Luke 6:12

"And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God."

A "whole night in prayer to God". What could Jesus possibly have said to God, and God to Him for an entire evening, hours on end? I don't know, but I can imagine. What I do know based upon what's written here is that His prayers might have centered on some of the following:

I. First, He flees to the hills immediately after the scribes and Pharisees display their rage over His miracles of mercy performed on the Sabbath. "Obedience" over sacrifice was the mantra of the scribes and Pharisees, all for the sake of self-elevation. When Jesus appeared to obey in spite of their laws and receive praise from the multitudes, their jealousy enraged them to the point of plotting murder. Why would Jesus choose to pray so extensively right after that? Perhaps because He knew it wasn't His hour and there was still so much work to be done. I suspect He probably asked the Lord to pave the way for the rest of His earthly ministry to be fulfilled for the sake of God's glory. Christ could not afford to be distracted by such infantile ambitions and the interference they created.

II. Even though no doubt exhausted from a very full day, rather than sleep Jesus desired to commune with His Father. Although I don't know for sure, I suspect that He knew a night with Him was more valuable than an evening of sleep. Whatever He prayed, it fueled Him with enough sustenance to carry out the next day's work. Perhaps He prayed for that.

III. The very next morning he went to a hillside to deliver one of His most poetic, powerful and purposeful messages to hundreds of curious listeners, known as the Sermon on the Mount. I suspect He probably asked the Father that night to draw those whom He had appointed into His Kingdom that day.

IV. Finally, knowing that this forthcoming message to be delivered at dawn was impending, perhaps He prayed for the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, the persecuted, and even the rich. Earlier in Chapter 4 of this Gospel Book, He stated that His purpose was to come to the aid of these. Now He would see them and speak to them precisely and directly what the Father wanted Him to.

Nothing is specifically detailed to know what Jesus prayed that night, but I walk away from this reading with the following: (i) I want to retreat from naysayers and doubters that ridicule Christ because they feel their own self-righteous works will gain them earthly prominence or heavenly status, (ii) I want to seek prayer more than my own earthly sustenance, (iii) I want to seek out the poor, the mourning, the hungry, the meek, and the persecuted for the sake of the Kingdom, and (iv) I want to be the Sermon on the Mount itself for the sake of my Jesus whom I love more than anything else.