Reflect on your call to follow Christ and act as His apostle in the world

Jesus went up the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

It is a fascinating thing to think of Jesus praying all night. This act on his part teaches us many things just as he would teach his apostles. Here are some things we can draw from His action.

First, it may be thought that Jesus did not "need" to pray. After all, it's God. So he needed to pray? Well, that's actually not the right question to ask. It is not about Him who needs to pray, rather, it is about Him praying because His prayer goes to the heart of who He is.

Prayer is first of all an act of profound communion with God. In the case of Jesus, it is an act of profound communion with the Father in Heaven and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was continually in perfect communion (unity) with the Father and the Spirit and, therefore, his prayer was nothing more than an earthly expression of this communion. His prayer is to live his love for the Father and the Spirit. So it's not so much that he needed to pray in order to be close to them. Instead, it was that he prayed because he was perfectly united with them. And this perfect communion required an earthly expression of prayer. In this case, it was prayer all night.

Second, the fact that it was all night reveals that Jesus' "rest" was nothing more than being in the presence of the Father. Just as rest refreshes and rejuvenates us, so Jesus' all-night vigil reveals that his human rest was that of resting in the presence of the Father.

Third, what we should draw from this for our life is that prayer should never be underestimated. Too often we talk about some thoughts in prayer to God and let it go. But if Jesus chose to spend the whole night in prayer, we shouldn't be surprised if God wants much more from our quiet time of prayer than we are giving him now. Don't be surprised if God calls you to spend much more time each day in prayer. Do not hesitate to establish a pre-established model of prayer. And if you find that you can't sleep one night, don't hesitate to get up, kneel and seek the presence of God living in your soul. Seek him, listen to him, be with him and let him consume you in prayer. Jesus gave us the perfect example. It is now our responsibility to follow this example.

As we honor the apostles Simon and Jude, today reflect on your calling to follow Christ and act as His apostle in the world. The only way you can accomplish this mission is through a life of prayer. Reflect on your prayer life and don't hesitate to deepen your determination to imitate the depth and intensity of our Lord's perfect prayer example.

Lord Jesus, help me pray. Help me to follow your example of prayer and to seek the presence of the Father in a profound and continuous way. Help me enter into deep communion with You and be consumed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus I believe in you.