[35] And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. [36] And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, [37] and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” [38] And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” [39] And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:35–39)
Jesus’ divine nature was affirmed when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to the “Son of God.” In starting his public ministry, Jesus’ human nature is emphasized. We see this when Jesus goes to a desolate place to pray.
Was Jesus interceding for his newly called disciples? Was he offering petitions for the crowds he would attract? Was he praying for himself, for wisdom or discernment or strength? We don’t know.
We do know that Jesus was about to travel throughout Galilee attracting throngs of people as he preached and cast out demons. We also know the day before Jesus experienced an “entire city” gathered around him as he healed people and cast our demons (Mark 1:32-34). It is reasonable to think Jesus withdrew to desolate place to pray to recover and prepare spiritually, emotionally and physically from the previous day and prepare for the coming trip.
Today western society encourages us to recover or prepare for emotionally packed experiences by practicing “mindfulness.” A form of meditation, mindfulness is purported to relax the body and lower stress. It may well do so.
However, mindfulness is also limited. It is focused totally on the self. We must control our own bodies and minds. Prayer, by contrast, is focused on God. Prayer engages God, who can comfort and calm us in ways that go beyond what we can do for ourselves. In prayer, we can ask God to provide what we need, instead of guessing for ourselves what we require.
When we need to recover or prepare for such experiences, we do well to follow Jesus’ example of praying.
Kevin Wilson 360 