John 17:9-11 - “My plea is not for the world but for those you have given me because
they belong to you. And all of them, since they are mine, belong to you; and you have
given them back to me with everything else of yours, and so they are my
glory! Now I am leaving the world, and leaving them behind, and coming to
you. Holy Father, keep them in your own care—all those you have given me—so
that they will be united just as we are, with none missing.
Jesus had been teaching them…trying to help
them understand the fullness of the sacrifice He was about to make for the
world. When He finished saying all He felt they needed to know to process His
death….days of separation form them….and His retain to life in resurrection…He
turned His face toward Heaven and spoke aloud to His father. It was one of the
rare times that Jesus did not go off by Himself to pray in private. He wanted the 12 men who had become His
closest friends…His students…the future preachers of His story of great love
and truth to hear this important conversation with God.
It was time for His finale…for Him to give
His life in the last blood sacrifice to save the world. He knew how difficult
it was going to be for them to be left alone for even the three days they were
separated…for they would all think that He was gone forever…that they had failed….misinterpreted
everything that He had said to them. So Jesus
prayed out loud…in front of them….and thanked God for them….turned them back
over to His care…asked Him to protect them from satan’s power….and continue to
teach them how to glorify God and become holy and pure like He was about to
do.
As a mom…I immediately thought of the deep
connection God granted to me in three great children…and the precious life of
two grandchildren. The children God gave to me have all grown up and made lives
of her own. They make the choices I turned them over to God a long time ago….which
gives this mom a great deal of peace. But I don’t remember my prayers for God
to keep them safe being quite this intense….and for sure it has been years
since they have heard me verbalize a prayer aloud for their safety and growth.
One last thought….Jesus was fixing to go
through the hardest part of the job God had given Him to do….but in this moment
he was praying for His disciples. I know just a few hours from now He will
intensify the prayers to His father for Himself…but it is huge in my mind that
He took the time to stop and let these men know just how intimate His love for
them had become. It wasn’t just a simple thank you God and help me out here…it took
John a whole chapter to describe its powerful contents.
I feel a deep need to intensify my
prayers. I need to thank God more
frequently for the gift of them in the first place….pray for God to protect
them from the power of satan in the world…and ask God to help them grow in
faith each day He allows them life on the earth. I need to intensify my simple prayers to God
of thankfulness and protection into a full blown pleading for their faith in
God to grow into a testimony of glory to God….a way to give them the power and
courage to be in the world but not of the world.
Father thank you for the reminder that you
gave me the precious gift of children…and that they still belong to you.
Forgive for the times that my prayers to you for them were weak models of what
you intended when you taught me to pray.
Help me to intensify my prayers so that they are intense pleadings of love
for the safety and protection of the world’s crazy problems and
temptations. I will thank you in advance
for the peace that you give me in this moment to handle whatever happens after
I turn them completely over to you.
Amen.
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