Praying like Jesus

Mark 1:35… ‘And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.’

This verse has always amazed and convicted me. 

The amazing part is that Jesus prayed. I know on the surface that does not sound like some big revelation. “Jesus talked to his Father… so what?” But think about that for a moment. Something changed in the relationship Jesus had with the Father when He took on flesh. Before the incarnation the three Persons of the Trinity knew perfect fellowship and love, but Philippians 2:7 says he “made himself nothing” when He took the form of a servant.  The Greek word used here is “kenosis.” It literally means He “emptied himself.” Unpacking all the meaning of this one word would take too long here, but let it suffice to say that there is a sense in which Jesus willingly gave up part of what makes Him God in order to take on flesh and fulfill the Father’s wishes. 

One thing He gave up was the intimate closeness He had with his Father, which is why it is amazing to me that Jesus prayed. He prayed because He, too, needed to talk to his God. He did not merely set us an example by praying (although it certainly IS an example for us). No, He needed to pray. Just as He felt real physical hunger which made Satan’s temptation to turn stones into bread a real temptation, He also felt the separation from the Father and longing to be with Him that we feel. 

Amazing. He did not just lay down his life in death for us, He also sacrificed his closeness to his Father for us for a time. This separation of course culminated when He was fully rejected by God on the cross because of our sin. Again, this is not the time to get deep into it, but Jesus was actually forsaken by the Father on the cross… He did not just feel forsaken.  

His sacrifice for us is so much greater than we generally think about. 

The part of this verse that convicts me is that I do not have the same passion and dedication to my mission as He did. It would be wrong to assume that the universal application of the truth of this verse is to say, “Well, since Jesus got up before dawn to pray, so should I.” (I know all of you non-morning people are rejoicing with that conclusion!) The reason that would be a wrong application is that it misses the big picture. 

Read Mark 1:29-39 and get the context for Jesus’ prayer. In verse 32 it says that at sundown the night before He gets up early to pray all the sick of the town were brought to him… the whole city gathered at the door.  Then after his prayer time, in verse 39 it says “he went throughout all Galilee preaching.”

What is convicting about his prayer time is not merely that He got up early to pray but that the night before he was probably up late and the day of his prayer he went through all Galilee. Basically, He never slowed down, stayed on mission, and instead of ditching prayer, He made time for it by sacrificing something else He needed, but needed less than he needed prayer… sleep. 

That is convicting. Prayer should be a greater priority for me not because there are people out there who need to be prayed for… no I need to pray because I need God more this day so that I can go and finish my mission of taking the grace of Christ to them. 

Let me be clear. We should pray for people, for all sorts of needs. But our prayers should be consumed more with knowing God fully and rightly so that we are empowered to go throughout OUR Galilee all day and actually deliver God’s grace to those who need it. 

Praying for people’s needs is not a substitute for physically going and meeting those needs. Jesus prayed for us (John 17), but more importantly He prayed to connect in fellowship with the Father so that He could actually meet those needs He prayed for. 

We need to do the same.