“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” (Mark 1:35)
As it is, it’s still dark outside while I write this. Irony? Perhaps. The dark of night is beginning to lighten and it will be morning before long. I can’t say that God woke me just so I could write this piece at the same time Jesus was up and praying. Rather, this verse has been rummaging through my mind for a few days now.
And really, I’ve been awake since 4 a.m., mostly because our newborn woke up for a feeding, and while he and my wife have fallen back to sleep, I found myself unable to do the same. Not unusual.
I toss, I turn, I try to relax, but something inside my brain says, “Time to get up!” while my body says “Really? Are you sure about that?”
Perhaps it’s just older age, probably related to the ups and downs of nighttime care of babies and children. Maybe even it is God saying, “Christopher, talk to me.”
You see, it’s only 35 verses into the first written account of Christ’s ministry here on earth, and Mark has already pointed out that the man (and God), just got up to pray while everybody else is still sleeping.
I must confess, I talk to God during these early hour mornings, but it’s most assuredly not the same conversation Jesus is having with His Father.
Me? It’s more of a laundry list of what’s running through my mind, then saying, “God! Help me fall back to sleep! Stop my mind from wandering!”
No, I can’t seriously believe that this is anything close to what Jesus is saying at this hour. In fact, we know it’s not. Asked one day by His apostles how to pray, this is what he said:
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13).
Sounds a lot different than my whiny “Help me get back to sleep, God!”
It’s not that I don’t pray. I do. Often throughout my day, I find myself in conversation with God. Sometimes it even sounds like the prayer above, what we know as the “Our Father.”
In it, Jesus gives us the basis for just about every prayer we should ever offer. He lays it out like this:
- First, acknowledge that you have a God who is greater than anything on earth or in heaven, and that He’s more than worthy of being called holy.
- Next, ask for the big picture, which for Christ followers is His glorious return where the earth will finally align with heaven and we are free of the sin that holds us back.
- Now ask God for your needs. But Jesus is clear, they should be limited to what you really need in life, not what you want. It’s about bread, not boats!
- Finally, Jesus reminds us that we live in a sinful world, and while we all carry around the hurt of someone sinning against us (we call it a grudge or offense), we’re sinners as well who need God’s forgiveness and His protection from further sin and evil.
Does your prayer sound like this? By laying it out like this, Jesus reminds us that our true problem generally is the fact that we’re too caught up in this world and its desires and not connected enough to Him. Let’s be honest, we know we’re not supposed to live this way.
Instead, we lament all that we don’t have, compare ourselves to other friends and neighbors, and never seem content with the fact that if when we just ask for our “daily bread,” God may actually give us what we need.
Start your morning with prayer like this, before anyone else has had a chance to put you in a mood, and Jesus basically promises you that your life will be forever changed. You’ll at least have a different outlook on life.
Good advice so early in the morning? Sounds like I should probably listen…