Holy Writ
Many think of Jesus as a mild-mannered Clark Kent-like character. But since he was the God-man (Infinitely better than Superman!), often acted in ways that contradict our cultural views of Christ.
Luke 6, for example, shows Jesus staying out all night. Okay, he wasn’t clubbing or doing anything rowdy, but we are told, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
Jesus prayed all night.
Convicting.
I’ve had many nights of tossing and turning and praying, but rarely an all-night time of talking to God. Why would Jesus do such a thing?
The passage tells us he prayed all night before choosing his twelve disciples. So he had a major decision to make. That’s the clear reason provided by Luke.
But we often miss that Jesus may have just wanted to spend the night talking with his Father. Yes, we cry out to God when there is a pressing decision or when life is tough, but what about staying up late just because we want to talk with our heavenly Father?
Today’s Friday and many of you reading this will be out of the office tomorrow. Maybe someone out there would take up the challenge of an all-nighter, not to party, but to pray. If you do, you can say you’re trying to be more like Jesus. Or you can just blame me.
Either way, the point is to spend time with our Father. Let’s pray today.
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Dillon Burroughs has written, co-written, or edited over 60 books, including the upcoming devotional work Thirst No More (October 2011). He served as an associate editor for The Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. Find out more at DillonBurroughs.org.
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