Getting ready

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1.35

The Bible is silent about the Wednesday of Holy Week. Whether the disciples enjoyed the day off is anyone's guess but Jesus himself is unlikely to have been idle. He probably spent the day in fervent prayer to steel himself for what lay ahead.

Whenever we face a reckoning, alongside all the other preparations we must make to ensure that we are ready, setting aside time to pray will pay dividends. it means that, instead of relying on our own resources which are limited and unstable, we avail ourselves of the power and wisdom of God which are infinite.

The aim of the Christian life is to move according to the rhythms of God's grace, in a constant state of prayerfulness. This does not mean we never get up off our knees. It happens rather like learning another language. We suddenly reach a threshold where speaking that new tongue comes naturally. Yet there will still be times we need to focus.

And so it is with prayer. Jesus is our inspiration and example. The Gospel accounts present us with a master-class of what it looks like to live in those rhythms of grace, as demonstrated by the Lord himself. And, from time to time, that involved withdrawing to pray more intensely and personally.