Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
While I have never done an extensive study on the prayer life of Jesus, it is apparent that He didn’t just teach us how to and how not to pray (Matthew 6:5-13) He PRAYED. And based on what we read about His prayer life, prayer was a priority. For instance, in Mark 1:35 says, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” Luke 5:16 says that as He had larger crowds and more ministry (5:15), He would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. As He faced His most difficult moment of His lifetime, He went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. It is worth noting that before going to the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed specifically for Peter. You might recall Luke 22:31 “And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” And before this, we have what is the “Lord’s Prayer” that John records for us in John 17.
There is no question that Jesus believed in praying, and it was a priority for Him. We might even conclude it was a necessity for Him. Our verse to DATE tells us “He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” One might wonder (I know I do) what He might have prayed about all night, and was there any specific reason for an all-night of prayer. Interestingly enough, we find there appears to be a reason for the all-night of prayer as Luke continues in verse 13 with “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He CHOSE twelve whom He also named apostles.” BTW, they were Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
15 Matthew and Thomas; James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
16 Judas [the son] of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Before deciding who would be an apostle, Jesus spent all night in prayer. One should easily learn from the prayer life of Jesus that major decisions should be covered in prayer, and with some major decisions, you might need to pray all night.
For a quick contrast, you might recall that as the Israelites were taking possession of the Promised Land, a group of people called the Gibeonites came to them and deceived the Israelites into believing they were from another country. After a peace treaty was signed, Joshua records their deception in Joshua 9 and concludes that the decision had been made because the Israelites did not ask (inquire) counsel of the LORD. Joshua 9:14
Is prayer a priority for you?
Continue Strong praying before making decisions,
And remember to daily DATE the Word