Jesus praying

Mark 1:35 has been on my mind lately:
"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. "

Whenever I've heard this verse discussed or preached in the past, it has always seemed to be that the emphasis is on the fact that Jesus got up "very early," so early that it was still dark. Viewed in context, we should be even more impressed to see that Jesus had had a busy evening of ministry the night before, healing and teaching. That Jesus, who was in very nature God, was drawn to prayer should certainly motivate those of us who are most certainly not God to likewise seek our Father in prayer.

Lately, however, I've been reminded of the importance of finding a "solitary place" for prayer. There is something significant about pulling away from the world and its myriad distractions to focus our minds and hearts on God, if only for a brief time. Even good things can choke our prayer times. Jesus needed to withdraw to get away from the pull and pressures of the people He was serving. How much more do I need to get away from other people, from work, from study, from whatever else demands (and deserves) my time and attention.

I have found that I'm more disciplined in prayer when I have a time and a place set aside for that purpose. (Not mentioned here, but equally important in my life, is accountability in the discipline). What about you? Do you have a time for prayer? A place where you can be removed from the normal activities of your day?

Not just a baby

I wrote recently about how commercialization and political correctness have obscured the fact that Christmas is about the fact that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, that he came to bring salvation to men. We forget about the Baby in the manger, whom sheperds, wise men, and even angels came to see.

With that said, there is danger for us in focusing so much on the Baby Jesus. That danger is, specifically, that we will only think of Him as a baby. A baby is harmless, cute, manageable. But this baby was different - this baby was God. Paul tells us who He was in Colossians 1:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."