John 17:20-26 (NRSV)
Read John 17:20-26 on biblegateway.com
Verse 20"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, Verse 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Verse 22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, Verse 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Verse 24Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Verse 25"Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. Verse 26I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
Devotion
A few summers ago my wife and I served for 6 weeks as organist/docent volunteers at Sitka Lutheran Church in Sitka, AK. At Sunday worship, each week, during the Prayers of the Church, a prayer was offered "for those who go out to sea to make their living." It was a powerful reminder to me of the personal dimension to prayer. I still find myself praying it every Sunday, even though many years now separate me from that experience.
Those of us who have stood at a hospital bedside many times are pretty good at offering personal prayers. It is when someone says, "I don't have the words to tell you how much your prayer meant to me!," that the significance of personal prayer is made known to us.
This is what prayer is about for Jesus. Jesus is praying for you and for me! I don't know how Jesus finds the time to do that! Are there not more important persons, more serious situations that call for Jesus' prayers? Thankfully, this is not the case.
Try thinking today as you face decisions, "Jesus is praying for me." That doesn't mean Jesus will tell you what to decide, but knowing Jesus is praying for you could determine how and what you decide!
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for taking time to pray for me. Knowing and remembering this will help me make decisions today. Amen.