Who Does Jesus Pray For?
Scripture: John 17 v 8-9:
"For I have given unto them the words which Thou
gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out
from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them: I
pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given Me; for they are
Thine."
We know that Jesus is our Great Intercessor seated on the
right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints of God. They are
the ones being spoken of by Jesus in His final prayer to His Father before His
death.
We are the ones who have received His words and are still
alive to be His witnesses. We may not have been on Earth when He was but we
have received and believed the word of the witnesses who were there.
Jesus says to His Father - I pray not for the world! He
is saying that everything that could be done for sinners to know the truth has
already been done by Him and that He cannot even pray for them anymore. It is
our responsibility to be the witnesses to this generation and leave a legacy
for our children to follow.
Jesus intercedes for us, His family, His Body, day and
night before Father God. He prays for our needs to be met by God and for the
fulfilment of His perfect plan for each individual. His body is like a huge
interactive, online, living jigsaw puzzle. He is praying for us to have unity
in thought, ministry, belief and direction.
He wants us to move together like a flock of birds. One
mind guiding them as they fly in formation, never bumping into or hurting each
other but in perfect harmony flowing in flight. Only those who are totally
submitted to the Lord and who actually know the Mind of Christ can conform to
flocking like birds do.
So that is the current objective of Jesus - to bring u
lovingly into submission to the perfect will of God and that we would know what
is in the His mind. He intercedes and prays for the living saints to put aside
everything false that leads us into confusion and disrupts the unity He is
seeking.
In His Body we have to be tissue-perfect match with Jesus
or the body will reject us as alien. We are given the Jesus DNA when we are
baptised. Then the changes are made so that we can become like Him. We can
still allow our flesh to rebel and refuse to conform. That's when we really
need His prayers.
Let us purpose in our hearts this hour, this day, this
year to be less resistant to the changes that can be made within us by Jesus.
Give Him freedom to remove all our walls, blocks, stumbling stones of pride,
envy, malice, greed and bitterness. Let Him fill us to overflowing with His
goodness, mercy and love. Let's give Him a good year!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are He who hears the
Intercession of your Son Jesus for us. Thank You for your patience. I purpose
in my heart to be obedient to Your word and Your inner direction written daily
in my heart. Help me to achieve this goal so I may help rather than hinder the
Body of Jesus. Amen.