“ Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find 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 1:35-38.

Prayer is a conversation with God—a space to share your questions, dreams, hopes, and fears. Prayer allows you to unload your concerns to God, inviting His guidance and support. Prayer knows no bounds and can happen anywhere. If life’s challenges feel overwhelming, prayer can make a difference.  We think of prayer as speaking to God, but if it’s real communication, we have to give God a chance to speak, inspire, heal, guide, forgive, and help us. It is a time to focus on God rather than other things that cloud our minds and engage in a conversation with the Lord.

Extraverts who have no trouble talking to anybody find praying to God difficult. Maybe we think that our prayers just aren’t good enough to warrant taking up God’s time. Maybe our prayers lack structure and tend to be a stream of consciousness. Or our prayers lack eloquent phrases sprinkled with relevant Bible verses. Or we may be convinced that God is sovereign over everything, including my circumstances, so why do we need to pray when it is in complete control?

Luke 11:1 says, “Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus had just finished praying, apparently in the presence of His disciples. Eager to be like Jesus, they asked that He teach them to pray. Notice two things about their request: First, they, too, desired to communicate with God through prayer, and second, they knew they needed guidance.

Although prayer may be as simple as just talking to God, it is also a learned skill; it takes time, work, and practice. The disciples were with Jesus day in and day out. Of all the things they could have asked Him to teach them — how to heal, teach, or perform extraordinary miracles — they asked how to pray. Jesus gave the disciples (and us) the Lord’s Prayer to teach them. There, Jesus breaks down the essence of Christian living, including a very clear example of how to pray.

Prayer is personal, like our relationship with the Almighty through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Prayer is also a privilege, allowing us 24/7 access to our heavenly Father, made possible only by the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for our sins. Remember, the Lord is much more concerned with the attitude of our hearts than the actual words from our lips. Life is complicated, but our prayer lives need not be.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is prayer a challenging discipline for you? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think people struggle with prayer today? What obstacles keep us from taking everything to God?  
3. What is your motivation for talking to God?

“Jesus never processed his pain in isolation. He abandoned himself to the Father, knowing that he could entrust his well-being into the Father’s care. The danger of isolation is much greater than the risk of intimacy.” – Steven Furtick.

Most people felt alone and disconnected due to the restrictions and social distancing measures enforced during the  COVID-19 outbreak several years ago. In-person contact was significantly reduced, leading to feelings of isolation and detachment from others. COVID-19 mandated solitude.

We all need solitude from time to time. It is time to seek God’s voice, reflect, relax, and recover.  It allows us to introspect and listen for the Spirit’s voice. Scripture tells us that Jesus would regularly retreat and seek out places of solitude and prayer.

Christians should strive to balance their time of solitude with God with active participation in their community of believers, ensuring that their “alone time” doesn’t translate to complete isolation from other Christians; the key is to use solitude as a means to deepen their relationship with God, which can then enrich their interactions with fellow believers.

Spending time alone with God allows for focused prayer, reflection on scripture, and listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, which is critical to our Christian walk.  While solitude is necessary, isolating oneself from the Christian community can lead to spiritual stagnation because engaging with other believers through fellowship, prayer groups, and serving opportunities reinforces faith and provides support.

Even though Jesus often withdrew to solitary places for prayer, He was deeply connected to his disciples and actively ministered to others.  Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

To accomplish this balance, schedule regular periods for quiet reflection and prayer, whether early in the morning or during another part of the day. And actively participate in church activities: Attend services, join small groups, and volunteer to serve others within the community.

The Lord doesn’t want us to be alone. He mentions this time and time again. He wants us to call on Him and those around us for help. He wants us to share our trials and troubles with those closest to us. By isolating ourselves, we take away the opportunity for God to speak to us through others. Engaging with God in moments of solitude will strengthen the relationship with Him while connecting with others provides support and accountability.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways have you isolated yourself from God and others? How can you take steps to re-engage with God’s mission?

“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” C.S. Lewis.

Connecting with others has never been more easy and it has never been more challenging to connect with ourselves. Constant connectivity enables us to see what everybody else does, what everybody else thinks, and what everybody else likes. We are used to input and stimuli. When we run, we listen to music, and when we are driving, we listen to podcasts. We are rarely in the moment. We all feel it — we’re bombarded by noise like never before. Jesus has an invitation for us: Step away from it all and find solitude with Him.

