Do Not Disturb

Nov 11, 2021

“And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed.”

- Mark 1:35

Throughout the gospels, Jesus continually goes off alone to pray and spend time with his Father. We see it mentioned over and over again:

After feeding the 5000—Mark 6:46: And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
Before choosing His disciples—Luke 6:12: In these days he went into the hills to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God.
Before Peter’s profession of faith—Luke 9:18: Now it happened that as he was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?”
Before the Transfiguration—Luke 9:28: Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
Before teaching the Lord’s Prayer—Luke 11:1: He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
Before the crucifixion—Matthew 26:36-45; Mark 14:32-41; Luke 22:39-46.

Jesus consistently made space to be alone, sit in silence, and pray. Not only did He exemplify this spiritual rhythm, He also taught his disciples to engage in it:

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men… But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

- Matthew 6:5-6

When Jesus does something over and over, I think it’s important that we take note. This rhythm is essential to building closeness with God and finding peace amidst the chaos. We can clearly see the value - Jesus used time with the Lord to prepare for big things, to rest after long days, and to find peace when He felt deep fear and internal struggle. It makes sense why this would matter, so why is it so hard to do it?

In 21st century America, the idea of taking space to be still, be quiet, ignore texts, turn off distractions, and give God your unadulterated attention - well it sounds nearly impossible! We can already list the excuses in our brains.

“Well, I’m too busy.”

“Well, the kids wake up too early.”

“Well, if I don’t respond to my boss fast enough I could get fired.”

“Well I don’t feel anything when I try to pray.”

“Well I do my 5 minutes during breakfast, that’s enough right?”

Friend, I’m not trying to invalidate you - I give all of the same excuses too! I had a friend tell me that she doesn’t go on her phone for the first hour of the morning to have space for rest and quiet time… I called her crazy.

While our excuses sound valid, I think if we’re honest with ourselves, there is always space if we truly value the thing we’re making space for. If we worship Jesus above all, then we need to take a look at how our calendars reflect that.

Inside, we have this deep need to always be available, to always be productive, to always be doing.

I wonder what we’re so afraid of in the silence.

Maybe we’re scared of what we would or wouldn’t hear? Maybe we’re scared of what emotions might come to the surface when we’re not numbing or distracting? Maybe, deep down, we’re terrified that God won’t really show up. And friend… maybe those fears are the exact reasons we need to give these rhythms a real shot. Because you need to hear the hard stuff, you need to feel instead of being numb, and you need to wait on God to see Him show up. That’s where the growth is, that’s where the peace is, that’s where we see real life change.

I don’t know what the distraction is for you. I don’t know what needs to go on Do Not Disturb. Maybe it is your devices, and it’s time to set some screen time limits this week (I’m with you). Maybe it’s certain relationships that are sucking the life of you, and it’s time for good boundaries. Maybe it’s a workload that is crushing, and it’s time to practice delegation and communication with your team. I don’t know what needs to change.

But I know Jesus is next to you, I know He’s waiting. I know He’s not mad or angry, but I know He’d like more time with you. I wonder what might happen in the silence.

Last week, I was having a tough day, so a friend prayed for me. She said “I feel like the Holy Spirit is telling me that the enemy knows he can’t take you out, so he’s going to do everything in his power to distract you.”