Jesus Prays! Why not us?

The beginning of todays' Gospel says that Jesus departed to the mountain to pray. And He did not only pray for hours but spent the night in prayer to God! You ask; "Jesus prays?!" And why not? Prayer is communication with God more than an activity of a creature to its Creator. It is a person to person exchange. It is an exchange of "wills" if you will. The Christian is expected to pray always and more in serious situations. There is nothing important to a Christian than to know what his God wills and to express his will in the process. Jesus shows here his true humanity. He was the Son of God, true, but He was also the son of Mary and Joseph. He needed to pray, and pray, He did!

Incidentally, He did it because He was about to choose His twelve apostles. Men who will be witnesses to everything He will do and say. Men who will compose of the foundation of His Church. Men who will see to it that everything will be passed on from generations to generation. They were important men and therefore, He has to confer with God!

As parish priest, I get to choose also my servants. They are men and women who will be my co-operators in the ministry of salvation. Ever since I became parish priest, I have always looked for people who will be of service to the parish. And I invite them and even interview them to let them know what are expected of them and what service in the parish would entail. Every time, I will always find myself praying to God for enlightenment. I will also tell them to spend time in prayer before they make their final decision to be servants. Service to God is ultimately between them and God and not with me. In most cases, our decisions were stable and responsible.

Personally, I make it a point to be in prayer before I go out of my room in the morning for my ministry. I know that once I get out of my room, I would find it hard to commune with God anymore because of so many things to do and people to attend to. Before I retire at night, I pray again. So that I and God will always be on the same page.

Needless to say, prayer is the source of my spiritual strength. It is also my refuge during challenges and crucial decisions. If Jesus prays, much more should we!