Matthew 14:15-24
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. [1]
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What struck me today in this account is not just the amazing miracle of the feeding of the 5000, but what Jesus did afterward. He went off by himself to pray.
The feeding of the 5000 has to be considered among the greatest of Jesus’ miracles. And the response must have been amazing. John’s gospel tells us that the people wanted to make Him king afterward, as I mentioned in the sermon yesterday. But Jesus dismissed the people and He dismissed His disciples, so that He could have time with His Father.
The temptation must have been strong to bask in the adulation of the moment, the reaction of the crowd, the admiration and awe of the disciples. But Jesus knew that what He needed most at that moment was communion with His Father. And so He purposefully arranged events so that He would have that time. He sent His disciples on ahead. He dismissed the crowds and sent them away. In other words He was intentionally carving out the time to pray, the time to be alone with His Father. He didn’t let the amazing success of the moment, or the press of upcoming events get in the way. He had to take charge and intentionally plan so that He could do what He knew was most important: Prayer.
Our lives are very full with many demands. My life certainly is. And unless I am intentional about planning times for prayer, it is very likely that they won’t happen. Jesus’ example teaches me today about the priority of prayer and the importance of planning to make sure that I will have times of quiet prayer.
Lord, you show me in this reading the importance of having quiet times of prayer. Lead me to follow Your examples in making a priority of being intentional regarding my time with you.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 14:15–24). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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