WITHDRAW INTO PRAYER

Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew
to the wilderness for prayer.



Why is important to note that Jesus prayed in the wilderness? Well, it was in the wilderness that He fasted forty days and forty nights, after which the devil tried tempting Christ. Jesus, however, despite his hunger and frail physical state from fasting, was actually in one of the strongest moments of His spiritual life because His resistance would be solely rooted in scripture. The only thing that Jesus had during his fast was the Word of God and He feasted upon it while in the wilderness. Jesus would even quote Deuteronomy 8:3 saying, "Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the LORD." So why was it important to note that Jesus prayed alone in the wilderness? Simply, Jesus did this for believers that would follow after Him as an example of how to live a powerful prayer life by being alone with God every single day. When we withdraw into prayer like this, temptations just aren't that powerful anymore because we're entrenched in scriptures and held closely by our Father in heaven for support and wisdom.