“the Bible is shallow enough for a
child to wade in, yet deep enough
for an elephant to drown in.”
Each Prayer time is of great
significance
• an unique situation
• a specific location
• particular temptations
• a special blessing
Each Prayer time is of great
significance
• an unique situation
• a specific location
• particular temptations
• a special blessing
1. Mark 1:35
2. Mark 6:46
3. Mark 14:35
Scripture: Situation
Location
Temptation Blessing
After Jesus had a
Desert
?
?
very busy day
(Solitary
ministering
place)
Mountain ?
?
Mark
1:35
(preaching, healing,
driving out demons)
6:46
After Jesus had fed
the Five Thousand
14:35
Before the Journey to Garden
the Cross
?
?
Scripture: Situation
Location
Temptation Blessing
After Jesus had a very
Desert
?
busy day ministering
(Solitary
(preaching, healing,
place)
Mark
1:35
?
driving out demons)
6:46
After Jesus had fed
Mountain Popularity
?
the Five Thousand
14:35
Before the Journey to Garden
the Cross
?
?
Mt Sinai – God gave His Law
Mt Zion – refers to Jerusalem / biblical
land of Israel
(Sermon on the) Mount – Jesus gave a
Fresh understanding of the Law, as
God truly intended
Mt Sinai – God gave His Law
Mt Zion – refers to Jerusalem / biblical
land of Israel
(Sermon on the) Mount – Jesus gave a
Fresh understanding of the Law, as
God truly intended
Mt Moriah – Abraham was to sacrifice
Isaac; where Jesus was crucified
Hence mountains are biblically
important because there God gave
us His revelations, and there God
fulfilled His perfect will.
In other words, God’s will came to
us first from mountains.
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus had a very
Desert
busy day ministering
(Solitary
(preaching, healing,
place)
?
?
driving out demons)
6:46
14:35
After Jesus had fed
Mountain Popularity Perspective
the Five Thousand
(from God)
Before the Journey to Garden
the Cross
?
?
Lesson : One way to overcome
temptations is to develop a biblical
mindset (that is, having the perspective
from God).
But that comes from years of
meditating on God’s Word.
Bible.is
a ministry of
Faith comes by Hearing
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus had a very
Desert
busy day ministering
(Solitary
(preaching, healing,
place)
?
?
driving out demons)
6:46
14:35
After Jesus had fed
Mountain Popularity Perspective
the Five Thousand
(from God)
Before the Journey to Garden
the Cross
?
?
Scripture Situation
Location
Temptation Blessing
After Jesus had a very
Desert
?
busy day ministering
(Solitary
(preaching, healing,
place)
: Mark
1:35
?
driving out demons)
6:46
After Jesus had fed
Mountain Popularity
the Five Thousand
14:35
Perspective
(from God)
Before the Journey to Garden
Forego
Receive God’s
the Cross
God’s will;
sufficient
Escape His
grace to
suffering
persevere
What will happen in our gardens
when the day of trial come for us –
will we give up God’s will to escape
suffering, or will we pray and
receive God’s grace to persevere ?
“My family and I were ordered out seconds before the
house erupted in flames.
And the man who set our house on fire was the same man
who had led worship in our church that same day.”
What will happen in our gardens
when the day of trial come for us –
will we give up God’s will to escape
suffering, or will we pray and
receive God’s grace to persevere ?
Mark 1:32-38
32That
evening after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and
demon-possessed. 33The whole town
gathered at the door, 34and Jesus
healed many who had various
diseases. He also drove out many
demons, but He would not let the
demons speak because they knew
who He was.
35Very
early in the morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where He
prayed. 36Simon and his companions went
to look for him, 37and when they found
Him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking
for You!”
38Jesus
replied, “Let us go somewhere
else—to the nearby villages—so I can
preach there also. That is why I have
come.”
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus had a very
Desert
1. Fatigue : ?
busy day ministering
(Solitary
a) More
(preaching, healing,
place)
opened to
driving out demons)
6:46
14:35
temptations
After Jesus had fed
Mountain Popularity Perspective
the Five Thousand
(from God)
Before the Journey to Garden
Forego God’s
Receive God’s
the Cross
will;
sufficient grace
Escape His
to persevere
suffering
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation
Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus had a very
Desert
busy day ministering
(Solitary a) More
(preaching, healing,
place)
driving out demons)
1. Fatigue : ?
opened to
temptations
b) Less
prone to
seek and
hear God
“I saw busy, exhausted men and women, who appeared to be
hours behind schedule. What a price we pay for the speed at
which we run.
Most of us remember these last 12 months as a blur of
activities. There are so much work to do, so much demands on
our time. There is so much pressure.
