Lent Devotional - Day 33
Read John 17:1-19.
As Jesus’ time with his disciples draw to a close, he prays for God’s glory and his disciples. Notice how Jesus prays. We often focus solely on the Lord’s Prayer as the example for prayer, but we get to see how Jesus naturally prays and speaks to the Father.
Jesus is so one with the Father that his prayers for himself are never really for himself, but he understands deeply that it is ultimately for the Father’s glory. Jesus clearly spells out for us that eternal life is intimate knowledge and relationship with God. It is not about religious activities and do’s and don’ts, but obedience that overflows from love.
They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
Jesus’ prayer reveals that one of the marks of being his disciple is joy. He prays that we would have the full measure of his joy within us. Do you have the full measure of his joy within you? If your experience of God is not one of joy, then maybe you are doing it wrong; perhaps you have gone a bit too Martha and you need to go more Mary [see Mary and Martha].
Jesus then ends this portion of his prayer by asking for our protection from the evil one and that we would be sanctified by his word. We need to carefully consider what messages we take in on a regular basis: is it the word of God or is it the word of the world? Am I bathing in the truth of God on a daily basis, or am I swimming in the soup of the lies of the enemy? We can be intentional about reading the Bible. We can choose to spend lots of time in God’s word.
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Holy Father, thank you for the incredible gift of your son Jesus. Glorify each and everyone of us for your glory. May you continue to do your work of transformation in us that we may truly reflect Jesus in our lives. Holy Spirit, daily teach us more and more about the love of God and his goodness in our lives that we may grow in love and intimacy with Jesus.
Protect us, Lord, from the evil one and sanctify us through your word. May we choose you intentionally and know deeply that we are truly blessed as we spend more time with you and as we live in obedience. Thank you Father. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.