Why did Jesus seek privacy in prayer? There were occasions when Jesus prayed with others present. But many of His prayers took place away from others.
Why? Because prayer is a meeting with God. Prayer is talking with the heavenly Father. Prayer is not talking with people. Prayer is for God’s attention. In that sense it is only natural to want to be alone with God in prayer. When a man and his wife want to talk, they do not invite the neighbors to come and hear the conversation. In fact if the discussion is serious—and we have seen that prayer is serious—then the husband and wife may even send the children out for a while. Without others there to distract the couple, they can concentrate more on important things to be discussed.
Many forget that prayer is essentially a private talk with God. For many people, prayers take place mainly with others present:
“grace” at meal times,
prayers at church services,
devotionals,
fellowships,
prayers with family members at bedtime.
If the main time for prayer is when others are present we may be missing the main point of prayer.