Prayer and Decision Making

Scripture:

Mark 3:13  He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, ¹⁵and to have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); ¹⁷James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 

Observation:

Jesus goes up to “the” mountain to pray. We don’t know which mountain but there is intentionality in the definite article “the.” Could it represent Sinai, the place where Moses went to be near to God and to receive further instruction? We don’t know the exact location but there is great symbolism in Jesus going up to the mountain and spending time in quiet with the Father. Even Jesus had to go and spend time in prayer before making such an important decision. Jesus models for us the need to find a place of privacy for prayer. 

Next, after this time of prayer, we find Jesus identifying the twelve. Interestingly, they are all imperfect humans, and yet, Jesus willingly shares his power with them. It was by way of grace that God took these imperfect persons and used them to change the world. 

Application:

Making personnel decisions is a real challenge for all leaders. As much as you’d like to always make great decisions, that’s just not reality. At the same time there are some things that we can learn from Jesus in this scenario. First and foremost, is the value of spending time alone with God. The crowds had been pressing in on Jesus, constantly demanding his attention. One can only imagine that he was tired and weary. He needed to get away and listen to the voice of the Father. 

I’m afraid that sometimes leaders forget that they are human. No one is immune from the need for regular rest and spiritual renewal. Poor decisions are made in the moment when we are tired and emotional. 

The group that Jesus selected for leadership would not have made any sense in the minds of the religious leaders. It appears that they were an odd enough group that they already had nicknames for one another. They didn’t have the finest resumes and some of them barely become a blip in the history books. At the same time, no one can deny that this little band of followers were part of a movement that is still alive and well today, 2000 years later. Jesus listened to the leadings of the Father and made leadership decisions that were beyond human understanding. 

These men all had qualities that God could see, if not humans. I believe that we are surrounded by individuals with potential that we far too often fail to see. We look at the resume’ and try and determine whether the person has the right credentials without looking at the heart and soul and determining whether the person has the capacity to fulfill the role. Sometimes those with the greatest capacity are those who appear to be the least-likely. 

This is where grace comes into play. Jesus picked imperfect individuals to fulfill his mission. Maybe there’s humility to be found in that space because, no one is worthy to fulfill Jesus’ mission. It’s in our weaknesses that we discover God is strong. It’s through our vulnerability that we are able to receive supernatural strength. If we never admit we need any help, we will end up doing everything on our own — when we could have been doing it with God’s help. 

Bathed in prayer we make decisions dependent upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. As imperfect humans participating in relationship with our perfect God, we partner in the mission of Jesus Christ. 

Prayer:

Lord, may I take time to slow down and participate with you in my decision making. Amen.