“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35
When considering anything in the spiritual life, especially that which has eternal ramifications or effects, our example and enablement is a Person, the Lord Jesus. This is so because of the humanity He bore, with its limitations and needs, and yet, though His feet would walk on this earth, and He would be subject to the temptations and needs of us all, He remained spotless, without blemish with regard to His fellowship or communion with the Father. When it came to this matter of communion with God the Father, He gave us a pattern to follow, clear instruction, and then the promised enablement to follow Him in it.
In Mark’s gospel, we find that though He was totally committed to His ministry, calling His disciples one by one, preaching and teaching to the multitudes, casting out demons and healing those in need, He did not neglect quiet, alone time with His Father. There was nothing so precious, and worthy of His attention and endeavor, than to meet His Father in the morning. In one sense, the entirety of His ministry and ultimate work accomplished on the Cross, has its cause and fulfillment in one thing, communion with God. This was primary, without which faith could not be maintained, and every obstacle overcome.
Christ’s teaching on prayer in this regard is very clear and simple, as we discover it in Matthew’s gospel. He said the following: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (6:6) Jesus instructs His disciples in prayer by revealing to them that prayer is an individual matter between God and the believer. This is not to say that the believer is not to pray with others, nor in public, but the essence of prayer is communication with God, that heart to heart meeting with Him. Every endeavor in the life of the believer is born out of this “meeting in the morning,” or that individual, alone meeting with God. Why is this so? In Luke’s gospel, we find written where, “…men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” (18:1) Prayer is the lifeline to heaven, that provision of God by which a sinner seeking God, or a saved believer, can approach God, and find Him. For the unbeliever, it is a call for mercy that the God of salvation in Christ would save him. To the believer, because of saving faith which has brought about peace with God, it is an access into the very presence of the Father, there to worship, wait upon Him to know His will, or His word to him, or to draw nigh to intercede for that which is upon the heart of God. The call to pray is God’s command, and blessed provision, to KNOW Him, receive from Him all that pertains to life and godliness in Christ. It is both a place and attitude of heart, by which one comes to God, and receives from Him, the blessed life-giving Spirit of Christ, and all that is good to have in order to give. As to fainting if one does not pray, there are two reasons, the first of which is that prayer is first a call to worship God alone, honestly and openly seeking Him to find Him according to His promise. Out of that true worship of God in Spirit and truth, there is born faith. As one seeks God in His word, faith comes when God speaks to the heart by the living word. The worship of God in truth means taking God at His word concerning all that is true of Him. The second reason is that prayer is the means by which God gives Himself, and His power to strengthen the believer. The prayerful man prays and receives that which is needful and good.
Dear Father, Strengthen us today to pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.