In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God.
5 sermons cite this verse
… where you can encounter the living God in private. Mark 6, 12, during those days, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and he spent all night long in prayer to God. There are some decisions so significant, some moments so severe that it requires losing sleep to pray. Mark 6, 46, after he said goodbye to them. Our introverts love that one. He went away to the mountain to pray. There's some company that we need to say goodbye to in order to meet with the Lord. Luke 9, 18, while he was praying in private and his disciples were with him. There are times where it's possible to be in private with the Lord, even when you're surrounded by people. John 6, 15, listen to this. When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. What a word for our day. The city that Jesus was in wanted to make Jesus their king. …
… But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 6 12 through 13 says Jesus went to a mountainside to pray and he spent the night praying to God the whole night in Matthew 14 13 when Jesus gets the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded it says when Jesus heard he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place and just before Jesus died and was crucified for our sins in Mark 14 32 it says Jesus said to his disciples, sit here while I pray. Why is this rhythm so important? Because your spiritual strength is built in hidden places, not crowded ones. Your spiritual strength is built in hidden places, not crowded ones. And again, we get this wrong because we're so performative as a culture that we see people doing things for God and we wanna be seen and we wanna see people. So we see people doing a lot for God and we look at them and say, wow, look how spiritually strong they are. …
… And by the way, he's bringing a few people with him. And then you read over in Luke chapter 6, verse 12 through 17. Put that on the screen for me, please. On one of these days, Jesus went to the mountainside to pray, spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them who he also designated apostles. Here's the list. Simon, whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon, who was called the Zealot, Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Why did you read us all that? Because I wanted you to see the full guest list that Martha was responsible for when she said yes to Jesus. Saying yes to Jesus is one thing. Saying yes to everything that comes with Jesus is another. When Martha said yes to host Jesus, she also had to host Judas. One prophet said, Every rose has its thorn. …
… Peter, Jesus does something very interesting. To really tease out of the text the truth that is lying just under the surface. Go back to Luke chapter 6. In Luke chapter 6, verses 12 through 16, the author Luke, with meticulous detail, tells us that one of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray. What did he go to do? To pray. This is at the very beginning of his public ministry. And he goes to pray, and he spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them, who he also designated apostles. Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alpheus, Simon, who was called the Zealot, Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. But there's a sandwich here, because if you go back to verse 14, the first one that it names is Simon, whom he named Peter. This is a very curious conflict as we study the text, because if Jesus named him Peter, and it's recorded in Luke chapter 6, and if he's referred to as Peter all throughout Luke's gospel, then why at the most pivotal moment in his life when Jesus turns his attention from all the 12 at the table to focus on the one and to give a personal word, does he not address him as Peter, Peter? That would be the way to build confidence in the one you call. Peter, Peter, don't forget to remember when we get to …
… It struck me that Psalm 55, 17 says, "'Evening and morning and at noon will I pray.'" Luke 6.12 says, of Jesus, He continued all night in prayer to God. Even 1 Timothy 5.5 says, Godly widows are seen praying night and day. All the time, in all circumstances, prayer is breathing. It's just living your Christian life in communion with God. So, the frequency of prayer, pray at all times, the variety of prayer, all prayer, all petition, thirdly, the manner of prayer. And for that you see a phrase there, be on the alert, with this in view, be on the alert. translations say, watching. In other words, it's not enough to just be generic. It's a kind of picture of, I think, what Peter meant when he said in 1 Peter 4, 7, watch and pray. And he got that directly from Jesus in Mark 14, watch and pray. Take a look around you and pray specifically. I remember one of my children was very young. We would go from bed to bed at night and pray with them before they went to sleep. …