"Jesus Prayed for ME!" June 16 Readings: 1 Chronicles 18-19, John 17, Psalm 73:25–28, Proverbs 15:10–12

 

 

Reading the Bible in 2023

Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. In reading four portions of God's word in a day, one of them is bound to speak to your life!

NOTE: if you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 18-19, John 17, Psalm 73:25–28, Proverbs 15:10–12

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional:  

The night before Jesus died, just before he agonized in the Garden, before he was arrested and put on trial, Jesus prayed - he prayed for YOU! Yes, my friend, he prayed for you and he prayed for me. Think about that. In his hour of agony, of pain, and of stress, when the most awful moment of history awaited him, he interceded with the Father on our behalf.

John 17 is the real "Lord's Prayer." The prayer to which we've assigned that name is the one he gave to his disciples to pray. It is the "Disciples' Prayer." But the prayer that reveals the heart of Jesus is John 17 - it shows what he really thought and felt. Verse 20 makes it clear that this prayer was not just for the men who were with him in the Upper Room.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”

He prayed for you and for me. Whatever you are going through today, whatever your pain, you can rest assured that you are infinitely loved by one who when hell marshaled all its forces against him and when the entire world was crashing around him, still his thought was to pray for you. That is an eternal and unshakable love. 

The list of blessings in this passage is long and wonderful, but there are two in particular that I would point out. There are two things that Jesus prayed that sometimes stand in slight contrast, even conflict with one another. First, in verse 17 he prayed, 

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 

Jesus prayed that we would be made holy, conformed to the image of Christ, that our sins would not dominate and control us but that we would become like Christ. What is the primary tool that God uses in that process? The Word - the truth of God that the Spirit uses to accomplish that work. The Word can be harsh and convicting as it calls us to repentance, to change, to abandon our sin, and to become like Christ. But that we must do. The Christian life is a daily process of the Spirit working in us, through the Word, to make us more like Jesus. 

Along the way, there is something else that God wants for us. This is seen in verse 21. 

...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Jesus wanted his disciples to walk in unity and in oneness. In fact, the unity of the Body of Christ was meant to reflect and demonstrate the unity that existed among the members of the Trinity.

To my shame, I have failed often in walking in the holiness of Christ, in the process of sanctification by the Word. But just as often I've failed in my relationships to reflect the divine oneness that Jesus Christ called us to demonstrate. I've failed more than I've succeeded.

But here's the good news. Jesus prayed for me! I know his prayers will not fail. The process may be slow and the answer may not be complete, but I know that God will answer and I will be all that God wants me to be, all that Jesus prayed that I would become! Jesus' prayer will be answered!

Father, I thank you for the confidence I have in Christ that one day I will be fully sanctified in Christ and that I will experience perfect unity in the Body of Christ. I thank you that this depends on the work of Christ in me!

 

Consider God's Word:

Did one of these passages speak strongly to you today? Which one? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Jesus prayed for two things for us. It is certain that if Jesus prayed for these things, they will occur. He prayed that we would be sanctified - set apart and made holy for the purposes of God. He prayed that we would be united as one. What we know is that the prayers of Jesu will be answered! You will be holy and the church will be unified.