These verses stood out to me in my Bible reading this morning. Have you ever noticed that the busier Jesus becomes, the more His priority of prayer becomes apparent? People were coming by the crowds, making demands on His time. He could have easily stayed and continued to serve their needs, neglecting His own need for spiritual refreshment, but instead, he withdrew to a solitary place in the wilderness and spent time in prayer before going back out into the pressures of the people and the day. I find encouragement in this.
How often do we get so busy trying to get things done that we begin to neglect the very thing that will help us through the pressures of life? We forget to stop and pray. We don't take care of our own spiritual needs so that we can better take care of the needs of others around us. When I fail to spend time in God's Word and in prayer, I find myself getting up tight more easily and perhaps being more snappy with my family. I am not able to take care of the needs of my family as well when I am up tight. It brings to mind a little saying I've seen in the past:
"A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to come unraveled."
I think it should be reworded to say, "A Christian hemmed in prayer is less likely to come unraveled." Our day might come completely unraveled on us even if we have prayed. All our best laid plans may go up in smoke, but if we have hemmed ourselves in prayer, we will be less likely to come unraveled.
Jesus modeled this for us all through His life. When things got tough, He got away and prayed. This didn't show weakness on His part, it showed the absolute necessity of prayer and dependence on our Heavenly Father to deal with the issues that come at us each day. Of course, as the Son of God, in His Deity, He could have easily plowed through the demands of the multitudes, performing miracles and teaching non-stop if He so desired. But He didn't. Instead He humbled Himself as a man and showed us by example how important it is to take time to get away from it all and pray no matter how busy the demands of the day.
Have you hemmed yourself in prayer lately? Why not set aside whatever you are doing right now and go spend a few minutes in prayer and mediation on a scripture verse? See how it makes a difference in your outlook during the day.
Dear Father, I often use prayer as an emergency back up instead of a front-line defense in my life. I've seen the difference it can make, yet so often I get side-tracked in the busyness of life and forget. Remind me often. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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