This week in Crisis Counsels we are reflecting about this passage in the gospel of Mark:

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”
Mark 1:35–38

Jesus got up for a prayer time in the morning “while it was still very dark.” Today if you go to a monastery for a spiritual retreat, you will find that the monks get up for prayer sometime between 2:00 and 3:30 a.m. (depending on the monastic order). This is probably a bit severe for your time schedule! But the basic principle is this – start the day with a focus on God. In the story in Mark, Jesus would soon be in a swirl of activity; but beforehand he centered himself spiritually. Likewise today we will find that the whole day flows much better when we begin with a time of prayerful reflection. It is to this end that we will soon be making available a digital copy of The Upper Room, which contains a devotional for every day of the week. It is an excellent tool to use to start each day as Jesus did – turning our hearts and minds towards God.

Prayer – Guide us, O Lord, to begin each day with You. Click To Tweet

If you missed Sunday worship, you can join with the recorded service of either the 9:30 or 10:30 worship hours at live.kentmethodist.org

About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.