Luke 6:12-16: in context

Before Jesus chooses the twelve apostles, the men who would carry his mission into the world, Luke records how he prepared. In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples and chose from them the twelve. The choosing of the twelve was a weighty decision, and Jesus did not make it lightly or in his own wisdom alone; he spent the whole night in prayer to the Father before he chose.

It is striking that Jesus, the Son of God, spent an entire night in prayer before this decision. If anyone could have chosen rightly in his own wisdom, it was he; and yet he gave a whole night to seeking the Father before choosing the twelve. The weight of the decision drew him not to rely on his own judgment but to seek God in extended, earnest prayer. He would not make this choice without the Father; and so he prayed through the night. This teaches us about the place of prayer before our important decisions. We often make our decisions, even weighty ones, in our own wisdom, weighing the options, trusting our own judgment, deciding on our own. And prayer, if it comes at all, is an afterthought. Jesus reverses this. Before the important decision, he prayed, and prayed at length, seeking the Father before choosing. If the Son of God gave a night to prayer before this choice, how much more should we, whose wisdom is far more limited, seek God before our weighty decisions rather than relying on our own judgment. This does not mean every small choice requires a night of prayer, but that our important decisions, the ones that shape our lives and the lives of others, are to be brought to God, sought in prayer, not decided in our own wisdom alone. If any of you lacks wisdom, James says, let him ask God, who gives generously. God offers his wisdom to those who seek it; and the way to seek it is prayer. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, the proverb says, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. This calls us to make prayer central to our decisions rather than an afterthought. When a weighty choice is before us, do we bring it to God in earnest prayer, seeking his wisdom, as Jesus sought the Father before choosing the twelve? Or do we decide in our own wisdom, praying only afterward, if at all? Jesus prayed all night before his important decision; and we are called to seek God in prayer before ours, not leaning on our own understanding but acknowledging him and asking for the wisdom he gives generously to those who seek it.

When a weighty decision is before me, do I decide in my own wisdom, weighing the options and trusting my own judgment, with prayer as an afterthought if it comes at all, or can Jesus, who spent a whole night in prayer before choosing the twelve, move me to bring my important decisions to God in earnest prayer first, seeking his wisdom rather than leaning on my own understanding, and trusting him to make my paths straight?