Alone in Grief and Prayer

This is from Matthew 14-
Note the sequence of events- John the Baptist was beheaded (6-12); Jesus went to a solitary place to rest and grieve (13, Mk. 6:31); The crowds followed and in compassion Jesus healed their sick (14); He fed the 5,000 (15-21); Many wanted to make Him King (Jn. 6:15); Jesus dismissed the crowds, sent the disciples on, and went back on the mountain to pray (22-23);
Jesus came to His disciples in power- walking on the water through the storm (24-25).

11John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.  12Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.  13When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns. 14When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick...20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21About five thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.

22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. 23After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, 24but the boat was already fara from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25During the fourth watch of the night,b Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.

Two of the most well known miracles of Jesus were surrounded by prayer: the feeding of the 5,000 and the walking on the water (and calming the storm).  The first cause of Jesus retreating and praying is the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. He wanted to be by himself to grieve and pray.  But there was no time off for Jesus- he ended up healing the sick and feeding 5,000.  But he dismissed them and still went to the mountain to pray.  It is almost as if Jesus was yearning to be alone to pray.  In our time of isolation, we have more opportunities than ever to pray.  But we have two basic problems: 1) We need to see the need for it; 2) We are out of real practice and are unsure how to do it;
     When we are sad- as Jesus was- we need to pray.  When we want to be strengthened to do something for the glory of God- we need to pray.
      There are no rules to prayer.  Some use tools like the acronym ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) to broaden the way we pray.  Some "PRAY" (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield).  Some use prayer fingers (1. Family & Friends; 2. Leaders and teachers; 3. government and authority; 4. weak or sick; 5. myself last).  But the Bible- while pointing to these kinds of prayer does not say we should pray in such a way.  The Lord's Prayer is a great example of how to pray according to Jesus.  But there is always a certain mystery, flexibility, and grace in prayer.  I take the prayer list on the bulletin and the phone directory of the church and pray.  The main thing is just do it.  Make time and space.  This could be an opportunity to grow in your prayer life and find real strength in God.  Prayer can change me- and also change our environment.  Presbyterians believe in providence- which is that God governs us.  Prayer is asking Him for mercy, help- and Jesus asks us to petition God for what we need as a child would their father.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to pray.  Help me to find consolation in times of grief, and strength to do more than I can ask or even imagine.