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In Mark Chapter 1 verses 12 and 13, before his ministry started, it says that He goes off to the desert and spends forty days alone with God " prays. Then his ministry launches. In the same Chapter, in verse 35 it says: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to be alone with God and pray. ''Mark 1: 35'' Before He chose the twelve disciples: He went to a mountain and spent the night in prayer. ''Luke 6: 12'' After He fed the 5000, He withdraws to be alone with God. When He hears the bad news about His friend, John the Baptist, He goes away to be alone with God. It`s true throughout His life right up to the time He`s going to go to the Cross. He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and brings some friends with Him, but He withdraws from them to be alone with the Father. All the time, He`s teaching His followers to do the same also. One time in Mark, Chapter 6, they`ve been in the middle of a really busy season, and Jesus pulls His followers aside, and He says to them: Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. ''Mark 6: 31'' I know that He says this to me. I don`t know how this translates for you, but for me it means that I need to spend some time alone with Him to get my mind in tune and my will surrendered each day. For me, the morning is the best time. Then sometimes, I need to spend some extended time with Him . . . a half-day or a day at least once a month. When I first thought about doing that, it was kind of a daunting thing. I thought: The next time I have a free day, I`ll spend it alone with God. Do you know how long I waited for that day to come? And then I had to write it down on a calendar. I was reading this week that if you live to be seventy years old or so, you will get twenty-five thousand days. You will have twenty-five thousand of these jars. It would be ironic to get to the end of them and say: God, I was never able to devote just a day to being with You, because there was always something else to do. By: John Ortberg
Category: Jesus as Praying: Taking time alone with God
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 | Windsurfing and Prayer |
Prayer is a little bit like windsurfing: I don`t know if you`ve ever done it, but you stand on this surf board in the middle of a lake, and then you pick up this big sail, and the moment the wind catches the sail is exhilarating, because a power much greater than you is propelling you through the water, faster and faster, and your job is just to hang on and have fun. That`s prayer. Prayer is when we raise our hearts to God, and his spirit catches us, and begins to propel us where he is going. That is the biggest adventure you`re ever going to have in your life. I`ve said before I believe the local church is the hope of the world. And if it`s the hope of the world it`s because of prayer. You see, prayer is not the spiritual equivalent of the chess club. It`s more like rugby. It`s where the battle is fought and won. Prayer is what sends the Devil running. Prayer is what mobilizes God`s people. Prayer is how we find out where God wants us to be in his grand adventure. Then things start to happen that are beyond all we could ask or even imagine according to the power that is propelling us, and we start to do things and go places that we never dreamed of before.By: Scott Dudley
Category: Jesus as Praying: Taking time alone with God |
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| Jesus prays |
After He heard about His friend, John the Baptist, He withdrew to a deserted place by Himself. After He fed the five thousand, where there was a rush of ministry success, we are told he "went up the mountain by Himself to pray." Luke speaks about this in a way that implies there`s a regular practice going on here: Jesus would withdraw to deserted places and pray. ''Luke 5:16'' He teaches His disciples to do the same thing. This is solitude. In solitude, I withdraw from people, noise, cell phones, beepers, pagers, faxes all the stimulation of life to be with God. I get away from all of the scaffolding in my life, all of my roles, all of the people who are either cheering me on or telling me where I ought to do something different. I get away from all of that to just be alone with God"to find out, Is there anything really just between God and me? I realize I have a Life. It`s way bigger than what I do. It`s way bigger than what anybody thinks of me. I have this Life. By: John Ortberg
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In Mark Chapter 1 verses 12 and 13, before his ministry started, it says that He goes off to the desert and spends forty days alone with God " prays. Then his ministry launches. In the same Chapter, in verse 35 it says: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to be alone with God and pray. ''Mark 1: 35'' Before He chose the twelve disciples: He went to a mountain and spent the night in prayer. ''Luke 6: 12'' After He fed the 5000, He withdraws to be alone with God. When He hears the bad news about His friend, John the Baptist, He goes away to be alone with God. It`s true throughout His life right up to the time He`s going to go to the Cross. He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and brings some friends with Him, but He withdraws from them to be alone with the Father. All the time, He`s teaching His followers to do the same also. One time in Mark, Chapter 6, they`ve been in the middle of a really busy season, and Jesus pulls His followers aside, and He says to them: Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. ''Mark 6: 31'' I know that He says this to me. I don`t know how this translates for you, but for me it means that I need to spend some time alone with Him to get my mind in tune and my will surrendered each day. For me, the morning is the best time. Then sometimes, I need to spend some extended time with Him . . . a half-day or a day at least once a month. When I first thought about doing that, it was kind of a daunting thing. I thought: The next time I have a free day, I`ll spend it alone with God. Do you know how long I waited for that day to come? And then I had to write it down on a calendar. I was reading this week that if you live to be seventy years old or so, you will get twenty-five thousand days. You will have twenty-five thousand of these jars. It would be ironic to get to the end of them and say: God, I was never able to devote just a day to being with You, because there was always something else to do.By: John Ortberg
Category: Jesus as Praying: Taking time alone with God
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