Meet With Him Early

Mark 1:35

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Jesus had a very busy three years of ministry leading up to his death and resurrection. He chose a group of followers whom He wanted to teach, so He was always communicating truth to these students. Also, the sick and the demon possessed were brought to Him for healing everywhere He went. He became so well known that crowds followed Him or arrived ahead of Him to appeal to Him for mercy.

On top of all that, He came to earth to preach the Gospel, the good news that God wanted to bring everyone back into a right relationship with Him. He could not publicly enter a city because of the crowds. He stayed busy.

But this verse tells us about Jesus' priorities, how He made time to care of His personal need. He got up early, in the dark, and went off to a place where He could be alone with the Father, just the two of them talking. We certainly know that Jesus prayed at other times, but this seemed to be moments where He wanted to be away from everyone else and the desires that others pressed in on Him, no matter how many things needed to be taken care of. This was a personal discipline.

I know many will say that they pray and read their Bible at night before bed, but this example tells me that there is something important about starting my day in communion with God. I would like to challenge you to make that a regular part of your routine. Get up a few minutes earlier, it doesn't have to be a long period of time. Go to a quiet spot, and read a short amount of scripture and pray.

Should you do this because you believe that God will think more highly of you, that you might gain some points with Him? Or will you set your alarm early because you are looking for that missing revelation from God, as if He speaks more clearly in the morning air than in the evening?

The Bible does not support this perspective as if God is checking His watch to see who will get up before sunrise so He can treat them with more favor. No, our faithfulness is not going to make God love us any more. We cannot experience more of His love than we do now because His love is based on what Jesus did, not what we can do. No, Jesus left us this example because He knew that His flesh was weak and He simply wanted to draw nearer to the Father. So should you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Meet Him early and listen for the way He will direct your thoughts. You won't regret it.