Taking
one last look at the Newfoundland coast before heading out over
the Atlantic
Ocean, Charles Lindbergh wondered what the next several hours
would hold for
him.
He had taken off
from Long
Island’s “Roosevelt Field” at 7:52 that morning and for the next
eleven hours
he navigated by spotting landmarks and comparing them to his
numerous maps and
charts. However, that was
about to change. Now, in
the dark and over the featureless
ocean, he would have to rely on the two compasses that his
airplane, The Spirit
of St. Louis, carried. As
well, he would
also have to make exact calculations on his charts, because being
a few degrees
off on this side of the ocean would mean that he would be hundreds
of miles off
course when he got to the other side.
Despite the odds, on
May 8, 1927
at 5:18 am, Lindbergh touched down at Le Bourget Field in Paris
and became the
first person to complete the New York to Paris challenge. Unfortunately, later in his
life, Lindbergh made
several bad choices and brought shame to his once good name. A man who once navigated
well, lost his
bearings later.
After reading a book
about
Lindbergh over Christmas, I was still thinking about navigation
when I came
back to the office, opened the Bible and read this verse: “Very
early in the
morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to
a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35).
Why would the Son of God pray?
What could he possibly need?
I think that Jesus
prayed because
that is how he stayed on course. We
often think that prayer is about asking for what we want and
trying to get our
own way. However, real
prayer is like a
compass that clarifies where you are and then points you in the
right direction. Later in
in his life, Jesus demonstrates this
truth even more clearly. The
night before
going to the cross, he asks if there is any other way that God’s
will could be
accomplished. However, his
prayer ends
where all prayer should end, by saying, “Not my will but yours be
done” (Luke
22:42). Prayer is
calibrating. It purifies
our thoughts and keeps us on God’s
course.
If Jesus needed to
pray, how much
more important is it for me?
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