But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus chose His twelve apostles after a night of praying? Luke tells us that after a day where He was dealing with the Pharisees, He went out and spent the night alone in prayer. It was the very next morning that He chose the twelve apostles. He chose twelve people to carry His message. We all know who these men are: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon, Thadeus and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

To make a choice of whom He was going to spend His time with - the choice of who was going to carry God’s word - He spent the night in prayer. How often do we spend hours in prayer over a choice? I wonder what a difference it would make.