Once again, the Gospel relates to us a typical day in the life of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. And once again, we see the importance of prayer in his life and consequently in our lives as Christians. Today the Gospel story starts with one night of prayer. That seems simple enough. Usually, we think that the purpose of prayer is to make us feel good and improve our personal relationship with God. So, Jesus should come down from the mountain “feeling good”.
Yet something else happened beyond a personal sensation of feeling good. That morning there was an explosion of action, a whirlwind of activity. First, Jesus chose the twelve apostles from among the great number of disciples. Twelve men with their own human personalities, doubts, faith, courage, and errors who would become the foundation of the first Christian communities. They were to be not just passing disciples or folks looking for good luck or good health, but rather the beginning of a permanent faith community.
Then the text tells us the Jesus was surrounded by people from all over – from Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. The explosion from his prayer expands into that large crowd. He immediately began to preach the joy and hope of the Word of God to them. He healed their sicknesses and cured them of their demons.
I personally believe that prayer that does not lead to action is not truly Christian prayer. Without action or deep conversion, prayer is centered on our own selves not on our mission. Take some time this week to ask yourself if your prayer leads you to action. Are you an explosion of God’s presence for those around you?
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God…
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
Image: https://discover.hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Why-Jesus-Had-Only-12-Disciples