Jesus prayed for you and me and I’m so glad he did. This reminds me of a song we sang many years ago at my home church entitled “Somebody Prayed for Me.” It went like this,”
(Somebody prayed for me,–kept me on their mind,– Took the time to pray for me.–I’m so glad they prayed,–I’m so glad they prayed for me!).
From there, “my mother,” and “my father,” replaced “somebody” until we used every name . What comfort we got knowing someone’s prayers saved us from all kinds of trials and temptations we unknowingly met.
Add Jesus to that list because our Father prayed for us and our future as his children. After Jesus delivered the blow of his coming death to his disciples (John 13-16), he turned his heart to pray for the disciples, and those who would take up the mantle to follow him. We are those people and the followers that were to come.
Jesus prayed for our protection from the wiles of the enemy. Prayer is powerful, but just imagine the most powerful person in the universe praying to His all-powerful Father on our behalf. so, he prayed for protection our from evil, for our unity, and purity in his truth.
Along with us Jesus prayed that he be glorified in the Father in John 17: 1-5. Following that, Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17: 6-19. With a heavy heart and the knowledge that he would have to leave them soon. His mission was about to come to a close. He is concerned about what would follow them after his death. He asks God to protect them by the power of his name. He now has to send them into the world without his physical presence. Then, he prayed for us-oh wow!
So, again, Jesus prayed for himself, his disciples, then us. What a wonderful display of unselfish love for everyone. John 17: 20-26 records Jesus’ prayer for future believers. Here you can see we, Jesus, our Heavenly Father prayed for us! What did he ask His Father on our behalf? In addition to praying for our protection from the evil one, here are the other requests he made to his Father for us:
- He prayed for all of us who would follow him so we could be used to carry on his message as salt and light to both believers and non-believers. So, he prayed for our strength.
- He prayed that we, as the body of Christ would work in churches and communities to unify the body. He encourages us to pray for each other. He prayed for our hearts.
- He prayed that we would build each other up, and stay focused on Kingdom building instead of insignificant things, and petty gossip. Therefore, he prayed for our support for each other.
- Unity was the overall theme of this prayer. His main desire was for his children unify.
I feel so blessed to know that Jesus prayed specifically for me. He knew the battles we would face because of our relationship with him. He knew that we had the potential to go astray without his guidance. So, let us live in unity and harmony as believers as we lift each other up with our common denominator—Jesus, the one who cared enough to pray for you and me.
How do you feel knowing Jesus prayed a specific prayer for you? I feel comforted.
Hear more about Jesus’ mission on earth in the audio “The Son” at www.thepersonalcloset.com.
