{"id":20663,"date":"2017-10-13T00:10:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T07:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=11769"},"modified":"2017-10-17T17:13:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T00:13:40","slug":"october-13-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/10\/13\/october-13-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"October 13, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

HIS ACTION<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSo He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.\u201d<\/em> Luke 5:16<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.\u201d<\/em> Matthew 14:23<\/span><\/p>\n

Withdraw & Pray<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

HIS EXAMPLE TO US<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus went off by Himself and spent time with the Father in prayer.<\/span><\/p>\n

MY STORY<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the side effects of a chronic health issue I live with is insomnia. I am able to go to sleep almost immediately, but most mornings between 2 AM and 4 AM I wake up. As I lay there, I begin to pray for whatever\/whoever the Lord puts on my heart. Occasionally I go back to sleep, but more often than not God calls me out of bed to go be with Him. Most days I go cheerfully, whatever the time (thank goodness I\u2019ve always been a morning person!), to see what He desires to share with me. The silver lining in my health issue is extra time with God, and since no one else is up that early, it\u2019s just Him and me.<\/span><\/p>\n

MY RESPONSE<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus knew how important it was to withdraw and pray. Luke 6:12 tells us the night before He chose the 12 apostles. \u201cHe went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.\u201d<\/em> This tells me before I make big decisions I need to spend time with God in prayer. The night before His betrayal, Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him\u2014asking them to pray that they would not fall into temptation, and Luke 22:41 (NIV) tells us \u201cHe withdrew about a stone\u2019s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, \u2018Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.\u2019\u201d<\/em> This shows me that it\u2019s okay to ask the Father for things to go differently, but also to accept them if they don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I will follow His example by withdrawing away by myself and praying; spending time with God the Father; allowing Him to love on me, reveal Himself to me, and give me strength to obey His will in my life. I will go to Him for big (and small) decisions and I will trust that whatever He chooses to do is right, even if I would rather it go a different way. If Scripture tells us Jesus often withdrew by Himself and prayed, isn\u2019t it important we do so as well?<\/span><\/p>\n

MY PRAYER<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJesus, thank You for showing us how important it is to withdraw by ourselves and spend time with the Father in prayer. Please help us carve out that time\u2014even if it\u2019s just a few precious minutes a day. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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