January 2
Verse of the Day for January 2
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.Mark 1:35 KJV
The Key of Beginnings · Day 2 of 31
Reflection · 4 min read
The Hour Nobody Saw
The night before, the whole city had gathered at the door. Mark says it plainly — all the city. Jesus healed until it was late and by any measure the day had gone well.
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
A great while before day. In the dark. Out to a solitary place. After the most successful evening of the chapter.
What strikes me is that nobody was there to see it. The crowd saw the healings. The disciples find him later and their first words are that everyone is looking for him. The prayer had no audience at all.
That is the shape of a habit as opposed to a performance. A performance needs a room. A habit happens whether or not anyone knows it happened.
And it is placed here on purpose: immediately after the success, not after a failure. The pressure to skip it came from things going well.
The crowd saw the miracles.Nobody saw the prayer.
If your devotion only happens when someone would notice, it is not yet a habit. It is a performance with a religious subject.
He went out while it was still dark, and came back with a direction the crowd could not have given him.
Carry this today
Does your devotion need an audience?
Pray
Read Mark 1:32–39
32And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 33And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. 35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. 39And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.