There are things that do not depend on which church, which country, or which century you are in: the Word of God and prayer in the church have always been the two engines that helped the church move forward.
Without the Word of God and only with prayer—you will not know where to go or what to do. Without prayer and only with the study of the Word of God—you will not move, although you may know where you need to move.
Prayer and the Word of God always work together.
Even our very first steps in faith begin from the Word of God, which tells us the Gospel and calls us to repent—that is, it points out what you need to do and where to go. And to repent, you need to come with a prayer of repentance to God.
To introduce this topic, we will read from the Gospel of Mark and look at one example from the life of Christ—how He was faithful in prayer—and then consider other verses about prayer.
Jesus’ Day in Capernaum
“Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:21–22).
“Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him” (Mark 1:23–26).
“Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’ And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee” (Mark 1:27–28).
“Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them” (Mark 1:29–31).
“At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him” (Mark 1:32–34).
Let’s make a few observations regarding the chronology of events:
This is the evening of the same day. In the morning, Jesus was in the synagogue, where He cast out a demon and taught with authority. Then, after the synagogue, He went for the Sabbath meal, which must have started around 6:00 PM, as the Sabbath prohibited healing, and Peter’s mother-in-law’s service would also have been forbidden. It must be remembered that Jewish days began at 6:00 PM, not at midnight like ours.
In our text, it says that in the evening, “when the sun had set,” they brought all the sick. Why in the evening? Because Sabbath laws would have prohibited such actions on the Sabbath. Therefore, people waited until sunset, when the day changed to Sunday (after 6:00 PM), and came to Peter’s house, knowing that Jesus was there.
Notice the vast number of people. They had obviously heard what He did in the synagogue, knew that He had authority, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Everyone comes and brings all the sick and demon-possessed. It is written there: the whole city was gathered at the door of Peter’s house.
Jesus heals many and casts out many demons. If we read the parallel passage in Luke 4:40, it says: “…He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” So it wasn’t that He stepped out of the house and said, “All sick—be healed, all demons—come out, I have many other things to do.” In fact, He did this with each person individually.
The reason it is important to emphasize these details is to show: it must have taken Him a very long time to heal everyone in that city.
No matter how small the city was, historians estimate that Capernaum had about 1,500 residents at that time. Even assuming that only 10 percent were sick or had some kind of problem, that gives 150 people. Even at 3 minutes per person—that’s 7.5 hours.
If we also assume it would have taken people about an hour to bring all the sick after 6:00 PM, the earliest start for the healings would be around 7:00 PM. Add 7 hours—it turns out to be about 2:00 AM.
So we can say that Jesus and His disciples must have been exhausted after this long day and went to sleep very late, around 2:00 AM.
Now let’s see what happens next.
Jesus’ Prayer
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, ‘Everyone is looking for You.’ But He said to them, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come’” (Mark 1:35–38).
“A long while before daylight”—it must have been before 6:00 AM, around 5:00 AM. Thus, Jesus slept, at best, only three or four hours. And what does He do? He goes to a solitary place—a place where no one is, while everyone is sleeping—and goes there to pray.
Jesus had every reason not to get up early in the morning that day. We would probably have done just that. We would have thought: well, who but Jesus deserved to sleep—He had a difficult day: preaching in the synagogue, all sorts of questions about His teaching, healing Peter’s mother-in-law and all the sick and demon-possessed until two in the morning. Of course, He is supposed to rest. He is also the Son of God—He can pray later, nothing will happen to Him.
But we see that He has other priorities. His priority was prayer—spending time with the Father alone.
Isn’t this an amazing lesson in faithfulness in prayer for us? How important is prayer in our lives? How much time and priority do we give to it?
This is something we all need to repent of and think about.
Jesus clearly knew His priorities. It was time away from everyone to pray and spend time with God. He knew that as soon as people woke up, He would not have the opportunity to be alone. Therefore, He wisely manages His time and finds time for prayer in His busy schedule.
Jesus’ Answer to the Disciples
Notice what happened next. People wake up, including the disciples and Peter. They begin to search for Jesus. Where is He?
Yesterday evening He was magnificent; they want to see more. Luke 4:42 says: “…and the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them.”
