THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 5:12-16
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)
There is a quote by Martin Luther that reminds me of Jesus here.
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
The busier He was, the more He prayed – He knew He needed it.
He did have lots to do, but He didn’t let those things control His life.
This has been something I’ve needed to grow in.
When I get busy, I get so immersed in the tasks that need doing.
I also find that afterwards, I did not do my best work.
This reminds me of another quote, from Alice in Wonderland.
‘The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!’
As a Jesus follower, I want to learn from Jesus how to take time to pray.
Not just formal prayer, but resting in and relying on God’s help.
Seeking His guidance, discerning His wisdom, drawing on His strength.
What might it look like for me to “often withdraw to pray” in my life?
I want the Lord in my everyday work life, resting and working WITH him.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, it is not my busyness or activity that makes gives me success, but my working with You, at a pace that is divine.
A leper came to Jesus. A leper in and among a community or a people was unheard of. They were always seen at a distance. Yet Jesus reached out and even touched the man and he was healed.
All who come to Jesus are healed.
God’s love.
And ours?
As His follower, I must be like Christ unto others – to love, to forgive – to be an instrument of His peace.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.