Jesus is our High Priest, our Intercessor and Advocate to God. Put simply, Jesus is praying for us. For you. For me.
The picture of Jesus praying for us is found in God’s Word at John 17:6-28, Christ’s High Priestly Prayer. As Jesus prepared to fulfill His mission on Earth, and to leave his disciples, here are the things that He prayed for them and for us:
1. Our security and protection, especially from the Evil One (John 17:6-15). Jesus knew our struggle in this world would not be against flesh and blood, but against the relentless attacks of Satan.
2. Our shalom, the sufficiency and fullness of Christ-joy (John17:13). We were created for joy. Here’s Paul while chained in a Roman prison: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice. … And the God of peace (shalom) will be with you (Philippians 4:4, 9). And then there is this: “This is the day the Lord had made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24).
3. Our sanctification through the truth that is the Word of God (John 17:17). Our spiritual maturity is a lifelong process, and Jesus is with us always praying us through our failures. When Jesus prays for God to sanctify us we can be confident that we will grow with the wisdom revealed in God’s word and mature in Christ’s likeness.
4. Our ministry. That for which we have been sent into the world as Jesus’s disciples (John 17:18).
5. Our unity – the unity of all believers, that we may all be one (John 17:21). We are each baptized with the Spirit and commanded to become one in the body of Christ.
6. Our ultimate destiny to be with Jesus in heaven (John 17:24). Because of Jesus’s prayer for us we can be confident of joining Him in eternity, just as He promised to the thief on the cross.
Jesus is praying these things for you today. On this Sabbath stop and let this sink in. What are you praying for? Here’s a thought. You can start with gratitude.
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