Meanwhile, what should have mattered most was often put
on hold or short-changed or ignored altogether.
Millions of children received very little love and guidance this
year from their busy parents. Husbands and wives pass like
ships in the night, and our spiritual natures languished
amidst over-crowded schedules and endless commitments.”
– Dr James Dobson
“Progress has given us unprecedented affluence,
education, technology and entertainment. We
have comforts and conveniences other eras
could only dream about, yet somehow we are
not flourishing under the gifts of modernity as
one would expect.
We have 10 times more material abundance
than our ancestors, yet we are not 10 times
more contented or fulfilled.
Margin has been stolen away and progress was
the thief.
“We must have room to breathe. We need
freedom to think and permission to heal.
Our relationships are being starved to death by
velocity – no one has time to listen, let alone
love.
Our children lay wounded on the ground, run
over by our high-speed good intentions.”
– from “Margin”, by Richard Swanson
35Very
early in the morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where He
prayed. 36Simon and his companions went
to look for him, 37and when they found
Him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking
for You!”
38Jesus
replied, “Let us go somewhere
else—to the nearby villages—so I can
preach there also. That is why I have
come.”
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus had a very
Desert
busy day ministering
(Solitary
(preaching, healing,
1. Fatigue Purified ;
filled with
place)
Passion for
driving out demons)
God
6:46
14:35
After Jesus had fed
Mountain Popularity Perspective
the Five Thousand
(from God)
Before the Journey to Garden
Forego God’s
Receive God’s
the Cross
will;
sufficient grace
Escape His
to persevere
suffering
It is not slowing down but centering
down onto God.
Jesus didn’t go to the Solitary Place, the
desert, to be alone,
but to be ALONE with the Father.
Whenever I take time to go to the Desert
with the Father, to be silent before Him,
to meditate on His word, to bring my life
before Him in prayer,
I would come back with a helicopter
view of my life – where I have been,
where I am now, where I should go.
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation
Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus had a very
Desert
busy day ministering
(Solitary a) More
(preaching, healing,
place)
driving out demons)
1. Fatigue : Rest;
Self-control;
opened to
temptation Purified ;
b) Less prone filled with
to seek
Passion for
and hear
God
God
35Very
early in the morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where He
prayed. 36Simon and his companions went
to look for him, 37and when they found
Him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking
for You!”
38Jesus
replied, “Let us go somewhere
else—to the nearby villages—so I can
preach there also. That is why I have
come.”
Scripture Situation
Location Temptations
Blessings
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus
Desert
1. Fatigue :
Rest;
had a very
(Solitary
a) More opened to
Self-control;
busy day
ministering
(preaching,
place)
temptations
b) Less prone to seek and
hear God
Purified ;
filled with
Passion for
God
healing,
driving out
demons)
2. To remain in a
place of comfort and
popularity, WITHOUT
checking with God if
that is His will.
Scripture Situation
Location Temptation
Blessing
: Mark
1:35
After Jesus
Desert
1. Fatigue :
Rest;
had a very
(Solitary
a) More opened to
Self-control;
busy day
ministering
(preaching,
place)
temptations
b) Less prone to seek and
hear God
Purified ;
filled with
Passion for
God,
healing,
driving out
demons)
2. To remain in a
Focused to
place of comfort and do God’s
popularity, without
checking with God if
that is His will.
Will
What does it mean to go to the Desert in
our modern context ?
It is to intentionally plan time out for us to
be at a specific place, for a certain period of
time.
It could be some minutes a day, or
some hours a week, or
1 day every 1 to 3 months, or
3 days every year.
“I saw busy, exhausted men and women, who appeared to be
hours behind schedule. What a price we pay for the speed at
which we run.
Most of us remember these last 12 months as a blur of
activities. There are so much work to do, so much demands on
our time. There is so much pressure.
Meanwhile, what should have mattered most was often put
on hold or short-changed or ignored altogether.
Millions of children received very little love and guidance this
year from their busy parents. Husbands and wives pass like
ships in the night, and our spiritual natures languished
amidst over-crowded schedules and endless commitments.”
– Dr James Dobson
We need to build into our lives
spiritual rhythms, so that our
spiritual lives will deepen and
become richer.
So that our souls would be fed and
nourished.
Psalms 63:1
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek
you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs
for you, in a dry and parched land where
there is no water.”
Psalms 63:1-5
“1You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I
thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a
dry and parched land where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld
your power and your glory. 3 Because your
love is better than life, my lips will glorify
you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in
your name I will lift up my hands. 5 I will be
fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with
singing lips my mouth will praise you.