And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
– Luke 5:16 KJV
The he referred to in this passage of scripture is Jesus Christ. Jesus, God in the flesh, found it necessary to withdraw into the wilderness alone in order to pray to His Father in heaven frequently; daily. This man who had the most direct line with God in the history of all men; this man who NEVER sinned; this man who knew the word of God better than anyone else, because He IS the very word of God, went often into the wilderness alone to pray. He was on a mission from God; He had a great deal of work to get done in a very short amount of time; and yet, we find Him going off into the forest again and again for extended time periods. Sometimes He would spend all night out there in prayer! Sometimes He would skip out on meals so as to go out or stay out there alone in communion with the Father!
Jesus, our example to live by, our example to die by, did not think Himself too busy; too important; to knowledgeable or wise, to take everything to His Father in prayer! Yet, here we are, seriously, here we are, in our flesh, born into sin, with deceitful hearts that can only be made clean and pure through the sanctifying work of the Lord God, thinking ourselves too above prayer, too advanced, too self-righteous, too busy, too lost, too found, too good to kneel at the foot of the cross of the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, and surrender all in prayer! He did it! He did it! But scarcely, scarcely do we!
We will prostrate ourselves and cry out for mercy when our lives hit rock bottom; when we are at our wits end; when someone’s health or life is on the line. Yes, that is when we expect and rely on Him to be there; to hear us and answer us in a way that is pleasing to us! It’s as if we think He owes us something! We seem to forget that He gave His all for us once already and that All is sufficient enough!
If I only contacted you when I needed something from you it stands to reason that you would eventually call me out on my selfish behavior and would eventually stop taking my calls! You would be justified in those actions! Thankfully, the Lord’s ways are not our ways so at His discretion He will listen and answer according His perfect will. How terrible that we treat Him this way, however, like He is our ‘do boy’ or our fairy-Godfather! This should not be so! The Only begotten Son of God; the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; the Alpha and Omega; the great I AM- Jesus Christ- did not treat His Father this way when He came to the earth in the flesh! No, He sought Him earnestly, willfully, wholeheartedly in prayerful obedience. We are His disciples, His servants: let us resolve to do the same no matter the day, the time, or the circumstances pressing against us! The servant is not greater than the master (John 13:16).
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. – Deuteronomy 4:29
As You Rise 