Get Up, Get Going, and Get Praying!
by Vin Santanelli

"And rising in the morning long before day, he went out and went away into a desert place, and there prayed." (Mk. 1:35)

Energy

"And rising..."

Service and activity saturates Mark's gospel, for it is the gospel of God's Servant. And yet with all the ministry, movements and workings of Christ, He still finds time to rise up early in the morning. That takes a higher degree of energy, especially from one who is very active during the day. The tense of the word "rising" is an aorist participle, which refers to a past act that is complete. The Lord did not progressively drag Himself out of His bed (like we so often do), but got up quickly and completely. Where did such energy come from? May I suggest that the desire to be absolutely dependent on God before the day was so strong in the Lord that He was actually driven to prayer as an absolute necessity. Is this our attitude?

Early

"...long before the day..."

These words probably refer to the last watch of the night. This period lasted from 3:00am to 6:00am. But it wasn't simply that our Lord awoke a little before six (which would've been before the morning), but sometime "long before." The Lord dedicated a significant amount of time to pray. Nothing was more important than spending that time communing with His Father.

Escape

"...he went out and went away..."

Two prepositions connect two Greek words in the original that can be seen in our English translations, if we are paying attention. The first preposition is "out" (ek) and the second is "away" (apo). Both words put before our minds two kinds of movements - a departure from and a going away. It wasn't enough for the Spirit of God to say, "he went out into a desert place" or "he went away to a desert place." Instead, by putting the movements "out" and "away" together we learn that the Lord not only left the city, but He went away from it. Sometimes it's not enough to lock yourself in a room and pray. You may have to get "out" of the house and go "away" somewhere in order to find a peaceful time for prayer! Put some space between yourself and potential distractions and that "oasis of peace and prayer" will be easier to find.

Empty

"...a desert place..."

You'll notice that there is no article before the word "desert." The Spirit of God is not trying to point out a particular place, but, rather, the characteristic of a place - that characteristic is one of desolation and quiet. The word "eremia" is translated in different ways: a wilderness, a desert, a solitary place, desolate, an uninhabited place. The pictures behind this word bring many images to mind. It is a place totally free from any distractions and interruptions. That is the kind of place that our Lord went to pray. While such a place may be impossible to find in our noise-saturated society (even in the early hours of morning), we should, none-the-less, try to find an area that captures the pictures behind the word "eremia," a place of solitude and quiet.

Engage

"...and there prayed."

The word "there" highlights for us that the Lord did not begin to pray until he had arrived at the exact spot that was free of all distractions. He did not pray while leaving the city or on the way, but only when He arrived at a solitary place. This implies an intense sensitivity to solitude and quiet that He possessed and, undoubtedly, needed as God's Perfect Servant.

The word for 'pray' here literally means to "pray towards God." The Greek preposition 'pros' is "towards" and suggests the kind of prayer that actively and consciously puts God before the heart, a face-to-face encounter, as it were. Is this our sense in prayer? Do we bring God before us in this kind of way as we cry out to Him? Do we feel His presence in such a way so as to cry out like Isaiah "woe is me" and "here am I, Lord" as we encounter His holiness and grace?

Also, the word for "prayed" is in the imperfect tense, which means that our Lord was praying continually and throughout the early hours of the morning. Unceasing and tireless energy characterized our Lord's prayers. Do we grow tired in prayer? Do we give up? Let us gaze upon our Lord as he labored and continued in prayer, drawing strength from His wonderful and perfect example.

Sleep on, oh, sleeping man,
Before the noise of your labors,
For He goes forth to meet the God that never sleeps,
Beyond the gates and hills,
to labor and work
in the stillness of quiet prayer.
Behold Him upon His knees,
Crying to God, remembering Him daily
While men lay upon their backs,
dreaming things soon to be forgotten.
Bring light and purpose, Oh Christ!
To meet the dark world when day breaks
For nature's light nourishes that which soon fades away,
And the morning dew is dispelled in its heat.
But, oh, what rays of divine glory
Will be seen from this One!
When dawn breaks and men arise,
when the morning dew of love and blessing remains
Under the everlasting glory of the Son!