Jesus’ answer is likely the biggest mistake from the perspective of marketers and church consultants. Jesus is at the peak of His popularity. Everything is as magnificent as possible. The whole city is for Him, everyone by this point believes that Jesus is the Messiah, everyone wants to keep Him and not let Him go.
What could be better than this if you want to be popular, change people’s opinion of you, start a church, hold rallies? So much could have been done to take advantage of the moment of peak popularity.
But after prayer and time alone with the Father, Jesus’ answer shocks everyone: “Let us go… that I may preach there also.” Why? And He adds: “Because for this purpose I have come.”
He is not here to heal everyone. He is not here to become a popular preacher. He is not here to build a large group of followers. He is not here to raise money for His campaign. He is here to preach the Gospel!
What a shocking and yet amazing lesson for us.
What the Bible Says About Prayer
When our conscience begins to condemn us for our prayer life, it’s time to see what the Bible says about prayer.
Let’s start with a very simple verse. James says:
“…you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:2–3).
Two relationships are clearly visible here:
You do not have because you do not ask—that is, there is no prayer. Without prayer, you will not have.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss—that is, even if you ask, you do not receive because you do not know what should be asked and for what purpose.
Here we need the Word of God to understand what to ask for and why. Without the Word of God, we will be like the blind, not knowing what to ask for. But even without prayer, we will have nothing: “you do not have because you do not ask.”
The Word of God says a lot and calls us to ask:
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jer. 33:3).
“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt. 21:22).
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matt. 18:19).
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).
“And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:15).
These are just a small fraction of the verses in which God promises and calls us to pray and ask Him.
Conditions of Prayer
When we have learned that we need to ask and that without it we will have nothing, does the Word of God say what we should ask for and are there any conditions for God to answer our prayers?
Of course. We have already read in James that God will not answer prayers if the purpose for which you ask is wrong—“you ask amiss.” Let’s read a few more verses:
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).
Faithfulness in Prayer When the Answer Is Delayed
It is clear that one must ask in prayer and that one must know what to ask for—then God promises to fulfill. But what about when we pray for something good that is likely according to His will, because there are God’s promises for it—and we still don’t receive it? When we pray and pray and become discouraged—what then? How to remain faithful in prayer and continue praying?
“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart… And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1, 7–8).
This is an amazing passage from Scripture, and many do not notice all the details and interpret it incorrectly.
First, we see: we should always pray and not lose heart. And why lose heart? Because if you don’t receive what you’re asking for after several times, a person begins to lose heart.
If you read this parable, it is about a widow who wanted protection from an adversary. She comes to a judge—it is clear that she wanted a fair trial over an opponent who most likely was mistreating her. What she asked for was a right desire and according to justice.
Jesus immediately explains what He means. But the most interesting thing—and what many do not notice—is that the parable is about the second coming of Christ. The last verses of the 17th chapter and the end of this parable speak of the second coming. The parable is like a sandwich between contexts about the second coming, so it is clear what is being discussed.
The widow in this parable is God’s elect. The adversary is most likely the devil, who in every way persecutes and opposes. The elect pray to God day and night so that justice would finally prevail on earth and God would protect them. They are asking for the right things and according to the will of God!
Next come amazing words. Jesus says: “though He bears long with them”. It is clear that God delays the answer. But immediately He says: “He will avenge them speedily”.
In the life of a Christian, there are always these two realities: God seems to delay His coming and the answer to our prayers, but on the other hand, we always have a sense of the closeness of the end and the coming of Christ.
This parable is not about us having to ask for the same thing many times until finally God hears us. Many think the parable is about that, but it is not. Here the parable is about deliverance and about a fair trial when the Lord comes and delivers us from those who wrong us. And from us, God asks that we continue to pray for this and not lose heart, looking by faith to the day when the Lord will come and judge the world fairly.
As in another place Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Notice how the parable ends—this is very important. The parable ends with the words: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” As if out of place—if one does not know that the parable is about the second coming.
Jesus says that the elect will receive protection and a fair trial when the Son of Man comes—of course, He means the second coming of Christ. We should not have wrong expectations that a fair trial will prevail on the whole earth before the coming of Christ. And here there is a reproach to all who were listening then and to us too: “Will He find faith on the earth when He comes?”
Will we remain faithful in prayer, not losing heart and continuing to pray as Jesus taught us: “Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Will this prayer be on our lips when He comes?
“When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Amen.