Slices
Prepare
What things are troubling you and weighing you down today? Ask the Lord to allow you to set them to one side as you enter into time with him now.
Bible passage
Jesus prays in a solitary place
35 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. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’
38 Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ 39 So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus heals a man with leprosy
40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’
41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’ 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Explore
According to some research it is thought that people today spend well over two hours a day on social media.* We are surrounded by constant demands for our attention, trying to divert us from what we should be focusing on.
In today’s passage we see Jesus addressing the very real and pressing need to get away from distractions and from people’s expectations of him, in order to spend time alone with his Father. In John 5:19 Jesus says that the Son only does ‘what he sees his Father doing’. In order for that to happen, Jesus needs to spend time listening to the Father. As a result of this time alone with him, Jesus knows where he needs to go, where to share the gospel, and to whom he needs to minister (vs 39,42). He forgoes the expectations which people try to place on him (vs 36,37), and the busyness of his surroundings, and simply asks his Father what to do next. And then, when he has heard, he simply obeys.
Respond
Ask the Lord to show you where you get side-tracked from his purposes. Invite the Holy Spirit to lead you where he wants you to be today. Are there any practical steps you might take to reduce distractions from his purposes in your life?
Deeper Bible study
Spend time giving over to God everything that is fighting for your attention: all the things you have to do and the worries you have.
After healing so many throughout the night, Jesus was exhausted and withdrew to pray. Simon Peter’s reaction to this is interesting. We are told that he and the other disciples went to ‘look for’ Jesus (v 36), but the Greek conveys something a bit pushier: he tracked him down, almost hunted him.1 Simon Peter was clearly frustrated with Jesus. After all, things were going great in Capernaum and there were still so many desperate people to heal. He may also have been stressed by the numbers of people crowding around his house seeking healing and may have wanted Jesus to return to take some of the pressure off.
All this led Peter to disturb Jesus’ prayers and pressurise him to hurry back to Capernaum. Many of us would have caved in to such pressure but Jesus had a clear idea of God’s plans. His prayers would have guided him, and his priority was doing God’s will, even if others, including his friends, thought he was letting people down.
Jesus did not seek to tackle every problem and meet every need. He knew the importance of following God’s direction and so left the crowds in Capernaum to go to teach elsewhere. Do we recognise the importance of discovering God’s priorities for us, or does prayer get pushed out by the pressures and busyness of life? Do we take on roles and tasks to please others, or because we think God wants us to? How easy do we find it to say ‘no’ to misguided pressure? Let’s recognise that if Christ had to say ‘no’ to many things that seemed like good ideas, so will we. Let’s support our leaders in this, too, by not pressuring them to be overly busy and by praying that our churches are following God’s priorities rather than doing too much.
Are you facing pressures to take on more than you should? Do you know what God wants you to prioritise and focus upon? Pray about these things.
1 DE Nineham, Saint Mark, Penguin, 1963, p84
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 29,30; Hebrews 1
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray that Christian sixth form students in National Mission Partner Festive’s network would be bold and radical in living for and sharing Jesus where they study. Pray for new CUs and missions to be set up and for those who have taken on CU leadership.
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