In Mark Chapter 1 verses 12 and 13, before his ministry started, it says that He goes off to the desert and spends forty days alone with God " prays. Then his ministry launches. In the same Chapter, in verse 35 it says:
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to be alone with God and pray. ''Mark 1: 35'' Before He chose the twelve disciples:
He went to a mountain and spent the night in prayer. ''Luke 6: 12'' After He fed the 5000, He withdraws to be alone with God. When He hears the bad news about His friend, John the Baptist, He goes away to be alone with God. It`s true throughout His life right up to the time He`s going to go to the Cross. He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and brings some friends with Him, but He withdraws from them to be alone with the Father. All the time, He`s teaching His followers to do the same also. One time in Mark, Chapter 6, they`ve been in the middle of a really busy season, and Jesus pulls His followers aside, and He says to them:
Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. ''Mark 6: 31'' I know that He says this to me. I don`t know how this translates for you, but for me it means that I need to spend some time alone with Him to get my mind in tune and my will surrendered each day. For me, the morning is the best time. Then sometimes, I need to spend some extended time with Him . . . a half-day or a day at least once a month. When I first thought about doing that, it was kind of a daunting thing. I thought:
The next time I have a free day, I`ll spend it alone with God. Do you know how long I waited for that day to come? And then I had to write it down on a calendar. I was reading this week that if you live to be seventy years old or so, you will get twenty-five thousand days. You will have twenty-five thousand of these jars. It would be ironic to get to the end of them and say:
God, I was never able to devote just a day to being with You, because there was always something else to do.
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