JESUS PRAYED ALL NIGHT

Passage: Luke 6:12-19

Key verse: 12

NIV

The Twelve Apostles(A)

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.(B) 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:(C) 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew,(D) Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Blessings and Woes(E)

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,(F) 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him,(G) because power was coming from him and healing them all.(H)

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ESV

The Twelve Apostles

12 In these days (A)he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, (B)he called his disciples (C)and (D)chose from them twelve, whom he named (E)apostles: 14 Simon, (F)whom he named Peter, and (G)Andrew his brother, and (H)James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and (I)Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called (J)the Zealot, 16 and (K)Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude

17 And (L)he came down with them and stood on a level place, with (M)a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of (N)Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. (O)And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd (P)sought to touch him, for (Q)power came out from him and healed them all.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

What keeps you up at night? Jesus cared about the suffering people of the world deeply and passionately. He saw crowds of people like sheep without a shepherd and like fields ripe for harvest. People needed to know the truth that God was really with them and cared for their healing and for their blossoming into the fullness of God's image and life in them. Although he was tired, he had to pray, in a solitary place, and be heard by God and to hear His voice.

The next morning, Jesus chose 12 disciples and designated them apostles. They would follow Jesus and learn from him. They would be a start of a new movement that would extend the love and healing of God to the whole world. They were all different, yet Jesus saw a beauty in diversity and loved each one of them, entrusting them with the keys to the kingdom of God, even though one would betray him.

Prayer: Lord, hear us when we pray and open our hearts to hear your wisdom. Are you calling me, as I am, to share in the work of caring for the world around me? Help me to do so.

One Word: Pray