by Henry Knapp
Prayer is like a hearty breakfast or regular exercise or flossing your teeth—Most people will readily acknowledge the importance of these actions, but making them a consistent part of your daily life is unexplainably difficult. Few people will object to the idea of prayer—The notion of communing with the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, who desires to express His love and who encourages our worship, is a delightful thing. In theory, speaking daily with God is a privilege that few would scorn.
And, yet…And, yet, so few of us are faithful in our devotion to prayer! It is rare to meet that one who is passionate and dedicated to spending solid time meeting with God on their knees.
What explains the inconsistency here? Fully acknowledging the importance, yet so tentative in execution?
Perhaps there is a latent doubt that prayer really is effective—that it makes any difference at all. We all, undoubtedly, have examples in our lives of praying fervently for something that never happened. Perhaps prayer is ineffective after all? Perhaps it is not something we need bother with?
Of course, the biblical decrees speak otherwise—“pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). The history of God’s people’s witness to the importance of prayer; godly men and women frequently commit to prayer. Even our innate sense of seeking after God testifies to our design to commune with our Creator. But, certainly, the best evidence for the importance of a dedicated time of seeking the Lord in prayer is found in the life of our Savior Himself.
The Gospel writers note how very frequently Jesus retreated to private prayer:
— After the feeding of the five thousand (Mark6:46)
— Before the selection of the twelve original disciples (Luke 6:12)
— Before Peter’s profession of faith that Jesus is the Christ (Luke 9:18)
— Preceding the transfiguration of Jesus before the disciples (Luke 9:28)
— Leading to His teaching the disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1)
— In Gethsemane before His betrayal, trial and crucifixion (Mark 14:32-41)
Of course, if the Savior Himself counted it important, yes, even essential enough, to seek dedicated time with the Father, how could it be any less for us?
The wrong way to be convinced to floss your teeth is after needing a root canal. The time to be dedicated to regular exercise is before you develop heart problems. Jesus did not seek His Father only at dramatic moments of His life—rather, His dedication to communing with God prepared Him in advance for His life of service, love and devotion.
Prayer is an expression of our dependence upon the goodness of God. The devotional author, Oswald Chambers said it well, “Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God.” Our Lord has paved the way, as we see again in this week’s text. Let us gather together on Sunday so we might worship and follow our Savior, Jesus, together.
In preparation for worship on Sunday, read Mark 6:45-52.
- Mark is clear that Jesus “immediately” sent the disciples to the boat after the feeding of the 5000. Why do you think it might have been important to do this “immediately”?
- Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray (vs. 46). Recall why Jesus is in this area to begin with. Look back at verse 31. What is the connection between the two verses?
- The “fourth watch of the night” (vs. 48) is about 4:00 in the morning. How long do you think the disciples have been on the water at this point? What might their state of mind be like?
- Why would the disciples think of Jesus as “a ghost” (vs. 49)? What other options might have been available to them?
- When Jesus speaks to them, list out the things that happen. Imagine the Lord speaking to you in the midst of your trials and storms. How might each of Jesus’ actions and effects here parallel something in your own life?