Nougat 21

Greetings to you; I pray you well

Is there a special process that you take before making major decisions? Should there be one? While we are not mandated to do likewise, there’s an important lesson on decision making embedded in today’s Holy Nougat

“And it was during these days that Yeshua went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent all night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12 TLV

So Jesus’ all-night prayer meeting preceded the selection of the emissaries who would be His replacement some three years later. As they would be with Him as understudies, Jesus had to ensure that the best team was selected. This was perhaps the most critical decision Jesus was going to take, and He spent the night in prayer.

One could argue that that was unnecessary – Jesus was God with us; He KNEW the hearts of us humans – why pray? It might be instructive to recall that as God-become-Human (Emmanuel), Jesus’ personal mandate was to Model the way we, His followers, ought to live. So the night of prayer was as much for His insightful decision-making as it was a lesson for you and I.

Interestingly, despite being given the details of other prayers uttered by Jesus, the Gospel writers are silent here. It could be that the Act of Prayer is the precedent being set, and with the various issues humans face, the details were not very pertinent.

With that we revert to the introductory question – What do we do before making major decisions? Is serious prayer part of our routine, do we even consult with God or do we do our own thing? I confess, I’ve never pulled an all-nighter before; I cannot even say that I have always fasted. But I can state that when God is included in the process, the results bear testimony to the process.

Now before anyone crucifies me for misrepresentation, let me clarify. The results may not necessarily Look like what we anticipated – no one would have expected common, unlearned, impetuous fisherfolk like Peter; or the scheming Judas to be among Jesus’ choices – but the results will be just what we need for the task.

If prayer has not been part of your decision-making routine, I urge you, especially in these seemingly unstable times, seek God’s will First in ALL you do.

May we find strength in yielding to God’s plans in all we do.

In Christ’s love and grace . . .