MADRUGADA -EARLY MORNING-
(Spanish below)
Mark 1:35 ‘Very 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.’
The Spanish word ‘madrugada’ means ‘early in the morning’. Jesus prayed in the madrugada. If He needed to do it, so do we. Jesus leads by example. Not only did Jesus kneel down and pray, but He walked around as well. When Jesus walked out to His team on the boat being tossed about on the sea, it was the 4th watch, which was between 3 and 6 am. You can get so much done, and learn so much about the Lord during that time. Jesus was never so busy praying that He couldn’t be interrupted when someone needed Him. There is nothing better than to cry out to Him to help you at that time either.
Matthew 14-25 ‘And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’
There is nothing better than to start the day than with giving thanks and clamoring to Jesus. I am always up way before the crack of dawn anyway, worrying about stuff. I can either lay in bed in agony or get up, get on my knees and give thanks to my heavenly Father for a while.
Once the things to thank Him for run out, and the initial joy of getting into His presence wears off, I start praying for other things. Seeking Him. Asking Him to help me with problems, worries, needs, petitions etc.
The best analgesic is prayer, both for my physical pains (61 years old), emotional pains (miss my Deannie Jr and Winnie Jr terrible, sick loved ones) other worries, and for spiritual pain (IE interceding for the lost, for the persecuted saints etc). It all starts with thanks and praise on my knees before sunrise, then as the Son Rises all pain and worries are alleviated .
Does prayer work? YES! Prayer proves that you believe in God! So does Bible Study. You wouldn’t do it if you didn’t believe in Him. Prayer is funny however. IF I had to choose, I would personally rather have a Christian 2 days old in the Lord pray for me than an old saint. It seems that new believers haven’t learned yet that all prayers don’t work. As time goes on, we all see that many prayers seem to go unanswered. They really don’t go unanswered but that’s another story.
Ephesians 6:18 ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;’
I heard of a guy who was troubled with the word ALL in this verse. He spent months studying different translations, in many different languages only to find out that the word ALL meant ALL.
You can only pray for ALL the saints, for example, IF you are praying in the Spirit. Time will let you know if you are praying in the Spirit, conforming to the Spirit. If you feel like you prayed for an hour and only 5 minutes have passed you’re probably still in the flesh. If you prayed for a half an hour and it seems like 5 minutes you are probably in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit. means that you are talking to God about what He wants you to talk about. Praying in the flesh is talking to God about what YOU want to talk about. BTW We NEED to be praying for ALL the saints. More Christians have died for their faith in Jesus since 2010 than in the past 2,000 years. It is only going to get worse, look at China.
Prayer is also very personal and intimate. It is time to tell your innermost feelings to God, as if He didn’t already know. Prayer is a two way conversation, not news report nor a laundry list. Jesus prayed all night, seeking His Fathers direction and THEN acting on what He heard, even while it was still dark. Kind of like dreaded KNIFEHAND your squad leader would give in the military.
DON’T LET OTHERS PRAYING FOR YOU TAKE PLACE OF YOU PRAYING YOURSELF. DON’T LET OTHERS SPEAK TO YOU ON GOD’S BEHALF, IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD IT FIRST FROM HIM.
In the morning, after I have knelt until my knees hurts, and sat until my butt hurts, I know it’s time to go for a long prayer walk to get the jump on the day. By then a lot of people are up and about, getting water, herding cattle etc. so there is a lot of human interaction by then, but the basics are underway.
That is just my ‘madrugada’ of the day. I really want to encourage you to do the same, Once you start, you won’t be able to stop. Then before you know it you will be praying without ceasing…… you won’t quit praying until you fall to sleep night! What a great way to spend every day. Your secular BOSS, your Wife, your co-workers, your children and the people you minister to and with will ALL notice the difference.
Thessalonians 5:17 ‘Pray without ceasing.’
Joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Nicaragua for the glory of God
www.whatistheloveofGod.com
www.pureheartchildren.org
Facebook = Dean andWinnie Peters
SPANISH
Madrugada
Marcos 1:35 Muy de madrugada, cuando todavía estaba oscuro, Jesús se levantó, salió de la casa y se fue a un lugar solitario, donde se puso a orar.
La palabra española ‘madrugada’ significa ‘temprano en la mañana’. Jesús oró en la madrugada. Si Él necesitaba hacerlo, nosotros también.
Jesús nos guía con el ejemplo. No hay nada mejor que comenzar el día dando gracias a mi Padre celestial. Siempre estoy despierto antes del amanecer, preocupándome por muchas cosas. Así que puedo quedarme en la cama siendo afligido o levantarme, ponerme de rodillas y agradecer a mi papá por un buen rato. Una vez que las cosas para agradecerle se agotaron y el gozo inicial de llegar a Su presencia desaparece, comienzo a orar por otras cosas. Problemas, preocupaciones, necesidades, peticiones, etc.
El mejor analgésico es la oración, tanto por mis dolores físicos (61 años de edad), el dolor emocional (extrañamos terriblemente a nuestros hijos, deannie jr y winnie jr), por las otras preocupaciones, y por el dolor espiritual, intercediendo por los perdidos.
Todo comienza con agradecimientos y elogios en mis rodillas antes de la salida del sol, luego observa a SonRise y todo el dolor y las preocupaciones desaparecen momentáneamente.
La pregunta es, ¿funciona la oración? La oración es una enigma. Personalmente preferiría tener un cristiano de 2 días en el Señor orar por mí que un viejo santo, SI tuviera que elegir.
Parece que los nuevos creyentes aún no han aprendido que todas las oraciones no funcionan. A medida que pasa el tiempo, todos vemos que muchas oraciones parecen no tener respuesta. No quedan ninguna oracion sin respuesta, pero esa es otra historia.
Efesios 6:18. Orando siempre con toda oración y súplica en el Espíritu, y observando con toda perseverancia y súplica por todos los santos;
Escuché acerca de un hombre de una cierta denominación que estaba preocupado con la palabra TODOS en este verso. Pasó meses estudiando diferentes traducciones, en muchos idiomas diferentes, solo para descubrir que la palabra TODAS significaba TODAS.
El tiempo te permitirá saber si estás orando en el Espíritu, conforme al Espíritu. Si sientes que has orado durante una hora y solo han pasado 5 minutos, probablemente todavía estés en la carne. Si oraste durante media hora y parece que 5 minutos probablemente estés en el Espíritu. Orando en el Espíritu significa que usted estas hablando con Dios acerca de lo que Él quiere que usted hable. Orar en la carne es hablar de lo que TÚ quieres hablar.
La oración es muy personal e íntima. Es hora de contarle sus sentimientos más íntimos a Dios, como si Él ya no lo supiera. La oración es una conversación de dos vías, no un informe de noticias ni una lista de lavandería.
Jesús oraba toda la noche, y luego actuaba de acuerdo con lo que escuchó. NO DEJE A OTROS ORAR PARA USTED. NO DEJE QUE LOS OTROS HABLAN DE TU PARTE A DIOS, Dios no trabaja de esa manera. Si eres creyente, Dios te hizo sacerdote. No necesitas que otra persona te diga lo que Dios quiere, aparte del Señor mismo. Dios solo te responderá directamente.
En la madrugada, mis rodillas comienzan a doler después de media hora de oración. Mi trasero duele después de otra hora. Luego es tiempo hacer una larga caminata de oración para saltar el día.
Eso es solo la ‘madrugada’ del día si tratas de orar sin cesar … ¡no dejes de orar hasta te duermas! Tesalonicenses 5:17 Orad sin cesar.
Dean Peters
Joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Nicaragua for the glory of God
www.whatistheloveofGod.com
www.pureheartchildren.org
Facebook = Dean andWinnie Peters