March 18
2019
Night Prayer
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles. Luke 6:12-13
Prayer changes things.
We talked last week about the necessity of committing to regular prayer time to cultivate that intimate relationship with Jesus.
We already read that Jesus often withdrew by Himself to pray.
This passage brings in a whole new level.
Jesus didn’t only withdraw to pray,
He spent the whole night praying.
There are times in our lives when we will need to stick to our committed prayer times in our everyday routines.
But there are also times when we will need some all-night prayer.
Times before important decisions, times when we need to grow in the midst of change, times when we need wisdom and discernment, times when we need comfort.
Prayer is a privilege, not a task to be accomplished and checked off the to-do list.
Think about times when you have spent half the night up talking with your best friend(s).
It was totally worth the missed sleep.
Prolonged time in the presence of the Lord is like that.
The more time you spent, the more you get to know Him, the more you trust Him, the more guidance and direction you are willing to accept, the more you are able to walk into your destiny.
Is it time for some all-night prayer?
Question for Discussion Group:
Think about a time when you were so engrossed in the presence of the Lord that you lost track of time? What was that experience like for you? Do you need to set aside some prolonged time to sit with the Lord (it doesn’t have to be all night J)?