Luke 6:12

My Notes

What Does Luke 6:12 Mean?

Luke 6:12 records a detail about Jesus' prayer life that's easy to read past: "He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." The Greek en dianuktereuo en te proseuche tou theou — He spent the entire night in the prayer of God. Not a late evening. Not a few intense hours. The whole night. Dawn to dawn. Alone on a mountain.

The context makes the all-night prayer more significant: verse 13 records that the next morning, Jesus chose the twelve apostles. The most consequential leadership decision in human history — the selection of the twelve men who would carry the gospel to the world — was preceded by an all-night prayer session. Jesus didn't consult advisors. He didn't evaluate resumes. He prayed. All night. And then He chose.

The Greek proseuche tou theou (prayer of God) is an unusual construction — literally "the prayer of God," which could mean prayer directed to God or prayer that belongs to God — prayer that is God's own quality of communion. Jesus, who was God, still prayed to God all night before a major decision. The one person who could have made the decision from His own divine knowledge chose instead to spend the night in communion with the Father. If the Son of God needed all-night prayer before choosing twelve men, the implication for you is clear: your decisions need more prayer than you're giving them.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Jesus prayed all night before choosing the twelve. How much prayer precedes your major decisions — and is the ratio proportional to the importance of the choice?
• 2.He went alone to a mountain at night. What does the isolation, silence, and extended duration of His prayer say about what genuine decision-making prayer requires?
• 3.The Son of God didn't need to pray — He chose to. What does it say about prayer's value that the person who least needed it invested the most in it?
• 4.What decision are you currently facing that needs an 'all night' rather than a quick prayer? What would it look like to give it the time Jesus gave His?

Devotional

Jesus prayed all night. The Son of God — who had infinite wisdom, who knew the hearts of men, who could have made any decision perfectly from His own divine knowledge — spent an entire night on a mountain talking to the Father. And the next morning, He chose the twelve apostles. The decision that would shape all of human history was marinated in an all-night prayer.

The proportion is the rebuke: all night for one decision. How much time do you spend in prayer before your major choices? An hour? A quick conversation with God between the options you've already evaluated? Jesus — who needed prayer less than any person who ever lived — prayed more than any person who ever lived. The one with the most reason to skip the prayer was the one who invested the most in it.

And notice: He went to a mountain. Alone. At night. Away from the disciples, away from the crowds, away from every voice that wasn't the Father's. The prayer that preceded the biggest decision required isolation, silence, and extended time. Not a quick text to heaven. A night-long conversation. If you've been making major decisions with minimal prayer — if the committee meeting gets more time than the prayer meeting, if the pro-con list gets more attention than the all-night wrestle — Jesus' example says the ratio is wrong. The decision is tomorrow. Tonight is for prayer.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture