Skip to main content

Solitary Prayer

Mark 1:35
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
The importance of solitary prayer remains a critical aspect of the Christian life. Especially when it comes to morning prayer, there is no better way to begin our day than by being in quiet conversation with the Lord. Besides, what a privilege that we, who have absolutely nothing to offer, have the ability to converse with our Creator and even more, that He genuinely longs to hear from us. However, prayer is only as powerful as we believe it to be and praying empty prayers does not please the Lord. He wants our honesty and all of our brokenness. He most definitely wants us at our best, even when His blessings are overflowing and we feel as though we do not need to be as intimate. We need the Lord sometimes even more during these times as these are the times that the Lord is able to use to prepare us for our upcoming battles. I want to be strong during the smooth times and even stronger during the rough times because I can rely on the truth that His promise to carry me through will never fail. Where does this reliance stem from? Quality time with the Lord. Devotions, reading His word, and prayer. However, it takes discipline to continue in relationship with the Lord, as it can sometimes be very easy to push Him aside. Whether it be a career, a hobby, or a relationship, there are many aspects of this life that we can use to excuse that we missed reading our Bible for what would now be the third day in a row. This scenario happens far too often in my own life. “I just do not have enough time,” I state as I swap between Netflix and checking updates on Facebook. If Peter can wake up far before the sunrise to spend quality time with his Heavenly Father, then I most definitely have time during my busy day to spend time with Him, too.

Application

This week, I will write down all of my prayers, and look back on them in a month and recall how the Lord has answered them. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Overwhelming Conflict

Psalms 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””  This past Sunday, team Uganda had the privilege to lead the two church services. From worship to the sermon, the Lord was present. Having never sung in front of really anyone to being on the worship team and having not one, but two solos, was rather frightening. In addition to having a spirit of fear, the morning of, I was faced with a myriad of conflict as a glob of toothpaste dropped slyly onto the shirt I was planning on wearing, I did not have a necklace to match the shirt I then had to put on, and I ran out of time for curling my hair and ironing my skirt. I knew the enemy was seeking to do whatever he could to focus my eyes on myself rather than on what the Lord was attempting to do in and through me for that day, but I was already defeated and left wondering how a day that had begun so terribly could have a positive outcome. I needed a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit f

Vision for Success

Acts 5:29 “Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” Peter is referring to the high priest who is accusing the apostles of teaching the word of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem when He specifically ordered them not to. Peter follows this rebuke with, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” There is only One in which we are to obey fully, and He is the Man who bled and died. Regardless of how mighty someone is placed in the world, the Lord knows everyone for who they are, sinners in need of a savior. Everyone has their alcohol, even those in authority. How can we obey authority that sins? Romans 13:1 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Everyone submits to someone because without authority, there is no order, and without order, there is chaos. However, there is a difference between godly authority and worldly authority. The difference is godly authority

Picture Perfect

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a god work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” They say that good things take time but to be completely and utterly transformed into the likeness of Jesus takes a lifetime. I will never reach perfection until I meet Jesus face to face at the gates of eternal paradise but this by no means indicates that He will keep me at a standstill. In fact, with confidence I am able to state that by His gracious hand, a good work has indeed begun within me and will continue as long as I remain willing. I have recently been reading “The Making of a Man of God”, written by Alan Redpath, which gives a clear summary of what having a willing heart looks like, stating: “Let a man be right with God, reconciled through the blood of the cross, humbled at the foot of Calvary; let him be broken, coming to God guilty and hopeless and needy; and at that moment God takes hold of him and transforms and uses all his