out a long while before
daylight. Prayer should not be a matter
of personal convenience but of self-discipline and sacrifice. Through an
early morning prayer, we too can understand what God wants us to do during that
day, which in turn will help us to
refocus our priorities every day!
"The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away." (Isaiah 50:4-5)
