35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out find departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for
thee.
38 And he said unto them, Let ua go into the next towns, that I may
F reach there also : for therefore came forth.
39 And he preached in their bj na- gogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
Every fact in our Lord's life on earth, and every word which fell from His lips, ought to be deeply interesting
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to a true Christian. We see a fact and a saying in the passage we have just read, which deserve close atten- tion.
We see, for one thing, an example of our Lord Jesus Christ 8 habits about private prayer. We are told, that " in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.*'
We shall find the same thing often recorded of our Lord in the Gospel history. When He was baptized, we are told that He was " praying/* (Luke iii. 21.) When He was transfigured, Ave are told, that "as He prayed, the fashion of His face was altered/' (Luke ix. 29) Before He chose the twelve apostles, we are told that "He continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke vi. 12.) When all men spoke well of Him, and would fain have made Him a King, we are told that " He went up into a mountain apart to pray." (Mark xiv. 23.) When tempted in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, " Sit ye here, while I shall pray." (Mark xiv. 34.) In short, our Lord prayed always, and did not faint. Sinless as He was, He set us an example of diligent communion with His Father. His Godhead did not render Him independent of the use of all means as a man. His very perfection was a perfection kept up through the exercise of prayer.
We ought to see in all this the immense importance of private devotion. If He who was "holy, harmless, undcfilod, and separate from sinners," thus prayed con- tinually, how much more ought we who are compassed with infirmity ? If He found it needful to offer up suppli-