Pastor Cliff and Jennifer Day


Pastor's Moment 

Praying like Jesus 
   

Mark 1:35  ³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.   
 

     Every morning the disciples knew where they could find Jesus, He was praying.  Early every morning Jesus would rise and go pray.  When they needed Jesus, they knew to go to the place of prayer.  It was such common knowledge that when Judas betrayed Jesus, he led the accusers to Jesus' place of prayer in the garden. 
 

     Every time we find Jesus facing an important decision, He prayed.  When he was being tempted to perform ministry by the world's standards instead of the Fathers, He prayed (Matt. 4).  When it was time to choose His disciples, He prayed all night long (Luke 6:12).  It makes we wonder, if Jesus took that long to determine God's will, how long should it take us in prayer to find His will in our lives? 
 

     Every day Jesus had outside influence on His life, people trying to tell Him how to do ministry.  His disciples wanted Him to go where the crowds were (Mark 1:37).  The crowds wanted to crown Him king (John 6:15).  Satan tempted Him to draw a large following by making compromises.   Jesus knew His mission was not to draw a large following, but to remain obedient to His Father.  That's why every day; Jesus sought a quiet place to hear the voice of the Father.  It was prayer that set His mission for ministry (Luke 6:12).  Prayer preceded the miracles in John 11; prayer brought encouragement at critical moments (Luke 9:28-31); prayer enabled Jesus to go to the Cross (Luke 22:41-42) and prayer kept Him there despite the pain and suffering (Luke 23:46).  Will you follow our Savior's example, and pray this week?  May we all be lighthouses of prayer!