Jesus' night-long prayer on the mountain before appointing the Twelve reveals the importance of PRAYER in discerning God's will and to invoke His blessing upon the important choice Jesus was about to make.

The Twelve were chosen and given a definite mission - to be apostles to be sent out as Jesus' witnesses. For us, the call to discipleship is a call to apostleship - to be ready to be sent to wherever and whoever we can be of service to.

The crowds in verses 17-19 desired to hear Jesus and this Gospel passage serves as a preparation for the Sermon on the Mount in the following account (Lk.6: 20-49). As we reflect on this Gospel passage, we are reminded that PRAYER is a serious consideration in whatever decision(s) we make in life.

The same message is re-iterated in the first reading. As followers of Jesus, we need to ask ourselves if we set aside time to converse with the Lord daily? Do we respond to situations and events with prayerful considerations ?