Great Prayers

This volume begins with an exploration of the various positions people took when Jesus restored a man who had been living naked and tormented in the tombs on a Gadarean hillside. The cleansed and restored man wanted to join Jesus’ company of followers, but Jesus told him to go home and share the good news of what God had done for him with his own family. In another chapter, as Jesus returned to Capernaum, a woman suffering from a long-standing illness thought that if she touched his garment, she would be healed. The significance of that little word “if” in life cannot be underestimated.

While the Apostle Paul was in prison facing his second trial, he wrote to his disciple Timothy and asked him to bring Mark with him and come to Rome. Mark, he said, was useful to him for the ministry. Most scholars think this is the same Mark who wrote the gospel. It seems that Luke, Timothy, Mark, and probably others were with Paul until his execution about AD 67. Mark stayed in Rome where there was a growing number of believers - some in Caesar’s own household. To help instruct the new believers, Mark wrote about what he learned from Peter, Barnabas, and Paul.

While Christians confront many challenges to their faith, they can still say with the Apostle Paul that they can overcome through Christ who gives them strength. The devotions in this audiobook encourage looking in fresh ways at the resources described by biblical writers and practiced by believers throughout generations. The Gospel of Mark is the most practical of the four gospels. The ordinary people Mark described faced common problems, and the lessons they learned are timeless.

In this volume, Mark described Jesus' ministry around the Sea of Galilee, starting at Capernaum, traveling across the sea to Gergesa, and back to Capernaum. Jesus and his disciples were caught in a violent storm as they sailed across the sea. Once they reached the shore, they met a man who had been driven from society and lived among the tombs. The evil spirits cast out of the poor tomb-dwelling man spooked a huge herd of pigs that ran into the sea and drowned. The pig owners and other neighbors were angry, and they urged Jesus to leave their area.

One of the things that make the Gospel of Mark so appealing is the ordinary people the writer describes. They faced issues like those many face today: a man with a debilitating physical condition, someone making a major vocational change, critics and faultfinders, a person with a damaged arm, the pressure of work and time, selecting helpers, and being misunderstood. Each of Mark’s stories contains lessons for the listeners.