How Jesus prayed.

"Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed." (Mark 1: 35).

Sunday 7th February 2021, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In today's Gospel, we see Jesus heal Peter's mother-in-law.  After sunset on the same day, Jesus went on a healing spree: casting out demons and healing many with various diseases. In this reflection, we want to focus on the prayer habits of Jesus. We start by making some point blank statements:

#1. Prayer is a priority for Jesus and not an after thought. He connects with His heavenly Father through prayer. We connect with Jesus through prayer.
#2. No prayer, no power for ministry.
#3. Jesus prayed in a solitary place. Other translations describe the place as: a desert place, a secluded place, a lonely spot, a place where He could be alone, a place in the wilderness, etc. We get the point. Not in Starbucks Coffee.

Spiritual writers write about the 3 S of Prayer:
#1. Sacred Place: We see this in today's Gospel.
#2. Sacred Time: We also see this in Mark's narrative. While everyone is snoozing, Jesus slipped out of the house to seek solitude in prayer.
#3. Sacred Intention: The intention is always the same. Communion with the Father.

To pray like Jesus, we must realize that Prayer is a sacrifice we must be willing to make. This is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls Prayer a battle. The devil wages an intense war to dissuade us from Prayer. St Alphonsus Liguori, Founder of the Redemptorists and Bishop and Doctor of the Church writes that if you pray, you are saved. If you do not pray, you are lost

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com