Post by foxjj on Aug 31, 2022 7:00:38 GMT
Jesus’ Prayer For Believers
In his Gospel, John recorded the prayer Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father on the night preceding the crucifixion. Although He prayed initially for his disciples, the prayer also included all who would believe in the Gospel message. This message would be carried to the four corners of the world:
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:13-26 NIV)
This portion of Scripture has amazed me from the first time that I read it. To realise that Jesus, on the very night that He was in great anguish because of what He was about to undergo, would consider the needs of not only the disciples, but also of all those who would believe because of their message. To me this shows that our Savior had complete confidence in the fact that His Heavenly Father was in control of all that was about to take place - not only the next day - but also far into the future. How we also need that same confidence; the assurance of knowing who is in control of our lives.
Did you see Jesus’ request? “Just as you are in me, and I am in you - may they also be in us.” What an amazing thought, the One who went to the cross for our salvation also requested that we be in Him. Do you desire this for your life - to personally know the One True God? Or, are you already among the multitudes who have experienced this blessing? The blessing of sin’s forgiven through Jesus’s Atoning Sacrifice.
Jesus also asked: “Father I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory.” Is that also your desire? Is your ultimate goal to spend eternality in the presence of your Redeemer? People ask, “What will it be like in heaven?” Well, now we know. It is to be in the presence of Jesus, The One who laid down His life in order that you and I could receive forgiveness. We will see him in all of His Glory, and experience the oneness of The Father and The Son. What a glorious time that will be.
Today, let us thank Our Savior for His prayer on our behalf.
John Joseph Fox.
In his Gospel, John recorded the prayer Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father on the night preceding the crucifixion. Although He prayed initially for his disciples, the prayer also included all who would believe in the Gospel message. This message would be carried to the four corners of the world:
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:13-26 NIV)
This portion of Scripture has amazed me from the first time that I read it. To realise that Jesus, on the very night that He was in great anguish because of what He was about to undergo, would consider the needs of not only the disciples, but also of all those who would believe because of their message. To me this shows that our Savior had complete confidence in the fact that His Heavenly Father was in control of all that was about to take place - not only the next day - but also far into the future. How we also need that same confidence; the assurance of knowing who is in control of our lives.
Did you see Jesus’ request? “Just as you are in me, and I am in you - may they also be in us.” What an amazing thought, the One who went to the cross for our salvation also requested that we be in Him. Do you desire this for your life - to personally know the One True God? Or, are you already among the multitudes who have experienced this blessing? The blessing of sin’s forgiven through Jesus’s Atoning Sacrifice.
Jesus also asked: “Father I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory.” Is that also your desire? Is your ultimate goal to spend eternality in the presence of your Redeemer? People ask, “What will it be like in heaven?” Well, now we know. It is to be in the presence of Jesus, The One who laid down His life in order that you and I could receive forgiveness. We will see him in all of His Glory, and experience the oneness of The Father and The Son. What a glorious time that will be.
Today, let us thank Our Savior for His prayer on our behalf.
John Joseph Fox.
