Example

April 2

Deuteronomy 2-3

Psalm 39:7-13

Proverbs 10:3-5

Luke 5

Example

“But He Himself would often slip away to the desolate regions and pray.”  Luke 5:16 LSB

Throughout the gospels, there are numerous mentions of Jesus slipping away to be alone and pray.  Jesus was God, so why did He need to pray?  I think there are several reasons for this.  In His earthly state, He willingly took on the characteristics of humanity.  When He had a long day, He got tired. When He was hungry, He needed to eat.  When He was weary, He needed strength.  He spent time alone in prayer to refresh and strengthen His soul.  He also used that time to prepare for the sermons He was going to preach and to seek God about the messages He was to deliver.  He went away to pray when He had to deal with difficult emotions like when John the Baptist was beheaded.  And He needed time in peace and quiet away from the crowds just to recharge and rest.  Jesus left the splendor of Heaven to come to Earth and live like us. It couldn’t have been easy.  He needed time with His Father.  He was used to uninterrupted fellowship with God in Heaven, but while He was here on Earth, He had to slip away alone to be able to experience His Father’s presence.  That was probably the most difficult part of His mission, the physical separation from God.  We are not given any insight into the conversations they had during His time in prayer.  They were private conversations between a Father and Son, but they gave Jesus the strength He needed to persevere until His work was completed. 

            Matthew, Mark and Luke all recorded incidences when Jesus went off alone to pray.   It obviously had a powerful impact on His disciples.  They noticed what He was doing.  His actions taught them a profound lesson about the importance of spending time alone in prayer.  If Jesus needed time alone with His Father, how much more did the disciples need it and likewise, we need time alone in prayer as well.  We need to set aside time regularly to pray and just experience the presence of God.  His still small voice can only be heard when we slow down and take time to listen. Praying with others is good and necessary, but it cannot be a substitute for time alone in prayer.  It is important that we get away from the TV, radio, other people and our phones or they will inevitably distract us from that one-on-one time.  Jesus often had to get up early or go away late at night to find that time alone.  We also need to do whatever it takes.  Prayer is our source of strength and guidance to continue with the mission He has given us.  We cannot have an intimate relationship with Jesus without time alone with Him and we cannot live an effective, purposeful Christian life unless we do that regularly.