Very early in the morning, Jesus gets up, leaves the house, and goes off to a solitary place, where He prays. Simon and his companions find him.
“Everyone is looking for You!”
Jesus replies, “Let us go to the nearby villages, so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Jesus travels throughout Galilee, preaching in many synagogues.
The night before, Jesus spent frenetic time healing many with various diseases and driving out many demons. Despite the fatigue of the flesh, He started His day with prayer very early in the morning. In order to carry out His mission of preaching, Jesus moved His steps in silence.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ . . .” Col 4:2–3
We are entrusted with the mission of preaching to 7.8 billion people. Then what must we pray for? The mission speaks for itself. Let us ask for God’s grace before we start preaching the gospel, so that we won’t be afraid wherever we go. We have been called to the work of salvation, which will be accomplished wherever we go.