2 • He will pray to God “in the morning.” If we orient our lives around God, morning prayer will be a natural thing to do. Each new morning calls for a renewed dedication of ourselves to God (55:16-17; 88:13; 119:147), fellowship with Him and feeding on His word (cf. 119:9-16).
3 • He will “look up” in expectation for answers to his prayer, and throughout the day he will search for signs that God is at work in his life.
Examples Of Jesus In Praying
“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed,” (Lk 5:16).
People were flocking to hear Jesus preach and to have their diseases healed, but Jesus made sure he often withdrew to quiet, solitary places to pray. Many things clamour for our attention, and we often run ourselves ragged attending to them. Like Jesus, however, we should take time to withdraw to a quiet and deserted place to pray.
Strength comes from God, and we can only be strengthened by spending time with Him.
“Prayers of Jesus.” I• Luke stresses more than the other gospel writers the place of prayer in the life and ministry of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at the Jordan, He was “praying” (3:21); at times He withdrew from the multitudes “and prayed” (5:16), and He “continued all night in prayer” before choosing the 12 disciples (6:12). He was “alone praying” before He asked His disciples an important question (9:18); at His transfiguration He climbed the mountain “to pray” (9:28), the actual transfiguration occurred “as he prayed” (9:29); and He “was praying” just before He taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer (11:1). In Gethsemane He “prayed more earnestly” (22:44); on the cross He prayed for others (23:34); and the last words He uttered before His death were prayers (23:46). Luke also records that Jesus prayed after His resurrection (24:30).
II• In examining the life of Jesus in the other gospels, we observed that He prayed before extending the invitation, “come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,” (Mat 11:25-28); He prayed at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:41–42); and during the institution of the Lord’s Supper (John 17).
More On Prayer In Jesus’ Life
“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there,” (Mat 14:23).
“Pray … alone.” While on earth, Jesus often sought time to be alone with God (cf. Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 22:41-42; Heb 5:7). Time alone with God is essential to spiritual wellbeing. The lack of desire for solitary prayer to and communion with our heavenly Father is an unmistakable sign that our spiritual lives are in decline.
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