Through the example of Jesus Christ, he shows that the significance of prayer is one of the top priorities of our life. Despite the fact that multitudes of people were coming to him, Jesus withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed (Luke 5:15-16). In other words, prayer was a habit of Jesus Christ. He always took the time to pray and gave top priority to it, even when he was very busy. In turn, this shows the importance of prayer.
Mark 1:21-34 is another example of a very busy day for Jesus, and in between that day and the following busy day (Mark 1:35-36), Jesus woke up well before daylight and then he went out and departed to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35). The night before Jesus made one of his most crucial decisions of his ministry, the choice of the twelve apostles, Jesus continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12-13). If Jesus needed to pray before he made decisions and choices, don’t you think we need to pray before we make them?
In Matthew 26:36-38, the reason why Jesus Christ was very sorrowful and distressed was that he knew that he was going to be arrested and crucified. Really, it was a very difficult time for him and, at the same time, a very crucial time for all of us, since the plan of our salvation was based on his personal sacrifice and resurrection. But how did he decide to face this crisis? Matthew 26:39-44 says Jesus fell on his face, and prayed. Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Again, a second time, He went away and prayed. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So he left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then God sent an angel (Luke 22:43) and strengthened him to do what was his biggest desire; the will of God.
Jesus was asking the Father whether there was another way whereby he could accomplish man’s salvation, without having to go through this situation. He prayed about it, he prayed three times. It is very instructive to pay attention to his prayer attitude. As we can see, he expressed his desire to God (“let this cup pass from me”) but at the same time he asked for the will of God to be done (“nevertheless, not as I will but as you will”). This is very important, since sometimes we think that, because we ask God for something, He is obliged to do it, and not only that, but that He should do it when we want it to be done. God is obliged to do whatever we ask only when we ask in accordance with His will.