The Priority of Prayer


But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed.
—Luke 5:16 WEB*

Jesus knew the importance of prayer during His earthly ministry. He began His days with prayer (Mark 1:35). He used every spare moment to pray (Mark 6:46; Luke 5:16; Luke 22:39). Jesus would pray all night before making significant decisions, such as the choosing of His twelve disciples (Luke 6:12). Jesus prayed in times of great stress, such as prior to His betrayal by Judas (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 17). It was following long periods of prayer that Jesus demonstrated most greatly His authority over the elements (Mark 6:45-52) and over demons (Mark 9:14-29).

His disciples were so convinced of the power in Jesus' prayer that they asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). And yet, His disciples found it difficult to place the same importance on prayer that Jesus did (Matthew 26:40, 43, 45; Mark 14:37, 40, 42; Luke 22:45).

Like the disciples, we also seem to find it difficult to place the proper importance on prayer. But if Jesus considered prayer to be the basis for everything He said and did, how much more so should we?


* WEB - The World English Bible, a Public Domain, Modern English translation of the Holy Bible developed by Rainbow Missions, Inc. URL: ebible.org

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