This is a wonderful chapter. It is entirely composed of a prayer that Jesus made for His disciples. I was amazed at His love and concern for them. As we read the chapter, we can see His heart of compassion and love come through very clearly. Also, we see Jesus' close relationship with His Father. He talks almost conversationally. He speaks with familiarity, and we should do the same. We need to be humble and respectful, but God should be our friend.
Jesus goes on to say how He has done everything that God had asked Him to do. He had given His disciples the Words from God and they received them. Then He prays for His disciples. He knew that He would soon be leaving them behind and He prayed that God would keep them. He also wanted them to be able to have His joy in their lives. He also knew that the world would hate them because they were following Truth. Verse 20 is a very precious verse to me: Here Jesus prayed for me. I know that Jesus intercedes for me now in heaven, but this is the only place in Scripture that I know of where Jesus prays specifically for me. This is a prayer for all Christians down through the ages. Amazing! Then Jesus prays that all Christians may have unity. He wishes them all to be of one body just as closely knit as the Trinity. That's a tall order. Do you love your brothers and sisters in the church just as Jesus loved God. Are you willing to even lay down your life for them as Jesus did? Am I? Then Jesus prays that we may eventually be with Him in heaven so that we may see His glory. What an awesome prayer! We are in no way worthy of all the blessings that Jesus asks for us, but may we be giving our lives back to Jesus in service and thankfulness for all He has done for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment