Is your daily life extremely busy? Does it seem you are continually running at breakneck speed, and yet there is always more that needs done? Does your busyness steal your peace? Have you purposely set aside time to pray?
It seems we are busier now than we have ever been. There is a list of things to do longer than our arm. For some of us, it may seem as though that list is longer than our entire body. It seems to have gotten longer with staffing shortages.
We see “now hiring” signs in many business windows or on their electronic signs. Where have all the workers gone? The lack of workers puts more work on the shoulders of those who are working. The amount of work to be done has not lessened and may have increased. Though it may sound counterintuitive, this is exactly the type of environment in which we need to pray more.
In today’s passage, we see that Jesus was busy…very busy. Crowds of people came to both hear Him speak and to be healed of sickness. Think about that for just a moment. He was a teacher/preacher and a doctor. Talk about being busy! But Jesus took time to pray. Our passage states He often, underscore that word, often withdrew to quiet, isolated places to pray.
If Jesus took time to pray, shouldn’t we? Another point to make is that Jesus didn’t just pray for two minutes and get back to work. He would spend significant time in prayer, perhaps a few hours. To be as effective as we can be, we need to spend quality time in prayer. Jesus had plenty of work to do, but He knew two key points. First, there would always be work to do. Second, He needed to commune with His Father to have the strength for the work set before Him. We need to acknowledge and adhere to these two key points as well.
I pray we all commit to spending time in prayer. I pray we set aside more than a couple minutes to commune with God. I pray each one of us seek God’s guidance and strength to be more effective in the work set before us. Spend time with God. Ask God for his guidance. Ask God to provide strength. Commune with God daily. Be more effective in your work.
Luke 5:15-16 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Marty Pressey 