“Now Jesus went up the mountain and called for those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve (whom he named apostles), so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach and to have authority to cast out demons. He appointed twelve: To Simon he gave the name Peter; to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”); and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” —Mark 3:13-19
In the account of this same incident in the Gospel of Luke we discover the reason our Lord went up on the mountainside–to pray!
“Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” —Luke 6:12-16
Prayer was Jesus’ holy habit–early in the morning, late at night, and all through the night, through his life on earth we see Jesus taking time to talk to His Father. Spending time alone with God, Jesus was not out to impress men, rather He desired communion, direction, and strength from His Father. I am reminded of our Jesus’ Words in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward! But whenever you pray, go into your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” —Matthew 6:5-6
Prayer was never meant to be a liturgical performance whereby one sets out to eloquently espouse religious jargon for the benefit of man’s ears. Prayer is conversation and communion with the I AM, the great Creator God! When we forgo this privilege we end up wandering around in fog. We are the losers when we pursue our own imaginations, rather than listening for God’s still small voice for direction, power, and timing.
God intended from the beginning that we would be in a relationship with Him. From Adam on it was God’s desire and design for man to walk with Him in holy communion. When our first father failed, God cried out to him in the Garden, “Where are you” (even though God knew, he wanted Adam to answer Him). God always presses us to confess and repent of our wrong doings for our own good. The worst possible place for anyone to find themselves is outside of God’s perfect and pleasing will. Unfortunately, many of us do find ourselves in precisely that place due to our prayerless, rushing ways. We are to wait upon the Lord for His guidance.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.” —Proverbs 3:5-6
Take It to Heart
This is why we must take time to pray. Not just over monumental things–like the selection of the twelve–but over everything else as well. God delights in hearing us talk to Him!
Amy Carmichael’s short prayers are a great model for us:
“Your patience Lord.”
“Your peace Lord.”
“Your grace Lord.”
“Your kindness Lord.”
“Your joy Lord.”
“Your goodness Lord.”
“Your direction Lord.”
Constantly pray. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Further Reflections
“Our attitude of surrender and dependence upon God is best evidenced by our prayer life.” —Chip Ingram
“A prayerless soul is a Christless soul.” —Charles Spurgeon
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” —Samuel Chadwick