35Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."
38But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."
39And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
How many times have I woken up way before daylight, long before I need to be getting up and getting ready for work? Often it is because of things on my mind -- either what was happening the day before or what I am thinking about for the day ahead. Maybe what I need to do is take advantage of that time and pray.
Here Jesus had just spent a long day teaching in the synagogue, causing a stir among the people there when he cast out a demon, meeting at a friends house afterwards to enjoy their company but first healing his friend's mother-in-law. All to be followed by the entire city showing up after dark for Jesus to heal their sick and cast out more demons. It must have been a very late night for Jesus, after which He was probably feeling very drained and possibly questioning His purpose. No wonder He couldn't sleep in the morning.
What did Jesus pray about? Did He pray to give thanks and praise to His father? Did He pray to ask for strength and encouragement? Did He pray to ask for help for all the sick and oppressed? Did He pray for guidance for what God wanted Him to do? He was very human as well as eternal, so I'm sure He had a lot of the same feelings and needs as we would have had at the end of such a day. All we know is that when He left He had a clear sense of what His purpose was.
When we are feeling overwhelmed, worn out, and tired, we too must find a quiet solitary place to spend time with our God in prayer. Maybe that is why he wakes me up early, so I have time for the prayer that my busy day doesn't seem to allow. He will renew our strength and guide us in what He wants us to do. Don't forget, even once God tells us what He wants us to do, we still must check in once in awhile for any additional communication.
It is interesting to note that Jesus states his purpose to be to preach -- no mention of healing the sick and casting out demons. So the healing He did and casting out of demons that He did must all have been part of His preaching, or to reinforce His preaching. His purpose was to preach.
Also, why is there mention of so many demons in the scripture? We really don't hear about them so much today. I wonder if the devil knew Jesus was to be coming and had laid out a path of an army of demons to influence as many people as he could in an attempt to thwart the work of Jesus. Jesus easily cast them out.
I think the devil continues to try to thwart the work of Jesus. Often times in more subtle ways than possession by demons. But Jesus can cast out any evil influence if we but ask. He will help us know right from wrong and give us strength when needed.