Day 12 — Offline with God

“Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.”

— Mark 1:35 (BSB)

The day before, Jesus had been incredibly busy. He had taught in the synagogue. He had healed Peter’s mother-in-law. And when evening came, the whole town crowded around the door of the house. Jesus healed many sick people and set many free from evil spirits. It must have been exhausting.

So what did Jesus do the next morning?

“Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.”

Jesus was the Son of God. But He still needed time alone with His Father. Before the crowds found Him, before the busyness started again, He got away to a quiet place to pray.

Today, most of us wake up and grab a screen. We check messages, scroll or turn on a game before we’ve even gotten out of bed. The first voice we hear in the morning isn’t God’s. It’s a notification.

What if you did what Jesus did? What if, before you got online, you spent some time “offline” with God?

It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be dark outside! But you could try:

• Leave your device in another room overnight.
• Before you turn on a screen, spend a few minutes reading your Bible.
• Pray first. Talk to God about your day before you talk to anyone else.
• Find a “solitary place,” like your bedroom, a corner of the house or a spot outside, where you can be quiet with God.

This week, you’ve learned about taking charge of your screens: making sure Jesus is the boss, not a screen, numbering your days, controlling your anger, staying innocent about evil and not disappearing from real life. The best way to keep screens in their place is to make sure God has the first place.

A true story: Adoniram Judson sailed from America to Burma in 1812 to tell people about Jesus. He spent years translating the whole Bible into the Burmese language, page after page. Then war broke out, and Adoniram was thrown into a terrible prison for nearly two years. His biggest worry was that his precious Bible translation would be found and destroyed. So his wife, Ann, sewed the pages inside a hard, lumpy pillow and brought it to him in prison. The guards didn’t want such an ugly pillow, so they left it alone. Night after night, Adoniram slept on God’s Word, and it was saved. He treasured the Bible so much that he guarded it with his life. You can read his whole story in Brave for God.

Think about it: What’s the first thing you usually do when you wake up? What would it look like to give God the first part of your day?

Try this: Tomorrow morning, before you touch any screen, spend five minutes with God: read a psalm and pray.

Dear Jesus, even You needed time alone with Your Father. Help me put down my screens and spend time with You. Help me give You the first part of my day. In Your name, Amen.