So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed.
- KJV And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
- BSB Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
- NASB But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
- NLT But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus withdraws to lonely places to pray. Even amid great demands he prioritizes communion with the Father.
Overview
Luke again notes Jesus' pattern of withdrawing for prayer, this time amid mounting popularity. His habit reveals dependence on the Father and a refusal to let busyness crowd out prayer. For believers, Christ models that fruitful service flows from and must be sustained by time alone with God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 6:12In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.
- Mark 1:35–36Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there.
- Matt 14:23After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone.
- Mark 6:46After he had taken leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray.
- John 6:15Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 5:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.