2106AFC020521 – Searching in the Dark
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Key Verses
Mark 1:35-37 – 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark,
he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”
John 20:1 – 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. (← Check it out! Another stone was moved!)
¡Que la bendición esté siempre con ustedes y que Dios los bendiga, Amados! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!) Well, this has been quite a week! We’re nowhere near Lake Wobegon, but lots of interesting things have happened. Some of you may have heard that we lost a couple of Aloha Friday Messages from the MBN site when the account-hosting was transferred to a new server. Thanks to the generous (and brilliant) sponsors of the Moon Beam Network blog site, we are “back in business.” Posts from January 22 and January 29 have been restored, and we don’t anticipate any further problems going forward. Today we’re going to look into a theme from the January 22nd post – 2104AFC012221 – An Echo in the Dark. In our Key Verses for today, we read about actions in the dark – Jesus gets up before dawn (and probably before the chickens) and goes out to pray in a deserted place. Why so early, and what did he pray about?
I confess that’s not something I’ve thought much about. We tend to skim over those mentions of Jesus’ praying. “Of course he prayed; he even taught us to pray. He was always talking to his Father.” Some might ask, certainly with no intention of being flippant, “Well, if he’s taking to his Father and Jesus is God, is he talking to himself?” What would you say if your kids asked you that, or what if that came up in a Sunday School class? What would we say? I think I would say, “No, Jesus was talking to his Father because even though he is God, he is God the Son, and the Father and the Son communicated often.” We have records of some 30 different prayers of Jesus in the Gospels – the largest number of them are in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus did have a habit of prayer, and that is what we should all strive to develop. Here are some things every Disciple should know about Jesus’ prayer life so that we can apply them to our prayer life.
- He prayed in private where and when he could pray without distractions. Mark 1:35 – 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Mark 6: 46 – 46 After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. Luke 5:16 – 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.
- He prayed to give thanks and blessing for God’s providence. Mark 6:41 – 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. Matthew 14:19 – 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (See also Luke 9:16 and Mark 8:1-13)
- He prayed to sanctify the bread that became his Body, blessed and broken for us. Matthew 26:26 – 26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Mark 14:22 – 22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
- Sometimes he prayed as part of a healing as in Mark 7:34 – 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
- In the Gospel of John, we have an incredibly beautiful prayer from Jesus about his Disciples – and Belovéd, that includes us. I’m not going to reproduce that prayer here because it is the entire chapter of John 17. The link will take you to the full chapter of John 17, but I will get us started on reading it (please make time today or sometime this week to read this prayer at least once) – 1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
- He prayed to rebuke the storm and calm the Sea of Galilee – Mark 4:35–41 – 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. (See also Matthew 8:23–27 and Luke 8:22–25)
We know that in today’s expressions, some people would call Jesus “an observant Jew who followed the Law impeccably.” We know that his contemporaries addressed him a Rabbi, Master, and Rabbouni (See John 20:16) Jesus always gave thanks and blessed food before eating. Do we do the same? He prayed to his Father in times of distress – the temptation in the desert, the agony in the garden, and the torture of the Cross. We can certainly visualize Jesus talking to his Father about his day-to-day living with the Disciples – including Jesus’ Mother, Mary; Mary Magdalene; Mary the mother of James and Joseph; Salome, the mother of James and John; Mary’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s Steward, Chuza. Jesus doubtless prayed for the disciples he would entrust with the Priesthood. I’m pretty sure he even prayed for Judas Iscariot – at least when Judas went out with a prayer partner among the 72 as well as among the 12 sent to neighboring towns.
Jesus was a man of prayer, and his prayers included thanks, blessing, praise, and worship (in the synagogue and probably even in his private prayers). We know he prayed about people, and we know he prayed with people, and we can recall moments when he prayed for people – like the widow’s young son being carried to the cemetery, Peter’s mother-in-law, the demoniac at Genessaret, or the young paralytic lowered through the ceiling. Some of those were prayers that occurred in his heart but were perhaps not verbalized as were other prayers. Honestly, knowing how committed Jesus was to his ministry and to his Father, I envision him to be nearly always in prayer – even when vexed as with the money changers and animal vendors in the temple, or when socializing as with his dear friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. I think he probably got a kick out of the “Boanerges Boys,” James and John and their characteristically Jewish mother who was always “promoting” them. I imagine, too, that Peter sometimes gave him a headache, and Thomas often surprised him with his insights into Jesus’ life and teaching. (See John 11:16) Jesus’ very Life was a prayer – a perfect sacrifice of adoration, thanksgiving, and praise offered up Every Moment of Every Day (↔ Music Link) He got that from his Father, and his Mom and Dad.
Remember when he was twelve and stayed behind at the Temple to talk with the Teachers, the Priests, and the Scribes? His attentiveness as well as his insightful answers impressed them all. That didn’t all come from his Divinity. He must have had excellent home-schooling, and of course the opportunities to learn the Law and Scriptures at the synagogue and the Great Temple were always part of his life – Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem every year for Passover, right? That year, when they stopped, turned around, and hustled back to Jerusalem, they found him there in the Temple and were obviously surprised he had elected to stay behind. His reply shows that he always, even then, put God his Father first above all things and persons. “Why were you looking for me? Don’t you know it behooves me to be doing the work of my Father in his House?” I think if I was in the shoes of Joseph and Mary, that would be one of those “oh-yeah-no?” moments! So let’s go back and reiterate some of this to see how we can use Jesus’ prayer life as a template for our own.
We could start with the MBN Prayer (← Check it out!) The MBN is a large circle of friends who take the time and care to pray for, about, and with each other. That is the work of an intercessor.
When we pray FOR each other, we act as intercessors, “in-the-place-of” praying. It’s making a prayer on behalf of someone else rather than on behalf of ourselves.
When we pray ABOUT each other, we’re making prayers that are intended to be blessings. We ask God for this favor or that outcome for one another. I might pray about your health or you might pray about me to find strength in a trial.
When we pray WITH each other, ah, there’s a power in that. Usually this is focused on something outside of both of us, like the people who are suffering in Southeast Asia, or a child who has been kidnapped.
There is The War Room (↔ Click Link) concept – a place we can go – as Jesus did – to have solitude and freedom from distractions, a place where we know that praying is serious business. There are standardized prayers – both personal and general (↔ Click Links). Jesus liked to start his day with prayer and get up EARLY to put God first in his day as he learned from his parents. Jesus prayed often (always is pretty often, yes?). Sometimes Jesus prayed publicly as he did at Lazarus’ tomb. Mostly he prayed privately. He prayed with assurance and Faith in his Father. He prayed with Love in his heart. He prayed in times of joy, and he prayed in the darkest times of his Life. Mary Magdalene understood that, and was at the tomb before dawn to mourn and to pray.
Belovéd, this is a dark, dark time, and a time for serious prayer for, with, and about each other; for our Nation, for our civic and religious leaders; for our families, for our neighbors; in thanksgiving, adoration, and praise for our Heavenly Father and his only-begotten Son; for our own souls; for our enemies and oppressors; and for the innocent at all stages of life from conception to natural death. We can learn a lot from Jesus’ prayer life, and it is especially important to learn and know that an early prayer in the dark is a great prayer to make when searching for Peace and Hope. It is a wonderful way to emulate how 36 … Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” Search for him – even in this present darkness – in your prayers, and you will find he is also praying for, with, and about you. Blesséd be God forever in his Angels and in his Saints (and may we be counted among them always). Listen for him. He’s calling your name (↔ Music Link) to come and pray with him.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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