In Mark 6 Jesus taught and fed thousands upon thousands of people. Afterward he sought some alone time with his heavenly Father. That makes sense. He had a big day and was also preparing for the next task. “And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray” (Mark 6:46, ESV).

This is instructive for all of us. If the Son of God needed dedicated time to commune with and pray to his heavenly Father, so do we.

Some people find this easy. They have a set time every day for prayer. It might not even be a long time. But it’s a special time set apart to talk with God. If this is you, awesome.

Other people struggle with it. If this is you, let me encourage you to find some time and to make it a priority. Perhaps it’s right when you get up. Have some prayer time even before you check your phone or computer. Perhaps it’s at night. Or perhaps it’s a moment in the day that you can be apart from others.

Henri Nouwen provides some additional motivation: “Through solitude we do not move away from people. On the contrary, we move closer to them.”* His point is that time with God gives you renewed focus and strength to be the person you need to be for those around you. Jesus would sometimes go off by himself to pray. He didn’t do this because he was being selfish. It was all a part of his love and care for others. 

The same is true for you. Time for you is also time for others.

Some people are always talking about “me time.” They overindulge their selfishness under the guise of self-care. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about taking prayer seriously (like Jesus) to find renewed focus and strength to be the person you need to be for those around you.

“And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.” 

Time for you is also time for others.

Notes:

–*Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers (HarperOne, 2009), 39.