Another time when Jesus prayed was when the pressures and expectations of others threatened to wreck God’s plan for His life. The Bible says, ‘While it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So He travelled throughout Galilee, preaching’ (Mark 1:35-39 NIVUK). Time spent in prayer aligned Jesus’ thoughts to God’s. He realised, once again, what His purpose was. Other people may have their own ideas about what we should do, they may even try and plan our lives for us, but time spent in prayer with God will help us to keep God’s plan for our lives as the priority. When we’re feeling under pressure from others, we can make decisions that lead us away from God’s plan. We can end up walking in a completely different direction to where God wanted us to go, all because we let the voices and expectations of other people drown out the voice of God. Taking time out with God, just like Jesus did, is a way to keep God’s voice as the loudest in our lives. Jesus realised He only had enough time to do what His Father wanted Him to do, and that gave Him the ability to say no to other things. We need to regularly spend time praying so we can keep God’s purpose as our focus and then make decisions that enable that purpose to be fulfilled. 

What now?

Sit in silence until you begin to hear God’s voice over the noise of your thoughts