Thoughts from Jesus' Prayer in John 17

Jesus prayed. Often. Different times of the day. Sometimes He prayed in private; other times He prayed so that people could hear Him and we could read Him. His longest and most intimate prayer is recorded in John 17, when He prayed the night before His crucifixion. This prayer encourages us today.

1. Our greatest desire should be to glorify God in everything we do. At the end of His ministry, and facing the cross on the following day, Jesus' desire was to make known the splendor of the Father.

2. Prayer is more about a relationship with the Father than a checklist of physical requests. Jesus' prayer was a conversation with His Father.  As believers, we can have a conversation with the Father, because we are the adopted children of God.

3. The best way for us to glorify the Father is to finish well the work He has for us to do. Not my work but His work.  Jesus said, "I have finished the work you gave Me." Our desire should be to live on mission, making disciples wherever we are so that at the end of our life, each of us can say, "I have finished the work you gave me to do."

4. We should live life with an attitude of humility and a focus on eternity. Jesus lived in submission to the Father.  His focus was on eternal life, which he defined as knowing God and Jesus, the Messiah.

5. We have courage, confidence and assurance, knowing that Jesus prayed specifically for us, by name, 2000 years ago. His prayer for me is even more meaningful when I remember that He shaped me for a unique mission, prayed for me in advance and now advocates on my behalf with the Father.

6. The character of God, His perfect attributes, will keep me protected from Satan. My eternal life is secure, and my life on this earth is within God's sovereign will.

7. I have a unique mission from God.  Just as The Father sent His Son to earth with a mission, He has given each believer a mission.  That mission is in the world, a place that is at enmity with God. Although my mission is in the world, I am not to be of the world.  My mission is to practice disciple-making wherever I am.

8. The truth, the Bible, is what sets me apart from the world.

9. Unity among Believers is the identifying characteristic of true believers.

10. I should pray, "thy kingdom come" for fellow believers, for this earth and for future generations. 

Living in the World but not of the World

Yesterday was a routine day.  I went to a local store to buy weed killer and talked to two people - one who helped me find the week killer and the clerk who checked me out.  There were other guests in the store, but I did not really pay attention to them.

Mary and I walked in the neighborhood and waved to a couple of people we did not know. We did not stop to talk to any of them.

At Read and Feed, I welcomed parents and students as they arrived.  "Welcome and come on in." I spoke to most of the other volunteers. 

We ate dinner at a small fast food place.  I spoke to one person who took my food order and nodded to several other customers who were also in the restaurant. 

So during the day, I probably saw a total of 50 people.  

The Bible says that I am to be in the world and not of the world. It also says that I am to be prepared to give a witness for the hope that is within me.

My question: Could there have been someone within the 50 people that I should have spoken to?  Was I not intentional enough to hear the Holy Spirit speak in a still quiet voice? What does it mean to live intentionally in today's world,

..........just thinking.