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” Most of us have grown accustomed to what truly does amount to being “starved” for solitude.

You can know that you need solitude for one reason—Jesus needed it. We see examples of Jesus praying on His own throughout the New Testament. One example, Mark 1:35, tells us, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” Jesus, who was God and man simultaneously, needed time alone. If He needed it, we need it. When Jesus was about to face the excruciating ordeal of the cross, He just didn’t shrug and get through it; He spent time alone in the Garden of Gethsemane in conversation with his heavenly Father. He needed solitude to accomplish His purpose here on earth, and so do we. We are designed for solitude, simply being with your heavenly Father.

So, how can you best practice solitude? Be patient with yourself. Be patient with God. Fill the emptiness of silence with the satisfaction of God’s presence. Your heavenly Father loves simply spending time with you, enjoying deep communion with His people.

Christians should not spend all their time in solitude or all their time in community. We should be like Jesus and withdraw to commune with God but then return to the bustle of daily tasks and the needs of others. The bottom line is we need to carve out time for spiritual respite in some place of solitude because solitude is an opportunity to open up our lives and souls to Him.

We don’t retreat from life’s busyness and bustle as an end in itself. It is an opportunity to open our lives and souls to Him for whom we were made. To know Him and enjoy Him.

 Find a place free from distractions. Ask the Spirit to calm your heart and mind and help you to spend time in deep communion with God.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you ever spend time in solitude before the Lord? Why or why not? If you don’t, what is keeping you from doing so?
2. What does solitude look like for you?
3. What practical steps can you take to integrate the spiritual discipline of solitude into your faith walk?

“My order of priorities reflects the level of my commitment to Christ. Whoever or whatever is in first place, if it isn’t the Lord Jesus, is in the wrong place.” – Charles R. Swindoll.

Life is a lot like the $20 bill in your pocket: you get to choose what you will spend that $20 on. There are many choices, and you only get to spend that particular $20, so selecting one thing is often a difficult choice. It usually boils down to what our priorities are.

If you asked a group of people what is most important to them, you would get various answers. Prioritization means choosing what problems to solve and which not to solve. Jesus Himself gave us the top priority: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33). He is giving us what should come first, our priority.

If I am to seek first in my life God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, then whatever else I do ought to relate to that goal: my family and relationships, personal development, job and financial stability, family and relationships, to name a few. Every decision I make ought to be filtered through the Matthew 6:33 filter: where I put my money, where and how I spend my time, what I buy, what I sell, what I give away.

Haggai may be one of those Old Testament books that gets quickly skipped over, but the whole account of Haggai is incredibly relevant for the 21st century.  In the first chapter, we see that the people had begun putting themselves before the Lord, focusing on building their own houses while neglecting the temple. In the years since returning from exile in Babylon, they had ignored the house of God. In verse 4, God–through His prophet Haggai–says, “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?”

The sin was not living in luxury homes, per se, but the idea of satisfying themselves instead of working on the things of God. Fast forward to 2025. Are we still elevating our priorities of stuff above God? Just as the Israelites eventually returned to God, you will find a new and deeper fulfillment in Him. Place God as the one proper priority in your life, and everything else will fall in place.

Charles Swindoll said, “You and I can become so dedicated to the will of God, we can be so driven by a false sense of purpose, that we might inadvertently take matters into our own hands and leave God completely out of the loop.”

So here is the crucial question: What is your greatest priority? Or what do you want your greatest priority to be? New demands will always rise to the top of my to-do list, giving me reasons to delay tackling my priorities.

Jesus promised that if we live for Him rather than ourselves and put Him and His priorities first in our lives, He will give us the things that really matter. The things that don’t matter won’t matter anymore.

  Discussion Questions:

1. How well do your daily activities reflect your priorities? 
2. What is one thing that distracts you from your priorities? How do you combat this distraction?

“ Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find 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.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” – Mark 1:35-39.

In Mark 1:28-39, after Jesus casts out a demon, news of His power spreads rapidly throughout Galilee. He then goes to Simon Peter’s house where his mother-in-law is sick with a fever, and Jesus heals her. As evening falls, the entire town brings their sick and demon-possessed loved ones to Jesus, and He heals many. Early the following day, Jesus wakes up before dawn, leaves the house to find a secluded place, and prays alone.

