Lenten Daily Reading - Day 17

John 17

Key Verse

9-11 - I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 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.

As I reach the end of the gospel of John, I notice for the first time how the first thing Jesus does when he knows that his “hour has come” is that he prays. I ask: “why would Jesus need to pray?”

In pondering, I realize one thing: Jesus being the model for us, humans who remain the world, shows us that we are to pray just like Jesus did.

I think we often forget (or we may never have been taught) the power of prayer. More than we realize, Jesus’ life on earth was rooted in prayer. Prayer that connected Jesus to the Father but also prayer for the people.

But what really makes my heart turn to Jesus is that even knowing his coming suffering on the cross, he decides to make his prayer about us. He prays for his disciples and for all believers who would come after Him. He makes it about our need for salvation and how he wishes that we would be one with God like He is one with God.

We often forget how much Jesus really cares for us. We forget the sacrifice Jesus made for us, that even a little bit of sacrifice from us is nothing compared to what He has done for us. In knowing that Jesus prayed for us in his last moments, and I wanting to be like Jesus, I’m reminded today of the power and love of prayer. I seek to pray!