"Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed...And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick." Luke 5:15-17
Here we find an amazing look at the pattern of renewal in the life of Jesus. This pattern is essential for us to comprehend and apply in our lives if we desire to be of use in the Kingdom of God both individually and corporately as the Bride of Christ. In the example of Jesus we find His ability to strike an amazing blend between being with the crowds and being alone.
And in many ways we see a fluid connection between major events in Jesus' life and time spent apart from the pressing demands of His ministry. We're told in the gospels that before Jesus chose His twelve disciples He spent the night alone in prayer. In our passage in Luke we find that the crowds had pressed in upon Him to hear Him teach and to be healed of their sicknesses. His popularity was such that news was spreading all over the region. The words of Mark 1:45 confirm this when they state:
"As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in the lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere."
What is interesting here for me is that our text from Luke does not share that Jesus responded to His popularity by increasing His activity. He didn't take the mindset of "If I'm gaining this by working 50 hours a week, imagine what will happen if I work 70 hours a week!" Quite the opposite really. Luke 5:16 tells us,
"Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."
Time alone before God was a spiritual discipline so important to Jesus that He purposefully chose to leave the crowds of His life. He couldn't neglect it and neither can we. In fact, I'm convinced that it was essential for His effectiveness in ministry. Luke 5:17 tells us that:
"...the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick."
This is an amazing passage for me. For Luke to comment that the power of the Lord was present makes me wonder if there were times when the power of the Lord wasn't present for Jesus to heal the sick. And if so, what were the conditions? We know from Scripture that Jesus could not do many miracles in Nazareth because of their lack of faith, but:
I think we can reason from personal experience that there are times when we are ineffective spiritually because of over-exertion and lack of time spent alone with God.
I think Jesus understood this to be true and I think if we're honest, we know this to be true as well. For those who are serious about living the holy life, the practice of "solitude" is essential for spiritual health and well-being. If we can't find time to do so, we must subtract something from our lives in order to do so. To ignore this is to do so at our own risk.
If we don't get away from the crowds and get alone with God we will find our joy for living and spiritual things going away. Service in the Kingdom will seem as a duty instead of an overflow of thanksgiving. And ultimately, your passion for God will burn out.
Friends, lets learn a lesson from Jesus' example, let's make it a practice to get away and pray.
Shalom my friends,
Pastor Jeremy
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