LEARNING DAILY

 

John 17:20, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” Jesus (highlighted will is my emphasis)

 

It is Thursday of the Lord’s Passion Week. It is sometime after midnight and He is alone in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. In verses 6-19 of John 17 He is praying for His disciples. He is asking His Father to take care of them because they have believed in Him and know the words He has spoken to them. He asks the Father to not take them out of the world that will hate them (because of Him) but He asks that He keep them from the evil one. Jesus knew what was about to happen to Him. He knows that when the soldiers come, His disciples will scatter. Even Peter who has said He will never deny Him will do so three times. These men had been chosen by God to form the nucleus of the church that would come. Jesus prayed that they be one or united in all they do; that was essential for the church growth and survival. He prayed that they be holy, set apart from the world and sin in order to worship and serve the Father. They must be set apart, sanctified, to live for Him and be like Him. They must also be set apart in truth to receive it, be obedient to it and to bring His plan of salvation to the lost. He prayed that they be one based on their relationship to the Father and the Son; it was essential that His disciples have the same attitude toward the world, the Word, and the need to reach those who were lost.

 

Look again at today’s verse.  “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” The Lord Jesus not only was thinking of His disciples that night when He prayed. He was thinking about you and me and all would believe in Him. He was praying for every person who would give their life to Him in the future based on the words contained in His Word. Go back to your personal Bible, underline these words and write Jesus was praying for me this night. Make it personal! Max Lucado has written, “As Jesus stepped into the garden, you were in His prayers. As Jesus looked into heaven, you were in His vision. As Jesus dreamed of the day when we will be where He is, He saw you there.” That should make you give Him praise and thanksgiving right where you are right now!

 

The final prayer of Jesus was about you and me. What He was about to endure was for you and for me. His life on earth was to glorify His Father. That was His purpose for leaving heaven and becoming flesh. His obedience to His Father was going to provide a way for humanity to once again be part of the kingdom of God. It is His desire that you and I be sanctified, set apart, be united and be light to a sinful and ungodly world. We are to be His disciples reaching the world for Him.

 

I believe He wants you and me to know that He is with us, especially when we feel alone. He knows what that is like because He was in the garden alone while His disciples slept. As Jesus prayed for what He would have to endure, peace came and the battle was won. That seems to me to be a pattern for us to follow.  What a Savior we have! “Oh, how He loves you and me!”