Verse of the Day for July 20

The evening before, the whole town of Capernaum had gathered at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils. If anyone had a reason to sleep in, it was Jesus.

Instead, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Mark gives none of the words. No crowd saw it. The most important hour of the day happened where nobody could praise it.

The only people who noticed were the disciples, and only because they wanted him back. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. The sense is that they hunted for him. The crowds were waiting, and Jesus was missing.

What the town saw was healing. What it did not see was the dark hour that came before. That is often how it is. The visible work rests on an invisible one, and the invisible one is easy to skip because nobody will know.

If your praying happens at five in the morning on a mat beside the bed, while the house is asleep and the street is still quiet, nobody may ever notice. Jesus kept that same hour. It was enough that the Father was there.

The hidden hour holds up the visible day.

Prayer that nobody notices is still prayer the Father keeps.