Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Have you ever started your day badly … and had it be bad all day long?

A young Kindergarten Teacher was having a bad day. She woke up late, rushed to school without breakfast, and it seemed as if one bad thing after another kept happening. Little Sally got sick – and showed it all over the floor. The kids wouldn’t be still and listen. It was a really rough day. But – praise God – it was almost done. If she could just get little Johnny out the door! There he sat struggling to get his boots on. So she decided to help. She got on her knees and helped him pull the boots on. They were really tight. Just as she got them on little Johnny said …“Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet!”

So she struggled helping him pull them back off. As she finally got them off and on the right feet little Johnny said …“These aren’t my boots.”

She wanted to kill him but knew that would get her a jail sentence. So she struggled once more to pull the boots off. Just as she got the boots off little Johnny said:“They’re my brother’s boots. But my mom made me wear them today.”

She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Taking a deep breath she wrestled the boots back on little Johnny’s feet. She put his coat on, then asked him “Where are your mittens?”. Little Johnny smiled and said,“I stuffed them in the toes of my boots.”

Tell me again why you don’t pray
first thing in the morning!

Our Lord Jesus prayed, and He prayed with purpose. Jesus knew that the enemy is not flesh and blood:

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12)

The devil is real. The fallen angels we call demons are real. These forces apply their influence on humans, and are the forces behind the evil that abounds in the world at any given time. Jesus knew this, so He prayed. He prayed with purpose. He prayed before making major decisions. Let’s read our focal text:

Luke 6:12-19 (KJV)  And it came to pass in those days, that {Jesus} went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  [13]  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;  [14]  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,  [15]  Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,  [16]  And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.  [17]  And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;  [18]  And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.  [19]  And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Why did Jesus spend all night in prayer?

Jesus Knew His Ministry Would Be Difficult

Jesus knew His ministry was going to be extremely difficult. The forces of evil – not flesh and blood, but working through flesh and blood – had taken over the Temple of God. The Pharisees had attacked Jesus for picking corn and eating it on the Sabbath (Luke 6:2). Jesus used the Scripture to answer their condemnation. In the Temple there is a table on which Shewbread is kept (Leviticus 24:5-9). The Shewbread was only to be eaten by the priests according to the Law. But when David and his men were running for their lives Ahimelech the priest allowed the fleeing men to eat Shewbread to keep them from starving. God never condemned that action because the Sabbath was instituted as a day of rest for His children. The Pharisees were angered at Jesus, but could do nothing about it.

His supposed violation of the Sabbath was a bur under their saddles.
They fumed, and waited.

Then another Sabbath comes, and Jesus comes to the Synagogue to teach. In that holy place the Pharisees watched Jesus like a hawk, hoping He would do wrong. Jesus saw a man with a withered hand, and He saw the Pharisees. Jesus asked them:

Luke 6:9 (KJV) … I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

The Pharisees refused the answer, and Jesus healed the man. The Bible says “they were filled with madness” (Luke 6:11). The devil had hold of their hearts.

And Jesus spent the night in prayer.

Jesus prayed for evil abounded in the Temple and in the Synagogue. Shouldn’t we pray, because much of the Church in America has become a nesting place for evil, a safe haven for satan. Rome was out of control, and God sent His Son to redeem His Israel … but His own would not receive Him.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Jesus prayed all night.
He prayed with purpose.

Jesus Prayed So He Could Choose The Right Leaders

We do not know what words He used nor how many tears He shed, but we know after a night of prayer He chose His twelve Apostles. Jesus did not just arbitrarily pick twelve leaders. He chose these men out of a larger group of followers because He knew they were the ones the Father wanted Him to choose. Read our focal text:

Luke 6:13 (KJV)  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

The word “apostle” is the Greek APOSTOLOS (pronounced ap-os’-tol-os) which means “a sent Ambassador or Commissioner”. The Apostles were given special power by Jesus and were meant to be leaders in the early Church. There were many disciples who followed Jesus at this time, but Jesus only chose twelve.

Why twelve?
Because there are twelve tribes in Israel.

These men would carry His Gospel message to all Israel, sharing that He is the Promised Messiah, the Savior. None of these men were Seminary Trained or Scribes. They were not Rabbis or gifted and recognized teachers. They were men from the common people. They were not illiterate, but not Doctors. Who were these twelve? We read again:

Luke 6:14-16 (KJV)  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,  [15]  Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,  [16]  And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

• Simon is a married fisherman (Mark 1:29-31; 1 Corinthians 9:15). He was named “Peter” or “Cephas” which means “The Rock” (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Galatians 1:18; 2:9,11,14). Simon Peter would be the leader of the Apostles after Christ’s ascension into glory. He along with James and John was of Christ’s “Inner Circle” of leadership.

• Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was a former disciple of John The Baptist who led Simon Peter to Christ. Both Andrew and Peter came from Bethsaida (John 1:44) and were Galilean fishermen (Mark 1:16; Luke 5:2-3; John 21:3).

• James the Son of Zebedee was of Christ’s inner circle along with Peter and his brother John. He was martyred by King Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2).

• John the Son of Zebedee was of Christ’s inner circle. He lived the longest of the Apostles, and wrote the Gospel of John, 1-3 John, and Revelation.

• Philip was from Bethsaida.

• Bartholomew was a native of Cana in Galilee. He carried the Gospel to India.

