Good Monday Morning,
One of the most intriguing things about Jesus that you find as you read the gospels is that Jesus had a time for prayer. The gospel writers state that Jesus would often retreat to a quiet or deserted place and pray. Luke 11:1 says, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'”
What a great request that is — “teach us to pray.” It’s been said that prayer is the soul’s grandest avenue into the presence of God. The gospel of Mark reveals that, “very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Have you found it makes a difference in your day when you begin it earnestly seeking God’s presence and guidance? A long time ago, I found this poem and I’ve never forgotten it:
I met God in the morning, when the day was at its best,
And his presence came like sunrise, like glory in my breast.
All day long the presence lingered, all day long he stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness o’er a very troubled sea.
Other ships were blown and battered, other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them brought to us a peace and rest.
Then I thought of other mornings, with a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings, with his presence left behind.
So, I think I know the secret, learned from many a troubled way,
You must seek him in the morning if you want him through the day.
The disciples saw in Jesus that which was so like God and they wanted it, too. If our Lord did not have morning time with his Father daily, he did have some time. Don’t miss developing the discipline of a designated time each day to spend in prayer with our Lord, whether it be morning, noon, evening, or night. Nothing can replace it!
Develop a time for prayer,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
