Jesus Prays.

John 17:6-19
6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus not only prays for his disciples, but he prays for you as well! I find that especially comforting, don't you? I love Jesus' words here in this prayer. Let's break this down a little more to understand the awesome fact of Jesus praying for the people of the world, including YOU!

He prayed for YOU in the garden before his death. He prays for YOU, YOUR faith, YOUR protection, and even YOUR joy to be complete. That happens even though we can be disappointing with our lack of faith.

Easter is approaching very quickly...two weeks from yesterday! This was the time when Jesus was preparing to die for YOU. Notice the trend here: it's all about YOU and it's okay that it's that way.

God's love for Jesus Christ is ever-present on the cross and in the empty tomb. Realize that God will never let YOU go. Not only does Jesus pray for YOU, he wants YOU to be involved in prayer as well. Lord, help us to be interconnected with other Christians through faith and prayer so that we can go into your world as humble disciples of and for Christ.

I want to pray for one of my faithful readers. My youth leader, Pam, lost her mom Thursday. She went home to Jesus. Lord, I'm so glad that Pam has you in the center of her life. How is she so strong at such a difficult time? If you ask, she'll tell you because of prayer and faith; God simply prepared Pam for this day. I dedicate this song to Pam and her family today. It's called "Homesick" by MercyMe.



P.S. If you have trouble with the video stopping and starting, keep the video paused, and let it "buffer" (load) as it's called for a while. You will see the red bar along the bottom advance (speed depends on your Internet connection). Wait until that bar gets pretty far along (I'd say more than halfway) before you play the video and it shouldn't pause.