Mon Feb 16

Listen up, little ones

Listen for the words morning and prayed.

Reading

Mark 1:35–39—Early Morning Prayers

Optional Reading

Psalm 5:1-3

Keys for kids

• The Psalmist prayed in the morning.
• Jesus prayed in the morning.
• It’s a good habit to pray in the morning.

Questions

1. When and why did Jesus pray?
2. Are morning prayers the only ones that are accepted? Explain.
3. What confidence can we have in prayer?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

In Psalm 5, the psalmist cries out to God in prayer in the morning. Does that mean God doesn’t accept our prayers later in the day? Of course not. We can (and should) pray at all times in the day (Ps. 55:17) and night (Ps 88:1). We do see both in Psalm 5 and in our reading today, the example set of morning prayer.

Wilmshurst notes that Jesus has come out here to some quiet hillside to find solitude with God, that union with his Father that matters even more than catching up on his sleep. This is where he finds renewal and refocuses his vision after the clamour of the crowds. The divine Son of God is also the fragile man who needs to do that.

When we arrange our prayer in the morning we are imitating our Savior, but at all times when we pray, we are to pray in our Savior’s name. Jesus taught His disciples that prayer offered to the Father in Jesus’s name will be answered (Jn 16:23-24). Yet there is even more! Paul tells us that Jesus prays for us (Rom 8:34). The author of Hebrews tells us that as our great high priest Jesus always prays for us (Heb 7:25). So, pray—in the name of Jesus. And to begin your day in prayer, as Jesus and the psalmist did here, is a good thing

Swedish Method questions

Praise

Psalm 143a, 65c

Prayer

1. Whether morning, evening, or noon, thank God for hearing your prayer.
2. Pray for a specific application from yesterday's sermons.
3. Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.