Jesus prays a prayer for you

Our Gospel reading for this Sunday, John 17:6-19, ought not to end with verse 19, but with verse 26 in order that the prayer is complete.  What is interestingabout this text is that it is a specific prayer by Jesus.  Jesus prays a very deep heartfelt prayer for the disciples, not just for them alone, but also for future generations of Christians.  From the beginning of Jesusʼ ministry his arm has been to make God known, to reveal God as relational and accessible.  Jewish people considered Godʼs name, YHWH, too sacred to pronounce, so they substituted the word adonai.  God was revered as the God of law.  But Jesus has shown a different side of God, as the God of grace and love.  Jesus the Son of God, the embodiment of God on earth, offers a prayer for you and me.  His prayer is that we will remain in Godʼs word, and grow in it, believing in Jesus, that we will be protected from evil through the name of Jesus, be one with Him and know the love that God offers each one of us.  This is a prayer for you, that through faith in Jesus, God is with you and has you surrounded in His love, no matter what.  As things happen to us in life, I think there is a sense of inner joy that we as Christians can have, that God has prayed for us – you and me – and come what may, that He has things under control for my life and salvation.

Pastor Darryl