Mark 1:35

Mark implied that these events happened the next day. Many people would have slept late after such a busy day, but Jesus rose early, even before dawn, and went to a remote (Gr. eremon, Mark 1:4, wilderness, cf. Mark 1:12) place to pray (Gr. proseucho, the general word for prayer). This sacrificial act paints Jesus as consciously dependent on His Father for strength and direction for what lay ahead of Him (i.e., a servant; cf. Isaiah 50:4). It also implies further conflict with Satan since Satan had confronted Him in the wilderness previously. Prayerlessness typically manifests self-sufficiency, but prayerfulness reveals humility.

"Mark selectively portrayed Jesus at prayer on three crucial occasions, each in a setting of darkness and aloneness: near the beginning of his account (Mark 1:35), near the middle (Mark 6:46), and near the end (Mark 14:32-42). All three were occasions when He was faced with the possibility of achieving His messianic mission in a more attractive, less costly way. But in each case He gained strength through prayer." [Note: Grassmick, p. 110.]

In this case the crest of popular support that Jesus had ridden the day before threatened to carry Him into political leadership that might have washed out the Cross.