Often

Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed. —Luke 5:16

To the Lord Jesus, prayer meant spending time with someone He knew intimately and loved deeply and whose company He treasured.

It was what He knew to be true of the Father that drew Him to pray so often. To pray meant having one opportunity after another for Jesus to be alone with His Father. In those moments Jesus received comfort, wisdom, strength, and joy—perfect gifts from the perfect Father.

Of course, Jesus was moved to pray by the needs in the world; His intercessions were often prompted by compassion for the burdened people He encountered. Yet He also drew strength from the calming intimacy of time in the company of His Father. Being with His Father in prayer was the highest reward of prayer.

Could prayer do the same for us? If we were to intentionally seek the Father’s presence through prayer for the greatest reason of all, which is to know Him and enjoy Him, imagine the hunger we’d have to pray. Surely if we prayed more, we’d pray more.

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Incomparable: 50 Days with Jesus © 2024 by Revived Hearts Foundation

Scripture taken from The CSB