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Matthew 14:23
Jesus has dismissed the multitudes as I believe that it was His intention to intermingle with them and send them away encouraged and blessed. He has also sent His disciples away by way of boat to cross over the lake to the other side. This leaves Jesus alone, and it seems to be done purposely by Jesus. One would want to believe that this is another point of Jesus teaching us the importance of having an alone time with God, however, there is no indication of any immediate crisis, and if anything, may be a time of personal praise to His heavenly Father. But some scholars believe that there is yet another possibility for Jesus being alone at this particular time. It is possible that Jesus has purposely sent everyone away from Him, including His disciples, so that everyone would know from the recording of the coming event that there would be no doubt as to the miracle that is to come. What we can be sure of is, as the Bible teaches us in Matthew 14:23b,c, (NKJV) “He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” It seems a little redundant to state that Jesus was “by Himself,” and then to immediately follow that statement with, “He was alone there.” I believe that God wants us to know that He was alone as He prayed on the mountain. Jesus knows what is about to happen, and He is preparing properly by spending time with His heavenly Father for support and guidance.
This is an example of the important alone time that we need to spend with God in preparation for the wonderful things that He is about to do in our lives.
When we have important events about to happen in our lives, do we go to God in prayer beforehand to seek His guidance, or do we tackle the event on our own? God wants us to know that He is with us in the good times and during the big events of our lives just as He is to help us through the trials and tribulations. Jesus sets the example that we are to follow as God’s children. God wants us to invite Him to be with us during the celebrations of our lives and that He is here with us to guide us through the exciting times of our lives as it is many times that we lose our focus on Him when we feel that things are going well. God wants to celebrate the life He has given us, with us. We should make a point to invite Him to be with us during the exciting times that He has planned for us. The Psalmist declares in Psalm 16:1-3 (NKJV),
“Preserve me, O God, for in You I put
my trust.
O my soul, you have said to the LORD,
‘You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.’
As for the saints who are on the earth,
‘They are the excellent ones, in whom is
all my delight.”
Dear LORD,
We thank You for promising to be with us during times of need. Please help us to see that we need You all the time – even during the good and exciting times of our lives as these are times when it is easy for us to lose our focus on You and focus more on ourselves. Please help us to see that it is because of Your grace, mercy, and great love for us that You allow us to experience the exciting times of life as Your children, and that we should share those times with You as we know that You are with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). In Jesus name I pray, amen.