Do you reach for your phone in the morning and find that everyone wants something from you before you are even out of bed? This sermon opens a series on prayer with the day Jesus healed from morning until late at night and then, while it was still dark, slipped away to a deserted place to pray (Mark 1). The busier he was, the more time he gave to talking with his Father, and it was that silence that set his priorities. Listen if you feel that you no longer run your day, but your day runs you.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Mark describes a day in Capernaum: healings in the synagogue, in Peter's house, and the whole town at the door in the evening. What does it tell us that after such a day Jesus rises before dawn and goes to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35)?
- The disciples say, "Everyone is looking for you," and Jesus answers, "Let us go somewhere else." How did prayer help Him distinguish people's expectations from the mission He came for?
- The sermon says that the busier Jesus was, the more time He gave to prayer, while we often drop it first. Why does that happen in your life?
- The goal of prayer is not to get something from God but to gain God Himself, speaking to Him as a child to a Father ("Abba"). How does this understanding change your approach to prayer?
- Susanna Wesley put her apron over her head so her children knew she was talking with God. What could be your way of setting aside time alone with God amid daily responsibilities?
- What good thing might you need to say "no" to this week in order to find time for silence before God and hear what He expects of you?
