Day 33 - Pray, pray, pray

Reading: John 17:1-26

When I used to ask my little grandson, “What did you do at church today?” he’d say, “Pray, pray, pray!” One reason to pray stands out for me. Jesus prayed and prayed often. This is Jesus’ longest recorded prayer. Jesus prays for himself, his disciples and for all believers.

Jesus asks to be glorified, not for his sake, but for his Father. Whatever we do, we should do it for God, not ourselves. That should give us the incentive to do it well and to only do things God wants us to do. He talks about the work God gave him to do (verse 4) God has given us work he wants us to do too and equipped us to do it with our unique characters, abilities and weaknesses.

Jesus then prays for his disciples. We are given pointers to discipleship – accept and obey God’s Word; be certain that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by the Father.

Jesus asks for protection for his disciples – from the world and from Satan – a reminder of the unseen, spiritual aspect of our lives. But Jesus doesn’t want his disciples isolated from the world. No, they must remain and be different, living out the truth, which is God’s Word. And as a result they will find joy (verse 13), despite the hatred of the world (verse 14), and they will be sanctified, set apart for God’s use (verse 17), for all eternity (verse 2).

Then Jesus prays for all believers, which includes us. How great is that? Jesus prays for us! The over-riding theme is unity – with God, with Jesus, with one another. To get it, we need to let God and Jesus take control, be in us. Then people will notice the difference and that will point to Jesus. Finally, in verse 26 Jesus promises to continue to help and be in us. He does that in many ways, through the Holy Spirit, through God’s Word and, of course, through prayer.

Response

Pray for yourself. Ask what work you can do for God today and this week. How can you make a difference for God?

Tom