Day 19: 31 Days of Prayer

Day 19: 31 Days of Prayer

Verse:

Read All of John 17.

Reflection:

Can you imagine being with Jesus as He prayed this prayer? Just before this prayer in John 16, Jesus began speaking plainly with His disciples (not in stories and parables), something that  thrilled them. Not long after this conversation with His disciples, Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed. His prayer can be divided into three parts from which we can learn.

1. Jesus glorified Himself.

This point is not to say that we should glorify ourselves when we pray ... However, to know that God in human form glorified Himself at the beginning of His prayer is very powerful. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6: 9, He began with, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” Just as He taught His disciples to glorify God in prayer, so He also glorified Himself in prayer. Perhaps more of our prayer time can or should be focused on hallowing God's name. He is worthy of our praise, and often our prayers become too self-focused instead of being focused on God.

2. Jesus prayed for His disciples.

Jesus prayed, "Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name that You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are." Our prayers can echo this statement, because every part of the body needs the other parts to struggle together and pray together and for one another. The evil of darkness keeps trying to seize the hearts and minds of believers, but through prayer we can help strengthen and protect. Jesus then prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." It is very easy to hear or learn "a truth" rather than "the truth" in this modern age, where anything that means anything can be said to be true for someone. Our prayers matter when we pray that our brothers and sisters are sanctified by the truth. This is important, and it is another way to protect one another and ourselves from the foothold of the evil one.

3. Jesus prayed for future disciples.

Finally, Jesus prayed, "And I ask not only for these, but also for those who will believe in Me through their message; that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You". Some statistics say that there are 30,000-40,000 different denominations of Christianity in the world. This does not mean that we are one! Jesus prayed that all who would believe in Him would be one. As far as it depends on you, be one with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Love with humility and be united in one Spirit. Resolve the conflicts you have with the patience and wisdom of the Spirit, and, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone!" Easier said than done, but through prayer, this becomes more possible.

Challenge:

Pray as Jesus prayed in John 17. Glorifying God, pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, pray for those who are Christians now and for those who will become Christians in the future; Pray for their protection and for their unity as one body of Christ.

Translated from the article “31 Days of Prayer: Day 19” by Daniel Berk