22 February

Show me your ways, Lord,

    teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my Savior,

    and my hope is in you all day long

    Jesus taught his disciples the priority of time alone with him. He said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place’ (v.31b) and they went off by themselves ‘to a solitary place’ (v.32).

    He needed some solitude. He climbed a mountain to pray (vv.45–46). He prioritised his time alone with God.

Prayer and action go hand in hand. The activity comes out of the relationship. Jesus ‘had compassion on them’ (v.34). The word used is the strongest word in the Greek language for ‘pity’. ‘His heart broke’ (v.34, MSG).

Jesus can do a lot with a little. If you offer to Jesus the little you have, he can multiply it and meet the needs of all the people.

Lord, thank you that in the storms of life you say to me, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’ (v.50).