Pause for a second and put yourselves in the disciple’s shoes. What did you think was going on in their minds? They go to Peter’s house and find that his mother-in-law is sick. There is probably activity around the house, but Jesus is interested in the woman and heals her. We probably could not have healed her, but what we can do is focus on her needs rather than activities that we need to do or all the activities taking place around us.

In verses 32-33, we read, “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch.” Again, imagine you are watching this all unfold. Jesus sees the needs of the people. He seems to be unaffected by the high energy of the event. These two verses highlight Jesus’ compassion and accessibility, where even after a long day, He readily welcomed those in need, demonstrating that His healing power extends to both physical and spiritual ailments and that no matter the time or circumstance, He is always ready to help those who come to Him seeking relief.

Jesus also had needs and went off to pray (vs. 35). Of course, while He was praying, people were looking for Him again. Jesus sees the needs of people in other places. And so off He goes. This passage indicates His consistent focus on people and their needs. What about us? Do we see the needs of others as hurdles to be overcome so that our needs can be met?

Peter’s mother-in-law’s sickness is not an impediment but an opportunity to minister to her. The people at the door are not a distraction for Him, but an opportunity to make the community well. A time of prayer turns from personal introspection to a revelation of needs outside the community.

To look through the eyes of Jesus, we have to shift the way we think. Seeing the needs of others as Jesus did means seeing them as valuable, worthy of love, and beautiful.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the difference between people who serve others and people who are self-serving? 
2. Would you describe yourself as someone who sacrificially serves others or is self-serving?  Why?  How would you like to be described? 

“But forget all that — it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:18-19.

Do you need a new thing in your life? Are you in a rut? We all end up there from time to time. Maybe it’s a deep rut, or maybe it’s just a shallow rut. If that’s where you are, there’s a sure prescription to get you out of that rut and moving forward again.

In Isaiah 43:19, God speaks to Israel through the prophet Isaiah and promises to “do something new” if the nation is only aware of it. That verse is as relevant today as it was in Isaiah’s day. Every morning, we get up and start our routine, and it is a new day. God causes the sun to rise, the dew to appear on the grass, the birds to sing and the fresh breeze to blow. But we tend to be oblivious to all that because we hurriedly rush to meet our morning objectives, preparing to face another day. Is this the way God intended us to live? No, but we tend to rationalize that we need to move fast in a fast-moving world, but when we do happen to slow down, we realize that God may be continuously doing a new thing around us, and we are too busy to notice.

God creates a new day for us each morning and repeatedly presents us with opportunities to experience Him freshly. If you were asked when the last time you experienced God doing something new in your life? A few verses later, God tells Israel, “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel!” (Verse 22). It appears that Israel had grown weary of the Lord. They were taking His grace for granted.

Isaiah 43:18 begins by saying, “But forget all that — it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.” The Israelites were stuck in the past. In Isaiah 43:19a, we see Him telling them why to stop looking back and longing for what was gone: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” The truth still stands for us today that God is doing a new thing in our lives, creating a way in the wilderness of this world and springing forth a new thing if we only recognize it.

The Lord encourages His people to let go of the old and embrace the new, even though this new seems scary and unfamiliar. He wanted them to open their eyes to see He was still at work and sovereign. Keeping their eyes focused on the past blinded them to the promising new things He was doing.

If we are to see the “new” things God is doing, we need to slow down to see them. We need to pause and look for the signs of the new.  Look around for those signs of new life, of something beautiful forming under God’s hand, wherever you are in your life right now.

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever experienced a time when God did something new in your life, even when you weren’t expecting it?
2. What are some areas in your life where you might need to be open to God doing something new?
3. How can you cultivate a mindset of openness to new things God might want to bring into your life? 

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” – Matthew 6:34 (MSG).

In a world consumed by nonstop notifications and instant gratification, it’s no wonder that teachers have noticed weaker student attention spans. In a recent survey of 107 students,  48.6 percent find themselves zoning out in class all the time, while 47.7 percent say they zone out sometimes. They are busy either on the phone or on their laptop. In some college classes where 250 students are listening to a professor lecture on 18th-century English literature, it isn’t easy to maintain full attention for several hours. There are too many distractions to the professor having the student’s full, undivided attention.

