Up the Mountain to Pray

After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.  Mark 6:46 (TNIV)

Jesus sent off His disciples in a boat and stayed behind to say goodbye to the crowd.  As soon as He was alone, He went up the mountain to find a place to pray.  The Son of God was a remarkable man and it seems even an insult to say it like that.  But He came to be the Light for us to follow.  He came to prepare and to show us the Way to the Father.  As He was, so we should be.  As He did, so we should do.

But we are not talking about actions.  We love to bring it down to that, but Jesus always directed us beyond the external expression and to the very root and heart of everything.  Better said than do as He did, we should strive to be as He is.  When the hustle and bustle dies down just a tad, we should be like Jesus in that we hone like a bee to its hive.  We should actively seek moments alone in the company of our God.

There is so much we make today of our religion.  We think being a Christian is acting a certain way or thinking certain things.  We are experts at organizing whole lists of things we should do and how we should do them.  We might take our lead from the Bible or reputable organizations, but all the while we are confusing the relationship Jesus asks us to have, with all our scurrying about.

Therefore, before we find a host of texts to justify our well-intended meddling, we should direct our attention to whether or not we are truly walking as He showed us to walk.  Jesus tried hard to show us that the rules given to us to walk by were not to be substituted for the walk.  In fact it was this Walk with God, which Jesus preached and demonstrated to us all.

So as Jesus makes a way for Himself to get alone and into the presence of His Father, we should too make every effort to seek out and find those moments.  Surely we will find one day, that no amount of good deeds or correct doctrines will stack up and out-weigh even one genuine moment spent with our Lord.

Therefore when we pray, let us keep in mind that we are drawing near to a very real and very wonderful Person.  This Character may not have the same attributes as we humans, but we do not need those attributes, to know that He has our best interest in mind.  God cares for us more than we can fathom.  The lengths He has gone through to demonstrate His love and care should overwhelm us with love for Him.  There should be no other sentiment which enters our awareness which rivals that of our need to be with Him.

But should the aspiring Christian want to go further than the frivolous actions and theories of our times, he or she will need to get to know the Object of their devotion.  This is not a book-learned knowledge although reading may help direct.  This is not a shared commodity as one a friend may pass on to us.  This bonding with the Lord must be lived through in a very personal way.  A baby is not consoled by merely a reassuring voice, but that voice along with a loving embrace.  We need to feel the warmth and strength of love that our Father has for us.  There is no other way to find it than coming unto Him.  Even if we must climb a mountain to get where we can experience that closeness, the true seeker will climb.

Dear Lord, thank You for directing us.  Thank You for herding our confused little flock.  If it weren´t for Your gentle guiding, we would turn in any and all different directions.  Yet Your voice still comes to us through the confusion.  You are here and would draw us unto You. Please let our burning hearts yearn for nothing less than to be with You.

Amen