Does your to-do list ever finish forming before you have even got out of bed? After an exhausting day of healing in Capernaum, Jesus rises before dawn and goes out to a solitary place to talk with his Father (Mark 1). The sermon shows that the more that happened around Jesus, the more time he gave to prayer, because being with God matters more than what we do for God. Listen if you want prayer to stop being your last resort in a world of pressure and expectations.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- What does Mark describe in Mark 1:21-34 before verse 35, and what does it tell us about Jesus that after such an exhausting day He gets up before dawn and goes to a solitary place to pray?
- The disciples tell Jesus, "Everyone is looking for you," and He answers, "Let us go somewhere else." Why does Jesus not stay where popularity and more crowds are waiting for Him?
- The busier Jesus was, the more time He gave to prayer. What in your life usually pushes prayer out of your schedule first, and why does it seem unproductive?
- The sermon says the goal of prayer is not to get something from God but to gain God as Father. How does this distinction change the way you pray?
- What does the statement that being with God matters more than what we do for God mean to you, especially when you are involved in serving?
- Susanna Wesley, with nineteen children, put her apron over her head as a sign of her time with God. What specific place and time for prayer in solitude can you set aside this week?