Do we ever treat God that way? Our jobs, relationships, and worries are all aspects of our lives that try to take center stage, and we vaguely hear God when He wants our full, undivided attention.  Matthew 6:33 tells us that our attention should be on God first and foremost. “Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33)

As with everything in life, we only have to look to the source of all wisdom, truth, and goodness: Jesus. Jesus was present in all that He did. Can you imagine Jesus sitting down with you at a meal and constantly looking out the window or asking you to repeat what you said, distracted and distant as if wishing He was somewhere else? No. When He healed someone, He looked into their eyes and comforted their heart. When He left to be alone with God, He listened thoroughly to His Father’s guiding voice. And on the eve of His crucifixion, knowing full well that He would be tortured and killed the next day, He remained perfectly present to His disciples, to His friends. He ate with them. He prayed with them. He washed their feet in a spirit of humility and love. Jesus lived presently and gave all of His attention to His mission.

The best way to ensure that God always has our full, undivided attention is by staying connected with and focused on Him throughout the day. With all our distractions, staying connected to Christ takes intentionality and commitment.

To stay connected, we need to have time with God every day. With our busy schedules, having dedicated time each day to sit down, rid yourself of distractions, and be with the Lord becomes necessary. While quiet time is a good thing, prayer is also important. Corrie Ten Boom said, “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”

God deserves that when we spend time with Him, we shut everything else out and focus entirely on Him. The living God doesn’t want just some of us when we spend time with Him; He wants all of us. Just like we need full attention in a heart-to-heart conversation, God wants the same from us.

Discussion Questions:

1. What types of things are competing with God for your attention? 
2. How can we better give our time and attention to God this week? 

“Go with the slow.” –  Unknown

Most of us understand that if we want to grow spiritually, we need to slow down occasionally. But that always seems to be a challenge. There seems to be something about being forced to slow down that makes us want to run faster than we were before. It probably stems from when an obstacle hits us, and we decide to summon up our will to power through. For some inexplicable reason, slowing down seems impractical and uncomfortable.

However, when we have no choice but to slow down, we realize it may actually be a good thing. We understand that slowing down helps us eliminate all the needless distractions that have been adding stress but have done nothing to help us be productive with important things. We begin to realize that we did not know we were being distracted because we were unaware of what we are being distracted from. When we slow down, we have the time to reevaluate what truly matters, seeking, first and foremost, the Kingdom of God.

Mark 1:35 says, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” Simon and his companions went to look for Him and when they found Him, they exclaimed, ‘“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.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons” (Mark 1:36-39).

Jesus is already in great demand because of His healing ministry. Jesus is showcasing His power and His authority to heal people. To cast out demons. To bring the kingdom of God.  And because of that, people came from everywhere to see Him. With a bit of imagination, you could imagine the scene as something like Black Friday, with people going crazy to see Him, get their deal, whatever it might be. They’re coming from everywhere to interact with Jesus. The bottom line is that amidst all this craziness, the Bible says that Jesus pulls away to a solitary place. Moving faster was certainly an option, but Jesus chose the right speed over rushing.

Over and over in the gospels, we see that the writers describe occasions when Jesus takes a break from all claims on His time and energy. Jesus was intentional about remaining present to the Father in Heaven. And so He took time to get away and pray even though people who needed healing and still wanted to hear a word of comfort or inspiration. But repeatedly, Jesus knew that He could not continue to meet those needs without intentionally moving at the right speed in His life.

There are absolute times when we need to rush. If a house catches fire, there is no time to be contemplative; it is a time to accelerate.  But if we’re living at that pace, non-stop, our lives will not be sustainable.  We need to be more like Jesus, who was never too busy to connect with His Father.

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you determine the right speed for your life?
2. If you want God to show you His will, you need to: Slow Down – If you want God to show you the will He has for your life you’re going to have to go at the speed He requires. Agree or disagree and why?

 Christ’s supremacy over all things means that Christians flourishing does not hinge on my adoption or rejection of certain technologies. It hinges on my heart’s focus on the Savior…Whether we buy a seat on a spaceship rendezvous to the moon or stay within the confines of an Amish-like commune, we will find no hope apart from our union to Christ…He frees us from slavery to the technological desires of self-creation and self-determining individualism…Our gadgets and techno-possibilities no longer define us; Christ does. He defines our calling. If we follow his word, we will be protected from being used by our tools.”― Tony Reinke, God, Technology, and the Christian Life.

