All night Prayer

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.().

In these days jhe went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God ()

Jesus was at a critical point in His ministry:

He offended the traditions of the religious leadership, and they began to plot His death.

The political leadership also began to His destruction (according to ).

Great crowds followed Him, but they were not interested in spiritual things, and could be quickly turned against Jesus.

In response to these pressures and changing situations, Jesus secluded Himself for this time of special prayer.

We suppose that Jesus prayed constantly, but for this particular need He went out to the mountain to pray. “Jesus, therefore, to prevent interruption, to give himself the opportunity of pouring out his whole soul, and to avoid ostentation, sought the mountain.” (Spurgeon)

Then, being alone out on the mountain, Jesus continued all night in prayer and before choosing twelve among the disciples who would become His apostles.

And continued all night in prayer to God:

Jesus was about to choose His disciples. In one sense, there was nothing in Jesus’ three years of ministry before the cross more important than this.

These were the men who would carry on what He had done, and without them the work of Jesus would never extend to the whole world. No wonder Jesus gave this critical choice an entire night of prayer.

Jesus was God; yet He did not simply use His infinite knowledge to pick the apostles. Instead, He prayed all night.

Like every other struggle Jesus faced, He faced this one as a man; a man who needed to seek the will of His Father and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit just as we do.

All night: “One night alone in prayer might make us new men, changed from poverty of soul to spiritual wealth, from trembling to triumphing.” (Spurgeon)

He called His disciples to Himself: The disciples (and also the apostles for that matter) belonged to Jesus.

Disciples never belong to any man; they only belong to Jesus. They are His disciples.

“A disciple was a learner, a student, but in the first century a student did not simply study a subject; he followed a teacher. There is an element of personal attachment in ‘disciple’ that is lacking in ‘student.’ ” (Morris)

From them He chose twelve: Jesus chose twelve apostles because this was the foundation of the new chosen people, and as Israel had twelve tribes Jesus would also have twelve apostles.

Whom He also named apostles: From among the group of His followers (the larger group of disciples), He picked twelve to be apostles.

The ancient Greek word for apostle is “ambassador.” “The Greek word is apostolos, which means ‘sent one’.” (Pate) It describes someone who represents another, and has a message from their sender.

It describes someone who represents another, and has a message from their sender. In this broader sense Jesus was also an apostle according to : consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.

In this broader sense Jesus was also an apostle according to : consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.

 When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven (psalms 77:2)

 O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth ()

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth ()

The prayers for the nation of Israel (62:6–7)

The people are to give themselves no rest until Jerusalem is established (62:6) : They will pray to the Lord night and day for fulfillment of his promises.

The people are to give God no rest until Jerusalem is established (62:7) : Jerusalem will be the object of praise throughout the earth.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem:

Because God loves and rejoices over Zion, He will protect them. Though they were conquered before by the Babylonians, the day will come when He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

The watchmen have a constant duty. They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

The watchmen are not critics; they are prayer warriors, who constantly pray, giving God “no rest” until God’s people and His city are restored

διανυκτερεύω dianyktereuō spend the night

: Jesus “spent the whole night in prayer” (JB).

: Jesus “spent the whole night in prayer” (JB).

The city of Columbia’s Breakthrough

The Cali drug cartel was considered the largest, richest and most well-organized criminal organization in history, exporting 500 million dollars worth of cocaine a month.

The cartel owned as many as 12,000 properties in the city. Drug money controlled everything, including the banks, politicians and law enforcement. Crime and murder were rampant with as many as 15 people a day killed by thugs. In the spiritual arena, the church was anemic and divided.

Then God initiated a work of prayer and unity. In May 1995, over 25,000 people filled the civic auditorium and prayed all night for breakthrough in their city. Within 48 hours, Cali experienced its first 24-hour period with no homicides in as long as anyone could remember.

The police force was purged of 900 cartel-linked officers. The Columbian government began to crack down on the drug lords and, with a force of 6,500 commandos, captured most of the leaders.

Through unity and much prayer, the believers in Cali finally experienced their breakthrough. For years after, they held all-night prayer rallies every 90 days with thousands of people in attendance.

Great openness to the gospel existed at every level of society. Across the board, church growth exploded due to new converts; one church grew to 35,000 members—and is still growing! Denominational affiliation and location had little to do with it. By the year 2000, this marvelous revival had gone on for 36 consecutive months.

Great openness to the gospel existed at every level of society. Across the board, church growth exploded due to new converts; one church grew to 35,000 members—and is still growing! Denominational affiliation and location had little to do with it. By the year 2000, this marvelous revival had gone on for 36 consecutive months.

Ask God to teach you to pray with the right attitude.

When the disciples saw Jesus praying all night on one occasion, they asked Christ to teach them how to pray. Do the same as the disciples: Ask God to teach you how to pray for the right things and with the right attitude.

Keep your focus on God.

Are you guilty of seeking self-glory when you pray or of trying to appear superspiritual?

It’s easy to shift your focus away from God when you pray and relegate Him to second place. But do you honestly believe that God wants to be in second place in your life?

Yield any reward you get from praying. In , Jesus says, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Learn to pray so that you don’t need the applause of those around you. Pray for the applause of God.

Make God your greatest reward. One reward of praying with the proper attitude is that God can hear your prayer and grant your request.But there’s a greater reward—God Himself.

When you focus on God, you are rewarded with His presence. When you come to God, the greatest accomplishment in prayer is entering into His presence and having fellowship with Him.

So next time someone interrupts the conversation and says “What we really need to do is pray”…what should you do?

I think you might agree…and say “I agree. We should pray.”

But then add. “And after we pray, let’s get working on the most important issues facing us. The mission is just too important to ignore them.”

It’s time for the church to act. And to get the best strategy we can find to accomplish the mission God has givers n us.

Here are some strong biblical precedents for it:-

We read in the gospels that Jesus withdrew to the mountains so that he could pray all night (). If we are followers of Christ, we will want follow in his patterns of prayer.

When Peter was imprisioned by King Herod to await trail, the church began praying for him in earnest and continued through the night ( and 12).

Peter was miraculously freed from jail and led out by an angel. If we desire to see the miracles and signs of God's Kingdom at work like the early church witnessed, we will need to recapture a desire for long periods in prayer and worship.

The psalmist declares that

"I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night." (, NLT)