There are lots of distractions for us when we try to draw close to God.
In Mark 1:35 it says, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” Two things that caught my attention there are “before daybreak” and “an isolated place”. Jesus knew the importance of spending time with his Father. If you read in verses 23-34, Jesus was very busy casting out demons, healing Simon's mother-in-law, and even in verse 32: “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch. So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.” It wasn’t just one healing or one demon cast out. It says “many people who were sick” and then it says “cast out many demons”. Jesus was clearly very busy.
And yet, even amidst His busyness, Jesus went before daybreak and isolated Himself with no distractions to talk to his Father, God. It makes me think about Pastor Aaron going on sabbatical. Jesus's ministry was super, super busy, and He needed time alone to pray and gather Himself. And I sense Pastor Aaron is doing that also.
In Jesus' ministry, He took time to pray to God the Father. If prayer was important to Jesus, then it must be important for His followers. Withdraw from the noise, the distractions, and demands so you can focus on God. Dive into his word. I suggest using the actual Bible. How many times have I got on my phone app reading the Bible and notifications and messages or whatever happens and it's a real distraction? And I think God is calling us to a place of finding a place where we have no distractions and where we can focus solely on him, and that we can pour all of ourselves out, get all of our stuff out. To just give it to Jesus, and let Jesus pour Himself in us. I think it can be in the forest, it can be by the ocean, it can be out in a field, it can be out in your backyard around a fire, somewhere you don’t have light pollution where you can see all the stars in the sky, it can be a closet or your car.
Challenge yourself to dive into the word and pray and find these little places you can just pour yourself out and let him pour into you!