Fuel Up with Prayer – Overwhelmed to Overflowing
Ready:
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14
Set:
We are halfway through 2024, and some of us might be feeling overwhelmed by ministry demands, competitive training, disappointments, family issues, relationships, deadlines, and a never-ending list of things.
Maybe you feel like burnout is just around the corner, and there’s a possibility that mentally and emotionally you are about to break down.
Maybe the spiritual thirst and hunger within you are crying out for refilling and refueling.
Maybe it has been a long time since you retreated to a place of silence and stillness, just to be with the Lord.
What are the things or who are the people that are perpetually ‘crowding’ your life right now?
It might be ‘crowds’ that need your attention, your expertise, your concern, or your time and energy.
But just like Jesus, after ministering to a crowd of people and feeding them, He too sent the ‘crowds’ away so that He had time to fuel up with prayer, to be alone with God the Father.
Even in the Father’s will, Jesus took time to pray.
“After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”
Matthew 14:23
When was the last time you did something intentional at so many levels just to get yourself spiritually fueled up?
Jesus knew that ministering daily and fulfilling His mission on earth could be overwhelming as a human, and on many occasions, He was intentional in spending communion time with God.
Mark 1:35 records three intentional steps that Jesus took:
- “In the early morning, while it was still dark” – Jesus rose very early so that the rest of the day would be used wisely and nothing could interfere with His time in prayer. He likely had sufficient rest to wake up that early!
- “Jesus got up” – There’s a high chance Jesus did not snooze the alarm or lay in bed any longer than He planned.
He made a decision to stick to His plan and to be on time for what He had scheduled: prayer time. - “Left the house, and went away to a secluded place” – Jesus knew that a place of familiarity might not be the best place, so He ensured it was a place where interruption was minimized or totally eliminated.
Jesus always had an overflow in His life to minister and respond to circumstances.
This was not by chance but through intentional effort to be filled with the living water.
The water Jesus referred to in John 4 is one that was never meant to be just sufficient for us and in us, but through us as well.
Not only must we thirst for it, but we must also be passionately seeking it to overflow in our lives so that rivers of living water can flow out from us to touch many others (John 7:38).
Prayer needs to flow from a posture of our heart responding towards God, not from a reaction to the world around us.
Do not only start praying when you have an overwhelmed heart; be fueled up in prayer daily.
It is never too late—start today!
Go:
- Do an assessment of your own life now and see what ‘things’ are crowding your life that you need to send away for a while to give yourself time to pray.
- How can you be more intentional in making time for spiritual refuelling?
- Meditate on John 4:13-14 and come before God with a posture of receiving His living waters!
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