• Matthew was a tax collector that Jesus saved (Matthew 9:9; 10:3). He was also called Levi the Son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27).

• Thomas has the distinction of doubting Christ’s resurrection.

• James the Son of Alphaeus was Matthew’s half brother.

• Simon called Zelotes. The Zealots were a nationalist group of rebels who advocated violence as a means of liberation from Rome.

• Judas the brother of James was also called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). The only words ever recorded that he said are in John 14:22.

• Judas Iscariot acted as treasurer for the Apostles. He was the only Apostle from Judea. Jesus knew that his heart was traitorous, but chose Him according to the will of God (Luke 22:21; Matt. 26:20-21).

Jesus chose each of these men carefully after a night of prayer with His Father. These men (minus Judas Iscariot) would carry His message after Jesus ascended to Heaven. They were the future of the Church that Christ would build.

The most important decision in any organization is its leadership. Bad leaders make bad decisions!

Jesus made sure that He chose the men that would best meet the needs of the Church in Jerusalem and beyond.

Jesus Prayed So God’s Power Would Work Through Him

Luke 6:17 (KJV) {Jesus} came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

When Jesus healed people while the walked this earth He did not do so using His own power. The Bible tells us in:

Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV)  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  [6]  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  [7]  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  [8]  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

The phrase “made Himself of no reputation” is the Greek “alla kenoo heautou kenoo” which literally means “He emptied Himself”. When Christ came into this world He came into this world as fully God and perfect Man. He is called “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Dr. J. Vernon McGee said before he went to be with Jesus:

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). He had to be a sacrifice that was acceptable. I couldn’t die for the sins of the world. I can’t even die a redemptive death for my own sins. But He can! How can Jesus be a Savior? Because He is Emmanuel, God with us. How did He get with us? He was virgin born. I say again, He was called Jesus; He was never called Emmanuel. But you cannot call Him Jesus unless He is Emmanuel, God with us. He must be Emmanuel to be the Savior of the world.”

Jesus Christ came to this earth to be “God with us”. He is incarnate, the Eternal Son of God Who robed Himself in humanity. What a fantastic truth this is. But Jesus did not walk on this earth using the power of God that was and is rightfully His. He “emptied Himself” is what we are told in Colossians. That does not mean that Jesus ceased to be God, but it means that He voluntarily refused to use His Divine power while He walked on this earth. He set aside His independent authority as the second member of the Godhead, and completely submitted Himself to the will of God.

So how did Jesus do the miraculous things that He did?
He used “The Finger of God”.
What do I mean?
Compare these two recorded texts where Jesus spoke.

Luke 11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

Matthew 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Jesus prayed all night long so that the Holy Spirit would work through Him. Jesus did the miraculous things He did because He was in harmony with both the Father and the Spirit.

Jesus followed the will of God The Father,
and was empowered by God the Spirit.

Jesus had a superhuman thing He needed to do – He needed to heal people. When Jesus went to Nazareth (His home town) He read from Isaiah 61🕐🕐:1 ..

Luke 4:18 (KJV)  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Jesus prayed so that the Spirit of the Lord could use Him to heal the multitudes. Jesus prayed so that the Spirit of the Lord could cast out unclean spirits from the people of Israel. The Bible says:

Luke 6:18-19 (KJV) And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.  [19]  And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

The virtue that went out of Jesus was the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through Him. Jesus operated within the limitations of humanity.

Jesus got weary as other men do (John 4:6)
Jesus became thirsty as we all do (John 19:28)
Jesus was limited in knowledge as a man is (Matthew 24:36)
Jesus willingly limited Himself for our sakes.

Jesus Is Our Example In Prayer

As Colossians tells us, Jesus limited Himself for our sakes. This is why the text starts:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Jesus”
(Philippians 2:5)

Jesus knew that we would be His hands and feet in this fallen world. Because of that He showed us how we are to live our lives out for the Kingdom of God. We are to love God and one another with all our hearts. We are to store up His Word in our hearts. We are to obediently follow our Father, and do as Jesus did.

And we MUST do God’s work in God’s power!

It is through prayer that we, like Jesus, learn what the will of the Father for our lives is. One day Jesus had been preaching and ministering all day when the disciples came to Him. They begged Jesus:

John 4:31 (KJV) … Master, eat.

Jesus had not eaten, and they were worried about Him. But Jesus was not hungry. He told them:

John 4:32 (KJV) … I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

This confused His disciples. They began asking one another “Did you bring Him something to eat?”. None had fed Him. But Jesus found satisfaction in obedience to God. He said:

John 4:34 (KJV) … My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.

Though Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself (see Hebrews 1:8) He nonetheless subjected Himself to the will of the Father, which is right. The Father is the Leader of the Godhead. Jesus wants to do the Father’s will. Jesus wants His purpose to be one with the Godhead. To know God’s will and purpose, we must know God. And the only way to know God is to spend time with God in prayer and in His Word. Jesus tells us:

John 14:12 (KJV)  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

How can this be? How can we do the works of Christ? How can we do GREATER works than Christ did? God must work through us. God must use us. Only in Him and through Him can we do the super human, supernatural things of God. This type of power only comes by prayer. We must pray as Christ prayed. We must be serious about our prayer lives, or we will effect no lives for God.

May God touch your hearts with His Word.