Mark 1:35-39

³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

³⁶ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.

³⁷ When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

³⁸ But 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.”

³⁹ And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Also found in Matthew 4:23-24 and Luke 4:42-44.

Although all the healing that took place the night before took place after the sun had set (after the Sabbath had ended), Jesus still got up long before dawn  to pray. The morning watch was between 3-6 am. The Greek indicates that Jesus went out in the early part of that watch.

prayed (v.35) — A conscious direction of one’s prayer to God, and a consciousness on the part of the one praying, of god’s presence and attention. The verb is imperfect, and pictures Jesus as praying through the early morning hours. — Wuest, page 39.

searched (v.36) = hunted Him down, pursued as one army pursued another (as in Psalm 23:6). Simon looked for Jesus until he found Him, with the purpose of bringing Him back where the people were.

Let us go (v.38) = Let us be going, and keep on going.

towns (v38) = country towns, villages without walls

I have come forth (v.38) — from Capernaum

This Servant made healing subordinate to preaching. He left Capernaum. Had He stayed there He would have established Himself as a Healer of Diseases. But He came to earth to preach and to die; and He allowed nothing to hinder Him in this double purpose. — Williams, page 733.