Author Archives Jbeard

The title refers to Jesus.  But where is the “THERE” that this verse of scripture is referring to?

Mark 1:35 (NKJV) — 35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

This is one of my favorite verses of scripture. This verse gives us such a beautiful picture of our Savior. This was a norm for Him. He was constantly getting away and finding a solitary place to pray. He separated Himself from distractions, disruptions, and detractors.  His goal was simple: He wanted and needed to be alone to commune with God the Father.  Here are other scriptures showing how much this was a part of who He was while walking among us:

Psalm 27:8  — When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

The human heart, the physical muscle in our chest, is an extraordinary organ, as we all know. We are aware of its necessity, that’s a no brainer. There are two states in which this organ is work within us at any given time (stick with me on this, the metaphor will fall into place). The two states of the heart are: the Diastole and the Systole. Two common words we use in everyday conversation, right? We may not be familiar with these terms but we are familiar with what they do.

I’ve been absent for sometime, okay, a long time, and now it’s time to pick up where I left off in early December. The subject is the same: Prayer.  The line of thought in today’s post is a reoccurring theme because we need to remind ourselves of the greatest purpose of private prayer time. To get a running start into my point for this post I’ll use a quote from my book: A Reason to Pray at Mountain. The mentor, Paul, says to Mark:

“He is also calling you to spend more time with Him … to KNOW Him, to know His heart. He doesn’t JUST want you to believe in Him, He wants you to know Him so that you will trust Him.”

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The title question may sound strange, but that doesn’t mean it should not be considered. Should the believer view his/her solitude time of prayer with God a time of learning? Could be; maybe; shouldn’t it be? How’s that for a non-committed commitment?

To understand this post, you need to read the previous post. Really, you should. The emphasis is having a new purpose of prayer–the motive and reason that you pray and commune with your God and Savior. This new purpose puts an emphasis on building a relationship with God rather than seeking Him primarily as a resource. This new purpose would make a person’s relationship with God as both the beginning and end reason to pray. In a nutshell, it is seeking FIRST and FOREMOST the face of God rather than the hand of God.