I Am Praying For Them (John 17:9)

 


Thursday, April 17, 2025


Psalm 55

Exodus 24:1-11

John 17


Observance: Maundy Thursday


I Am Praying For Them (John 17:9)


 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.


In this chapter of John’s Gospel we have an insight into how the Godhead talks about us. When God the Son and God the Father commune with one another and discuss what is happening, and the topic moves to us and our considerations, this is how they speak: they speak of love.


Consider that we are actually thought about in the first place! Jesus speaks of being glorified in the presence of the Father in the glory he had before the world existed – and yet he is also thinking about us. Just as the Father and the Son are one in glory and majesty and holiness, he prays for us. We who are so far from being one, let alone having any glory or majesty or holiness.


Not only are we on God’s mind, we are thought of highly. So highly, in fact, he claims ownership of us. He who was before the world existed calls us his own.


And as his own, the glory of the Father, given to the Son, has been given to us. Why would God condescend to share his glory with people like us? So that we may be one with him, just as the Father and the Son are one. He wants to show us all the wonders of God; Jesus desires that we may be where he is, to see the glory that was given him before the foundation of the world.


It is almost like a fairy tale. And yet it is true. We live in the world, yet not of the world, because we are moving towards the Celestial City. As one of Christ’s own, we hold an honour that lifts even the poorest beggar’s head proudly. Yet Christ’s glorification comes at the price of his own blood, which is required because of the low estate from which he is lifting us. And then we keep returning to Jesus’ own words, repeated often and loudly: God really does love us that much.


Do you ask other Christians to pray for you? Have you ever asked Jesus to pray for you? What does it mean for Jesus to be praying for us?


God of glory, whose glory is from before the foundation of the world: pray for us, that your word might be fulfilled, and that we might see your glory in its complete and brilliant radiance.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, July 25, 2022

  Monday, July 25, 2022 Psalm 62; 63 Hosea 1 Romans 4:1-12 He only is my rock and my salvation: my strong tower, so that I shall not be moved. The prophecies of Hosea are rich with vivid imagery. Look at these names: firstly, “Hosea” means “salvation”. So too do the names Joshua and Jesus. Then Hosea has three children: “God scatters”, “Not pitied”, and “Not my people”. This is because the children are part of the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which is an image God is showing to the nation. It is to our profit that God has used real-life events to communicate spiritual imagery and divine truths. We find it very easy to understand our relationship with God as being a faithful wife to a loving husband. We can reconcile this message with what Paul has to teach us today in Romans. He makes the very important observation that Abraham was given God's righteousness as a result of his faith before, not after, his circumcision. Again, this is God using real-life events...
Read more

Thursday, March 16, 2023

  Thursday, March 16, 2023 Psalm 38 Genesis 49:1-21 Luke 16:14-31 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet… Imagine the scene: Jacob, now an old man and using his given name Israel, calls forth his twelve sons for a blessing. Something in the air shifts; imperceptible, yet unquestionable. A look comes in to the old mans eyes, and his words are now prophecy: still his own, yet inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. All of Jacob’s life he has been reminded of the promise God gave to him, his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham, of a great number of descendants and land for them to live in. Now he speaks not only of the promise given these men, but of the promise given by God to Adam and Eve. The curse upon the serpent, that ancient enemy, is given a flicker of more detail: not only shall his head be crushed, but his reign will one day come to an end. Whenever we read the word “sceptre” in the Bible, remember: ...
Read more

The LORD will make you a house.

  Friday, July 28, 2023 Psalm 71 2 Samuel 7 John 8:1-11 Observance: Samson, bishop (d. 565) The LORD will make you a house. We learn three things from this conversation between David, Nathan and God. First, it is that we do not invite God into our presence. Rather, God comes alongside us, where we are, hiking through the wilderness. God gets down into the dust with us and puts up a tent. There is a reason why John made so much of this tent language in his first chapter: that the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us. Whichever part of the Bible we are reading, we see God coming to the people, rather than the people moving towards God. This is of particular comfort when we feel like we haven’t prayed enough, or regularly. We might have been distracted by the dust on our feet, but God has always been there right beside us. We just have to look up. Second, it is that God’s presence among us is not something to be feared. Have you noticed that,...
Read more