Habits Of The Heart

Habits of the Heart

Luke 4:42-44, NLT

Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Setting the Scene

We move from a late evening when Jesus deals with crowds of curious and needy people to the quiet dawn hours after Jesus leaves Simon’s home. He finds “an isolated place.” This gives us another glimpse into the way Jesus lived intentionally. In his Gospel, Mark adds the note that Jesus’ purpose was “to pray” at the beginning of the day (1:35). Jesus didn’t seek solitude to be alone with himself; he found a quiet place to be alone with his Father. Time apart allows us to focus our prayer by minimizing distractions. It offers God time to speak to us. The impression we get from Jesus’ life is that these times away were essential to his spiritual well-being.

The parallel accounts in the different Gospels give a more complete picture of this event. Mark tells us the disciples were the first to notice Jesus missing and searched for him. “When they found him, they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ But Jesus replied, ‘We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came’” (Mark 1:37-38, NLT). Luke provides the atmosphere of the moment, telling us that the people “begged him not to leave them.” Jesus informed those seeking him that his priority was delivering the “Good News of the Kingdom of God” as widely as possible. He refused to be distracted. The apparent urgency of people’s needs would not keep him from his primary task.

Getting Personal

What would improve the regularity and quality of your time alone with God?

What most distracts you from keeping your spiritual priorities?

Habits like prayer and carrying out God’s priorities in life will be limited if we consistently yield to distractions. Growing in our relationship with God doesn’t happen by accident. We must imitate the intentional way Jesus carried out daily living. Most positive habits begin as deliberate actions. We don’t accidentally fall into the habit of prayer. We grow into the habit of prayer by repeated practice. Prayer becomes habitual when we discover it is crucial to our spiritual health.

Talking to God

As you pray today, try to balance speaking with listening. Practice being alone with God, and ask him to speak to you.