Jesus was on this earth for only 33 years—what a short life. And yet we have less than 100 days of His life recorded in Scripture. With such little information shared with us about His day-to-day activities, we ought to truly absorb what we do know. One such detail is found in Luke 5:16. “He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
Jesus made a habit to “slip away” (NASB) to “desolate places” (ESV) by Himself, in order to pray. The fact that Jesus prayed is enthralling! He is God, and yet He talked with His Father. The fact that He prayed “often” is instructive! It was something that He needed to do and wanted to do (not something that He “had to do,” to check it off His daily “To Do List”).
The application of this is pretty obvious. If the Son of God Himself “often withdrew and prayed,” do I? If not, why not? Jesus’ prayer “closet” (cf. Matt. 6:6) was not an actual room. The place itself varied, but the seclusion for communion with His Father never wavered. What about me?