Is time with God the first thing that falls out of your calendar when the day gets too tight? This sermon takes us to Capernaum, where Jesus, after a whole day and evening of healing, gets up before dawn and quietly slips away to a lonely place to pray (Mark 1). It turns out that the greater the challenge ahead of him, the more he slowed down, and prayer let him say no even to good things that could have pulled him away from his mission. Listen, and ask yourself whether you are perhaps too busy not to pray.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Mark 1:35-39, after healing people late into the night, Jesus gets up before dawn and goes to a solitary place to pray. What does this moment reveal about His relationship with the Father?
- When the disciples tell Jesus, Everyone is looking for you, He answers, Let us go somewhere else. How might prayer have helped Him say no even to something good and stay true to His mission?
- The speaker quoted the line: I am too busy not to pray. Why do you think prayer is so often the first thing to drop out of our schedule?
- The sermon said that being with God matters more than what we do for Him. Where in your life does doing things for God crowd out time spent with Him?
- Prayer can become a one-way conversation where we only talk and never listen. What helps you pause and hear what God wants to say to you?
- The speaker gave examples: journaling, writing down the names of loved ones, lingering on one sentence of Scripture, starting the day with the words: it was a good day. What specific time and way of being alone with God can you plan this week?
