Go to Your Quiet Place

Now in the morning,
having risen a long while before daylight,
He went out and departed
to a solitary place;
and there He prayed.
– Mark 1:35

Routines. Schedules. Appointments. These are the words that become the rhythms of our daily lives. Whatever your daily routine is, it should include prayer. Prayer should be a part of your schedule that is just as routine as your morning cup of coffee or that granola bar you eat while sitting at your daughter’s soccer practice.

For Jesus, praying was His routine. Every time He faced an important decision, He prayed. After feeding the multitude with just five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6: 34-44), Jesus climbed a mountain to pray. When choosing His disciples, He spent an entire night alone in prayer. In this week’s devotional, Mark 1:35 tells us another key part to Jesus’ prayer routine: Jesus knew He needed a quiet place to pray, and He routinely sought these quiet places so that He could clearly hear His Father’s voice.

We should take a look at our own daily routine, and think about today’s verse. While we pray for those routine things – our families, our jobs, our health, our church, our community, and all the other parts of our lives – we should also add another piece to our schedule. We should follow His example, and find a quiet place to be alone with God in prayer. Whatever it is that we are experiencing – an incredible high point or a devastating low point – we need to go to our quiet place, and pray, and listen for God’s voice as He guides us in accordance with His will.

Adapted from “Experiencing God Day-By-Day; The Devotional and Journal,” by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby; “Entry January 9;” ©1997.