Our First Priority (Mark 1:35)

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35) 

I love this verse in the first chapter of Mark, especially in light of the context. As you read through this chapter, Jesus is a very busy person in the verses right before this. He heals and then people start pouring into this house where Simon and Andrew lived, and they were sick, oppressed by demons. The whole city was scattered at the door. And verse 34 says, “He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” So Jesus is very busy at this point. And then what does verse 35 say? “Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Mark 1:35 Shows Us Jesus’ Priority in the Midst of Busyness

Jesus knew that the priority and his day and his time was being alone with his Father; that no amount of busyness doing great things, healing people of diseases and casting out demons, was more important than just being with his Father. And so he started his day early in the morning in a desolate place alone, just him and the Father, where he prayed. And I want to encourage you with this verse today amidst what I’m guessing is busyness in your life. I’m guessing you have a variety of things going on in your life; I have a variety of things going on in my life. We are busy people doing all kinds of things, and even good things. That’s part of the picture here. Jesus is doing awesome things, but he knew that far more important than anything else was time alone with the Father in prayer.

Psalm 27:4 Describes One Thing Above All Else

And I want to encourage you to make that your priority today and tomorrow and the next day and the next day—time alone with God. Concentrated time alone with God in prayer and hearing from his word; just communing with God; just you and Him, nobody else around. Make this the priority of your life. Psalm 27:4, one thing I seek, one thing I ask. I just want to behold you in your glory, be in your presence, inquire in your temple, seeking your face.

God, we pray over each other that this might be our one thing, our priority. God, please forgive us for busyness that neglects concentrated time alone with you; vulnerable time before you just being with you, listening to you, letting you search our hearts and our minds, and us just gazing at you. God, please forgive us for being content with glancing at you. Help us to gaze upon you in all your glory, to look at, to worship, to praise you, to thank you, to hear from you, to pour out our hearts to you.

God, we praise you for the privilege of communion with you. God, forgive us for being so foolish to neglect communion with you. Oh, God, thank you for Mark 1:35, for the example Jesus sets for us here, and the joy he shows to us that’s found in just being with you. So we pray for that reality to be true in each of our lives.

Joining God’s Work Through Prayer

And, God, as we pray, we want to join with you in what you’re doing in awesome ways around the world. Even now, God, we pray for the Makuwah-Nahara people of Mozambique: for half a million people in this Muslim people group in Mozambique who don’t know the glory of Jesus, the healing power of Jesus. So we join with you right now in prayer, and we pray for the hallowing of your name over the Makuwah-Nahara people of Mozambique. God, thank you for this privilege.

We pray, hear our cries for them, and answer. Show your glory among them. Bless the few followers of Jesus who are among that people group, all who are working for the spread of the gospel to that people group. God, we pray that you would work in miraculous ways for disciples to be made in churches, to be multiplied among the Makuwah-Nahara people of Mozambique. Yes, God, and we pray you’d help us be faithful to pray like this, intercede like this, for peoples around the world, for people right around us, to experience all that you’ve designed for us in prayer alone with you on an everyday basis, starting early in the morning.

We pray all of this according to your Word in Mark chapter 1, verse 35, in Jesus name, in the name of the One who makes communion with you possible. Amen.