Our Need for Private Prayer &Worship Mark 6:30-32

Text: “He that dwelleth (abideth) in the secret Place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2.

Good morning, private-worshipping Christian!  If called upon by the Pastor, or Bible Class deacon, to publicly pray in the congregation – you have no hesitation, you will pray. If called upon by the Lord, or social circumstances, to pray in the midst of an entire city full of people – you and I have no hesitation to do so.  Our faith in Christ is strong, and to be tasked to undertake any small or more seemingly important functions for Christ, we are more than willing and ready to stand in the breach; it is deemed our utter privilege to do so.  Praise God.

However.  In order to achieve any small Spiritual gain for Christ or ‘the church’ – you and I fully understand the absolute necessity to be consistently engaged with Christ in times of private and deeply personal worship and prayer with our three-Personed Lord God.

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.  Verily (truly) I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”  (Matthew 6:5-6)

The prophet, Elisha, knew the power he received from the Almighty Lord God, when once he honoured the private and personal place of communion with his Lord God.

“And he (Elisha) went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord.”  (2 Kings 4:33)

Mighty miracles were performed, after such times of dedicated, personal and private pray.  In this case, Elisha was granted power to raise a dead child to life again!  (2 Kings 4:17-37)

Close fellowship with the Lord God Jehovah, in private and personal prayer times is a privilege many today deny themselves by laziness and lack of commitment to Christ.

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“Let us mark in this passage, the conduct of the apostles when they returned from their first mission as preachers. We read that they “gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.”

“These words are deeply instructive. They are a bright example to all ministers of the Gospel, and to all labourers in the great work of doing good to souls. All such should daily do as the apostles did on this occasion. They should tell all their proceedings to the great Head of the Church. They should spread all their work before Christ, and ask of Him counsel, guidance, strength, and help.

“Prayer is the main secret of success in spiritual business. It moves Him who can move heaven and earth. It brings down the promised aid of the Holy Ghost, without whom the finest sermons, the clearest teaching, and the most diligent working, are all alike in vain. It is not always those who have the most eminent gifts who are most successful labourers for God. It is generally those who keep up closest communion with Christ and are most instant in prayer. It is those who cry with the prophet Ezekiel, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live.” (Ezekiel 37:9) It is those who follow most exactly the apostolic model, and “give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4) Happy is that church which has a praying as well as a preaching ministry! The question we should ask about a new minister, is not merely “Can he preach well?” but “Does he pray much for his people and his work? “(J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

Another most important point to be gleaned from this selected passage of Holy Scripture is this: the Lord God KNOWS the limits of our all-too-human bodies and minds; the Spirit of God living within us, knows us better than we could ever know our fallible selves!  He shall never drive the servant of God past breaking-point!  Listening to would-be romantics seeking to wrongly teach the glory of ‘…burning oneself out for Jesus…’ is pathetic in the light of our Bible verses selected from Mark’s Gospel for today’s study. 

“Like as a Father He pitieth His children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.  For He knoweth (knows, and continually knows) our frame (bodily/mentally limits); He remembereth that we are dust.”  (Psalm 103:13-14)

After Christ was informed by the apostles of all their exploits done in His Name; Christ Jesus immediately had compassion upon His servants and said, “…Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.”  (Mark 6:31)

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“These words are full of tender consideration. Our Lord knows well that His servants are flesh as well as spirit, and have bodies as well as souls. He knows that at best they have a treasure in earthen vessels, and are themselves compassed with many infirmities. He shows them that He does not expect from them more than their bodily strength can do. He asks for what we can do, and not for what we cannot do. “Come ye apart,” He says, “and rest awhile.”” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

What a compassionate Lord God and Saviour we serve, in Christ Jesus.  Praise His Name!

Thought: If we don’t come apart for to rest – we are in danger of just coming apart!