PRAYING, POPULARITY AND PURPOSE
Mark 1:35-39 NKJV
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
Ever since Thanksgiving, I have been writing down, before bedtime, things I am thankful for. Tonight, one of those things will be that we are finally out of the book of Revelation and into the book of Mark. Grateful!
In our verses for today, we see a series of events surrounding Jesus. Mark is the shortest gospel. He skips the birth of Jesus and jumps right into John the Baptist and Jesus’ time in the wilderness and early ministry days. The book of Mark, many believe, was written from Peter’s perspective and is an action book. In our verses for today, we see Jesus in action, starting with early morning prayer.
Jesus got up way before daylight and went out to pray. This is another sign that Jesus was not operating as an all-knowing God. He was operating as a sinless man empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus saw prayer as something that He needed in order to complete the assignment God had given Him. So before the day got busy. Before the pressure of people wanting something from Him, Jesus spent time in fellowship with His Father in prayer.
The correlation between Jesus praying and making the decision to leave and go to the next town is more than a coincidence. Jesus was obviously becoming very popular. According to Simon and the other disciples, all the people were looking for Him. We often skip over the fact that Jesus faced the same temptations we face. However, Jesus never gave in to the temptations. He never sinned. But would it have been a temptation to stay and build on His growing fame? Absolutely. But in prayer, Jesus recognized His next assignment to go into the next towns and preach. Jesus may have been popular, but it did not distract Him from His purpose.
His purpose was to preach in the nation of Israel, not simply stay where He was well-received. His purpose would carry Jesus into areas where He was not accepted. His purpose would put Him in the crosshairs of the religious leaders who would not accept His ministry. In completing His purpose, Jesus encountered problems. But the problems did not stop Jesus either. Empowered by the Holy Spirit and in fellowship and obedience to His Father, Jesus completed His mission and stayed true to His purpose even when it was not easy.
APPLICATION
Here is a very simple but important thought. If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we need to pray? I realize that our purpose is not nearly of the same magnitude. But we have more to sift through and issues to deal with than Jesus did. We still have a purpose, and to fulfill our God-given purpose, we will need God-given grace and help. So we can’t skip prayer. One of the reasons we need to pray is to make sure we are on track with determining what God’s purpose is for us.
And whether or not you are in the public eye, all of us have to overcome the desire to be popular to be well-liked and accepted. Pleasing people is still a deterrent to fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. Spending time in prayer will help us put pleasing people in the right perspective.
Jesus is our greatest example. We can take a lesson from His commitment to prayer, His refusal to be swayed by people, and His determination to fulfill His purpose.
PRAYER
Thank You for Your example, Lord. I want to fulfill my purpose in You and by Your grace I will.