Luke 6:12-13
I’ve often been told a relationship is only as good as the conversation.
The quality and quantity of communication are directly related to the intimacy and trust in a relationship. This is what amazes me about Jesus.
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them.” Luke 6:12-13
This is not the first time we have seen Jesus head off for hours in prayer. We must recognize that in order for him to say yes to this lifestyle of prayer- this level of intimacy and trust with the Father- required him to say no to other priorities in his world:
The disciples who needed his leadership.
People who needed his healing touch.
The tasks and responsibilities of a Teacher in that day.
But here’s the difference: Prayer didn’t thwart those other areas of his life. Prayer led the other areas of his life. What Jesus sacrificed in order to pray didn’t remove value from his life; it added value.
Here in this passage, Jesus led in prayer before making an incredibly strategic decision with eternal implications. In fact, all throughout the gospel of Luke, we see him lead in prayer before many of the major crossroads in his life.
When making the choices in His life that counted, Jesus counted on His Heavenly Father. And Jesus counted on His Father by praying.
Conversing with God, all night.
If you and I believe that our lives were made for eternal significance- that the decisions we make, the jobs in which we serve, and the people we lead are part of God’s divine plan- we must decide who we are counting on. We must invest in our relationship with God through prayer. And we can rest assured that the investment will be worth the cost.
When you and I choose to surrender ourselves to Jesus’ lifestyle of prayer, we will gain a deeper, more intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.
May God grant us the wisdom and the courage to follow Jesus’ lifestyle of prayer.