50 WITHDRAW TO THE WILDERNESS TO PRAY.

So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

     —Luke 5:16

What is it that makes the wilderness so conducive to prayer?

The wilderness increases our thirst for living water. The dryer our lives become, the greater we thirst for the living water that only Jesus can give. Jesus promised, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

The wilderness lays bare the reality that life is a lonely journey. Few friends welcome entering the wilderness with you. Fewer still can withstand the temptations that arise in the wilderness. Alone Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness.

The wilderness brings you closer to God. You never enter the wilderness alone. Jesus is with you always. While the wilderness exposes just how lonely life is, it also reveals just how close God is.

Withdraw with me, Lord Jesus, into the wilderness. There, feed me the bread of life. There, satisfy my thirst with Your living water. There draw close to me. Amen.