Originally published on November 23, 2011
Luke 5:15-16 (NRSV) -- But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.
Hope everyone is having a good day today. I imagine that many of you may be headed home early to start the holiday weekend or hit the road to be with family and friends for Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to the weekend as well. Thought I'd share the verse above with you before the holiday. I find it awfully encouraging that even Jesus himself thought it was necessary to step back from busyness of life, even in the midst of some of his greatest moments of ministry, and pray. Given the pace of life in our part of the world, this seems awfully relevant to our discussion. Making time to pray was a priority for Jesus and it should be for us. Prayer was a big part of how he kept himself strong enough to deal with the stresses of his demanding life. Furthermore, prayer helped Jesus stayed focused on God's priorities for his life.
Our world is busy. Our lives can be very demanding and extremely complicated. Far too often I find myself feeling so busy and setting prayer aside until I feel like I have more time free. Yet there is Jesus in the midst of his ministry often taking the time to retreat and prayer. Prayer is a precious gift, but that doesn't mean we should view prayer as some non-essential indulgence that we only use when all of our "real priorities" have already been brought under control. Prayer is not a luxury, it's a necessity. I hope the holiday weekend will provide you the opportunity to withdraw from some of the busyness and brokenness of our world for a little while and pray...just like Jesus did.
Be in prayer continually. Pray for one another.
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