Reading for the 7th Day of Lent: 1:29-45

Text: In the morning while it was very dark, Jesus got up and went to a deserted place, and there He prayed.

I used to have a ceramic mold of ” the praying hands”. It sat on the corner of my desk. It served as a constant reminder of the necessity and power of prayer.

One day it was knocked off the desk and onto the floor breaking the base. I carefully glued it back together but a couple of pieces were missing and the cracks were never really hidden. I kept if for it’s sentimental value and set it on relatively safe place on a shelf in the church study.

Several years passed before I plucked it from the shelf for a children’s message. As I talked about prayer I suddenly noticed that nestled in the crevice where the hands met, a spider had build a small web. Surprised, I changed the direction of my message and told told the children that even when things seem broken, prayer reminds us that we live under the Providential care of God. We live our lives in the palm of God’s hand.

Jesus took time to be alone in prayer. Do we?

Lord, teach me to pray. Convince me that I need to find the time to be alone in prayer. Amen.