In Mark 1:35, Jesus does something unexpected. It had been a busy time for the Savior as his ministry was being established and his popularity was exploding. People were coming to him to be healed and Jesus was continually proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, calling Israel to repent. As his days got busier and the demands on his time got more extreme, he did something totally unexpected.
He got up early in the morning, went out to a deserted place, and prayed to God. It is a common theme in the gospels. In the middle of busy times he would find some isolated place where he could commune with the Father.
Why?
Why did Jesus need to pray? Most of the reasons I pray were not issues in Jesus' prayer life. I need the strength of God to fight my flesh and to walk in obedience to Christ. Jesus was the perfect Son who did all that the Father willed. I often lack wisdom, having no idea what I am to do. Jesus was the wisdom of God. I spend time begging God for this blessing or that answered prayer.
Jesus' prayers seemed to have a different purpose. He went up on the mountain to not to battle the flesh or to seek God's will. It would seem he had only one real reason to pray.
He went out into the desert to commune with the Father.
It wasn't about the struggle or his needs. What drove Jesus was the desire to fellowship with God. That was his highest motive - to seek God's face and not just his hand. And perhaps it ought to be ours. The reason I read the Bible and pray, the reason I worship, the reason I do all that I do ought to be first and foremost to commune with the Father.
Father, thank you for revealing yourself to me. May I seek you more than I seek what you can do for me. May I seek your face, not just your hand of power.
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