Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 225

August 12;   Matthew 14:23;   14/260(II);   ‘A Man of Prayer’

Matthew 14:23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

What an Example the Lord Jesus gave us.  The Lord had a human body and John 4 tells us that after a long journey, Jesus was weary.  In this verse Jesus had spent a long time ministering to the people, healing their sick and He teaching them as well.  When He finally dismissed the multitude, He had to be exhausted.  Obviously there were times when Jesus slept, since He did have a mortal body.  But here, we see His commitment to fulfill His ministry.  Notice He went up on the mountain alone and Jesus, when evening came, was still alone.  To be successful in any ministry, there must be a determined decision to pray and to pray for considerable periods of time, alone.  Prayer time with the Father is required.  Teaching and healing people is exhausting, as well as mentally and emotionally challenging.  Though Jesus was tired, He needed to spend time being with His Father.  Prayer builds you back up spiritually, enables you to ‘unwind’ mentally and refreshes you as you fellowship with the Father who loves you.  As a minister there are things that only you can do.  He loved the multitudes and was committed to finish what His Father sent Him to do, and that was to redeem us from sin and sickness.  His prayer time recharged Jesus spiritually to the point that He walked on the sea to His disciples in their boat.  They did not understand fully the commitment ministry is, but they would after they were Spirit filled.  Soon they too would sow their lives into their own ministry by prayer and the study of the Word.  Love for others and a determination to help them, makes any effort required an honor.