Letter for October 1987

Dear Friends,

How much time do you spend with the Lord each day? Probably you would have to confess, as I would, that you spend comparatively little time. It is not that we don’t know the importance of it, but somehow it gets crowded out.

These thoughts came to me white reading in Mark's Gospel, chapter 6 and verse 46. This verse reads as follow. “After leaving them Jesus went into the hills to pray”.

The context of this action of Jesus is interesting and challenging. Jesus had had a very busy day. He bad taught over 5000 people and then performed a miracle in feeding them with five loaves and two fishes. He must have been very tired. He sends his disciples ahead in a boat across Galilee to Bethsaida, but he stays behind, not to sleep, but to get away alone with God his Father and pray.

Here we have a characteristic of Jesus. Even though life was exceedingly busy and people were always demanding his attention, he still gave a priority of his time to getting alone with God. If time did not allow him to do everything apparently needing to be done, it was not prayer and communion with God that was left out. Prayer was a priority, and if some things had to be left undone, it must not be prayer.

No doubt there were many people ready to complain that Jesus was not giving them the attention they would have liked from him, as there will be people with us who will be ready to criticise if we do not do this or that. But this did not move Jesus if there was a choice between prayer and meeting these peoples demands. Communion with God came first. In fact the disciples were left alone in much fear, danger and difficulty, on the lake in a storm, while Jesus was praying. He saw them and went to their aid, but if he had not stayed to pray he would have been with them and saved them much earlier. Prayer came first with Jesus.

There are two reasons why this attitude of Jesus should be ours. First that in the apportionment of our time, God deserves and should have our first consideration, and that time to worship him and listen to him should be the first call upon our time. Jesus put the will of his Father first. We must put the will of God first and give him the first call upon our time.

The second reason is that without this time with God, we will not be able to cope with the demands and pressures of life. Jesus new that be could not cope with his great work on earth without the strength of God obtained by much communion with him.

Communion with God is the source of spiritual vitality and strength. It is as we wait upon God that we renew our strength. This communion with God strengthens and equips us for work we have to do for God in the world, and strengthens us to live for God as he requires.

We feel we have not got the time for prayer, but the paradox is that without prayer we will find we still haven’t time for everything, and that in what we do do, that we are unable to do it very well. But if we give time to prayer, the time left seems to go much further and more is done and done much better.

Prayer that Jesus engaged in was more than just asking God for things. It was spending time in his presence. It was listening to God, more than talking with God. In fact our talking to God will only be right, if it comes out of much listening to him.

May God give us all grace not only to learn the lesson from this example of Jesus praying, but also to practice the same prayer life.

Your servant for Christ’s sake,