Daily Bible Study

Tweet

Day 30 John 17 John 17:1 These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gave me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gave me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gave them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gave me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. Prayer is powerful. Prayer connects us to God’s heart. Prayer isn’t a give me list of selfish requests for God to do for us. Prayer is adoration and worship of God our Creator. Prayer acknowledges what He did for us. Prayer lets God know what’s important to us. God wants us to pray to Him. God wants us to tell Him our fears, troubles, hurts, desires, and passions. God isn’t our servant, granting our every request as the fictitious story of the genie in a bottle who granted every request and wish a person had. Nor should we expect God to grant our selfish requests. He doesn’t listen to our selfish desires. Many people throughout the Bible prayed. Abraham, Isaac, Hannah, Zacharias all prayed for children. The nation of Israel prayed for deliverance from bondage. David prayed for deliverance from his enemies. Nehemiah prayed for Israel and the sins they committed, asking God to forgive His people. Jesus prayed. We have his model prayer, showing us what we should pray for, and we have this prayer. How did Jesus pray? First, Jesus glorified God, giving Him the glory that belongs to Him, and then Jesus asked for God to give Him the same glory He had with the Father from the beginning before the world began. Second, Jesus reminded God, His Father, what He did with the Father’s help in bringing all those to the Father as laid out from the beginning, and reminded His Father that not one person was lost except the one prophesied about. Third, Jesus prayed for His disciples and their immediate need of protection from the world and those who hated them, even as the world hated Him. Fourth, Jesus prayed for all those who would believe on Him as Savior and Lord – you and me. He prayed for our sanctification and that we be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father. As Christians, when you pray as Jesus prayed, unselfish, putting others ahead of yourself, and letting God know your needs and desires, He will hear you and He will answer you because you pray from a pure heart, void of selfish desires. Let’s pray: Father, teach me to pray with a pure heart, not from selfish desires, making unreasonable requests, forgetting You are God and worthy of all glory and honor. Help me give You all glory and honor. Help me worship You in spirit and truth. Give me a desire to pray for others and see Your kingdom come on earth, just as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 1 January 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay