Rising early to pray
Jesus in the dark before dawn
At the height of a demanding season — crowds pressing, needs everywhere, the ministry exploding — Mark records a habit of Jesus: rising very early, while it was still dark, he went out to a solitary place and prayed there. The busier he was, the more he guarded the quiet time with the Father. The pressing demands did not crowd out prayer; they made it more necessary.
It would have been easy to justify skipping it — there was so much to do, so many people to help. Instead Jesus rose early to protect the unhurried, solitary time with God, before the demands of the day could swallow it. Leaders under pressure often sacrifice exactly this — the quiet, early, unproductive-seeming time alone with God — because the urgent crowds it out. Jesus shows that this time is not a luxury for slow seasons but a necessity for busy ones. The fuel for a demanding day is drawn in the quiet before it.
“God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you.”
— David, seeking God early — Psalm 63:1 (WEB)
Quiet, unhurried time with God is a necessity for busy seasons, not a luxury for slow ones. The fuel for a demanding day is drawn in the quiet before it.
“Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there.”
The busier Jesus was, the more he guarded solitary prayer. A leader formed here protects the quiet time precisely when demands are highest. The inner work is refusing to let the urgent swallow the essential.
Protect unhurried, solitary time with God, especially in your busiest seasons. Draw the fuel for the day in the quiet before it. Refuse to sacrifice prayer to the very pressures that make it most needed.
Leaders sacrifice the quiet time first when seasons get busy, calling it necessary. The blind spot is cutting the very source of strength the demands require.
In your busiest stretch this week, protect an early, unhurried time with God rather than sacrificing it.
The busier Jesus was, the more he guarded the quiet time with the Father — rising before dawn to protect it. Leaders under pressure sacrifice exactly this, because the urgent crowds it out.
When your seasons get busiest, is the quiet time with God the first thing protected, or the first thing sacrificed?