As Christians living in the digital world, we embrace the benefits technology has brought to life, including the speed and ease of communication and seemingly unlimited information access. There are tremendous benefits and dangers involved in the unwise use of digital technology. God can be honored if we use digital technologies with wisdom and discernment. But we must also acknowledge the negative impacts that digital technology can have on a believer’s mind if they are used unwisely because the heightened level of communication and information is also full of potholes for the Jesus follower.

Technology is dramatically changing our lives year by year.  With instant internet access on (most of) our phones, we have the world under our fingertips. At the same time, we risk limiting the world just to our fingertips. Technology is a gift from God when we use it for human flourishing. But new technology is merely a collection of new tools we invent, share, and use to make things go faster and run more smoothly. Technology makes what we do easier, but it cannot answer our most profound questions. Warren Wiersbe said, “We’re living in the ‘information age,’ but we certainly aren’t living in the ‘age of wisdom.’ Many people who are wizards with their computers seem to be amateurs when it comes to making a success out of their lives. Computers can store data and obey signals, but they can’t give us the ability to use that knowledge wisely. What’s needed today is wisdom.”

When we look at our phones to feel connected, we miss out on the possibilities for real connections. We see this in the example of Jesus himself. In the Bible, we learn several times that Jesus removes himself from everyone else to pray and connect to His Father. This deep connection can balance us, create direction and purpose in our lives, and recharge us for the rest of the day.

But what if Jesus lived in the never offline environment? What if He had a smartphone? Would He be walking in the mountains, checking his Facebook feed first, then His other social media, and then rushing back to His disciples because the day was almost starting without Him? No, He wouldn’t, of course. But this is the risk we run when left to our own devices. Instead of looking for a deep connection, we often fall into the shallow connection of an always-available world. The connection over WiFi is never a substitute for a deep connection with God and others.

Discussion Questions:

1. How should the believer look at the digital age?

“You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter.” – Psalm 74:17

You thought it would never happen. You woke up as you usually do, your mind running through all your tasks and appointments for the day. You start a pot of coffee, walk over to the window to pull open the blinds, and there it is—lots of snow and cold winds. Your outside thermometer says 21 degrees. To a Floridian, it is: Gloomy. Dark. Frigid. Bone-chilling. Frosty. Bitter. Cold. You live in Florida. You aren’t supposed to be shoveling sidewalks and scraping car windows, dealing with runny noses and rescheduling appointments, trying to find some heavier clothing, and wishing you had a four-wheel drive vehicle even though you never needed it before.

But according to the verse in Psalm 74, God made the summer and winter. It wasn’t a mistake. It’s not like God ran out of heat and made up another season at the last minute. No. He created winter for a purpose. The second part of the verse, “you made both summer and winter.” acknowledges God’s role as the creator and governor of the seasons. The changing of the seasons, from the warmth and growth of summer to the cold and dormancy of winter, is attributed to God’s design and purpose. This speaks to the world’s natural order and emphasizes God’s ultimate power over the cycles of nature.

Snow has a way of shutting things down in our area and bringing things to an abrupt halt, canceling all your plans and rearranging your schedule. It could be God’s way of giving us an extra Sabbath—a forced rest from the daily grind, busy schedules, and constant deadlines.

The stillness of winter can be a reminder to pause and reflect on how God’s hand has been leading us, providing for us, and shaping our lives. Our busy lives often prevent us from taking the time to slow down and listen to God. We may fit in a quick devotional reading in the morning or a quick prayer before bedtime, but our minds usually bounce around to the next thing we need to do. When life slows down, and we’re limited to outside activities, it’s only natural to have more time to be still.

Days like this, when everything is closed, and our to-do list is paused, are an opportunity to spend quality time with God. Unforeseen days like this week are certainly an inconvenience, but being stuck at home is a wonderful reminder of the good slowing down does for our minds, our bodies, and our relationship with God. Instead of being bored or wishing the time away, we can use these rare days to seek God more intently and purposefully. What does he want to do in me? What does he want to do through me? What areas of my life need some renovation?

Whether there is snow or sand outside your window today, may you also be challenged to be still, know that He is God, and find rest in Him alone. Put down your agenda, to-do list, and expectations for the day, and be still.

Discussion Questions:

1. How can we use these unusual snow days to reconnect to God?