Verse of the Day 3/27

 

Luke 5:16   So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.   New King James Version (NKJV)

 

As you read through the gospels and follow the ministry of Jesus you realize that he must have been a busy, very busy person.  Today's passage reveals that great multitudes of people followed him to hear and to be healed by him.  If anyone could have felt the pressures of things to do virtually every waking moment it would have been Jesus. Jesus easily could have been "too busy to pray" but instead was the example for us in being "too busy not to pray". Today's passage also reveals that Jesus "often" withdrew, not just to be alone, but to be alone with his Father in prayer.

 

You may wonder, where do I find a wilderness to retreat to in order to pray?  You have heard mention of a "prayer closet" or other solitary place that people find to withdraw from the distractions of the day to pray.  It may be your car or just about any location where you can get away.  I remember a time when I would simply go out at lunchtime behind the building where I worked and simply sit in the sunshine in the grass in back of the building.  I definitely needed that quiet time in solitude and in prayer.  It helped me through hectic demanding days, achieving more through withdrawing for a while instead of "working through" lunch.

 

Do you stop and take time to get away and pray?   If not, try to today.  Be creative in finding your place, a wilderness or desolate place that you can find nearby.  If Jesus needed to do so, we should too.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Luke 5:15-17

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁵ However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. ¹⁶ So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

¹⁷ Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.