“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret” (Matthew 6:6).

Multiple times during our Lord’s ministry we find Him secretly praying to His Father. Let’s consider four such prayer vigils so that we might better understand the heart of our Savior and assess our own private time.

First note that Jesus prayed before making important decisions: “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles” (Luke 6:12,13).

Next see how the Master prayed after His tiring work feeding the multitudes both physically and spiritually: “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).

Then notice how Christ prayed before times of great glory: “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering” (Luke 9:28,29).

Lastly we consider our Lord praying in the Garden before His great trial: “And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).

The importance of the timing in each case above is very clear. The solitary nature, as suggested in our text, and the length of the prayer time are also instructive as we seek to model our prayer life after that of the Savior. DW