An Unselfish and Intimate Prayer
At our Monday morning Bible study we began our discussion of John 17. Even with vacation time upon us, we had 14 men eager to digest God's Word. It is always a blessing to me just to be there with them.
We started by trying to put ourselves in Jesus' place, as He was about to go to the Cross for our sins. He was God, but He was completely man, too, just without the sin. He knew He was about to endure terrible pain. I asked the men to tell us about their feelings before very painful surgeries. He knew that He was going to die, too. That led me to ask them what they would think about if the doctor told them they were dying. I believe we came away with a respect for Jesus' humanity and His deity. He thought of glorifying the Father, which was very selfless. He also spoke of His mission to lead people to the One True God. He did it in the third person to further show His humility even though the Father had given Him authority over all flesh. What a wonderful Savior!
Mostly He was concerned about doing the Father's will and about His disciples which the Father had given Him. He expressed His responsibility for taking care of them, and He declared that He had given them eternal life. That is the ultimate of security. If we were about to die we would think of our spouse's future and our children's education, and we would pray for God to see them through. Jesus went to the best option, which was to provide eternal life for those He loved. This unselfish prayer is mostly about His concern for His disciples. It is not filled with requests for Himself. How different is that from our prayers?
I hope you will read this chapter with us searching for the heart of Jesus in a time of real distress. It was a heart to do the will of the Father and to take care of His friends. I pray that we will pray like this and have the same desires.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 20-21 and Acts 10:24-48.
We started by trying to put ourselves in Jesus' place, as He was about to go to the Cross for our sins. He was God, but He was completely man, too, just without the sin. He knew He was about to endure terrible pain. I asked the men to tell us about their feelings before very painful surgeries. He knew that He was going to die, too. That led me to ask them what they would think about if the doctor told them they were dying. I believe we came away with a respect for Jesus' humanity and His deity. He thought of glorifying the Father, which was very selfless. He also spoke of His mission to lead people to the One True God. He did it in the third person to further show His humility even though the Father had given Him authority over all flesh. What a wonderful Savior!
Mostly He was concerned about doing the Father's will and about His disciples which the Father had given Him. He expressed His responsibility for taking care of them, and He declared that He had given them eternal life. That is the ultimate of security. If we were about to die we would think of our spouse's future and our children's education, and we would pray for God to see them through. Jesus went to the best option, which was to provide eternal life for those He loved. This unselfish prayer is mostly about His concern for His disciples. It is not filled with requests for Himself. How different is that from our prayers?
I hope you will read this chapter with us searching for the heart of Jesus in a time of real distress. It was a heart to do the will of the Father and to take care of His friends. I pray that we will pray like this and have the same desires.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 20-21 and Acts 10:24-48.