Good Morning! 2010.06.07 - Mark 1:35 - Jesus Prayed in the Morning

And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, hewent out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed (Mark 1:35).

And in the morning. – At daybreak. Still too dark to see much but light appears slightly in the east.

On the farm and sawmill schedules, we seldom got up later than 5:00 a.m. Feeding, milking and breakfast had to be done to catch the 7:00 a.m. school bus. For several years before retiring, Barbara and I got up at 4:30 a.m. I know a lot of people who keep those hours for the same reasons we did. My internal clock still wakes me up early. It's a good time to say "Good morning, Lord! Search me and fix me for the day. You know who is going to cross my path today. What are we doing today?" If you are not an early riser, whatever time you get up is a good time to read your Bible and pray as a regular thing.

Rising up. The Bible doesn't say why Jesus got out of bed to pray. The Psalmist said: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches (Psalm 63:6). But Jesus chose to get out of bed to pray.

When I was in school we were urged constantly to meet with God. It seemed the right thing to do, the spiritual thing to do, so I set my alarm clock and went over to one of the little organ rooms upstairs in the chapel. I suppose it had been a resonating chamber when the big pipe organ was in use.

I got on my knees and began to pray. Suddenly I would find myself waking up. For several mornings I tried that and concluded that I could sleep better in bed. I felt guilty because I couldn't pull it off. When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, He was disappointed that his disciples went to sleep on Him, more than once. They were worn out and they didn't know what was happening.

I wish I had a nickel for every time I've gone to sleep on my knees. It's a good place to sleep—if you're tired and have a sleep deficit, which I did. After a few years of wrestling with the sleep problem in praying, it dawned on me that I was not going to succeed in morning prayers until I disciplined myself to go to bed at a decent hour so I could get the amount of sleep God requires of me. Sleep is God's idea as well as prayer. I'm a slow learner. I had not thought about sleep being God's idea.

Proverbs talks about sleep: How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man (Proverbs 6:9-11). There are people who do that but that verse does not claim to say everything that should be said about sleep.

You have to have enough sleep or you will run into a truck and kill yourself. And you have to have enough sleep to get on your knees in the morning and stay awake long enough to pray as Jesus did. When we got up at 4:00 a.m., we were in bed by 8:00 p.m.

Before day. At this time of day the birds begin to awaken and if are outside you can hear them begin to chatter at low-key. It's almost like they are having their morning prayers before beginning their day of hunting for food and feeding their young.

Solitary place. This is not a place for playing cards, but for being alone. Corporate prayers in the home and church should be done regularly, but so should prayer be done in a solitary place. A place of prayer. During my high school days, I sometimes went out behind the barn. That was a good place. It was also a good place to smoke a bit on one of my daddy's cigars I "borrowed" from him while he was asleep. Really mixed up, wasn't I? Jesus sought a place to pray away from the world and even away from His disciples. Would we not do well to establish a solitary place to pray?

There prayed. This is not a time to think of the grocery list on the side or thinking through some problems comin up during the day. A wandering mind during prayer time can be as troublesome as going to sleep.

Barnes had this to say in his commentary.

"If Jesus did it in the morning, how much more important is it for us, before the world gets possession of our thoughts; before Satan fills us with unholy feelings; when we rise fresh from beds of repose, and while the world around us is still! David also thus prayed, Psalm 5:3; Psalm 119:147. He that wishes to enjoy religion will seek a place of secret prayer in the morning. If that is omitted, all will go wrong, our piety will wither. The world will fill our thoughts. Temptations will be strong. Through the day, we shall find it impossible to raise our feelings to a state of proper devotion.

"It will be found to be true universally, "that the religious enjoyment through the day will be according to the state of the heart in the morning, and can therefore be measured by our faithfulness in early secret prayer." How different, too, was the conduct of the Saviour from those who spend the precious hours of the morning in sleep! He knew the value of the morning hours; he rose while the world was still; he saw the light as it spread abroad in the east with fresh tokens of his Father's presence, and joined with the universal creation in offering praise to the everywhere present God"