RC Principle #5

#5 : Respond with Discernment & Wisdom

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles. Luke 6:12-13

Many times in the gospels we read that Jesus withdrew to solitary places to pray. He went away to pray before preaching and healing the sick (Mark 1:35-26), after long days of ministry (Matt 14:23), and here in Luke 6, before choosing the apostles. Why? As the son of God, didn’t Jesus already have all the discernment and wisdom needed for ministry? 

It’s interesting how Jesus models this discipline of prayer in all kinds of situations. I might think it’s necessary to stay up all night and pray before teaching a large crowd, or casting out demons, but before choosing followers? Just pick the most promising of the bunch, right? But look closely at the list of names that follows: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot. Knowing their stories, I’m not sure I would have picked all of those guys! Jesus had wisdom and discernment from above.

Prayer results in God-guided responses, rather than human reactions. Every situation we encounter must be bathed in prayer, God’s Word and wise counsel from others (collective spiritual discernment) if we are to know the right thing to do. Even Jesus needed to pause and pray often. How much more so do we?