I'm sure many of you ladies have had the opportunity at one time or another
to pray with other women or even with other believers in general. I enjoy
that part of Christian fellowship, for it allows us to get not only a
glimpse of the heart of the one praying, but also a glimpse of their relationship
with the Father. Those are precisely the reasons why I enjoy reading John
chapter 17, for it highlights Jesus prayer life and bond with His Father.
First of all, in the previous chapter, Jesus concluded ministering to
the disciples and telling them of His soon departure. You can imagine
it was a very sober discussion, for they were perplexed and had several
questions for Him. You know ladies, the best and wisest thing we can do
after ministering to others is to get on our knees and talk to the Father!
Prayer recharges our battery, supplying fresh strength to keep going after
those times of being drained spiritually. A discussion with the Lord is
also wonderful preparation to any ministry we might carry out or sacrifice
we might make. In fact, over the next few lessons we are going to examine
Jesus prayer life as the Son of God converses with His Father prior to
giving His life as a ransom for sinners - for you and I… Let's follow
Christ's progression of thought as He lifts up His eyes toward heaven
and pours out His heart at the throne of grace…
Verse 1:
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Yes, a moment of crisis was upon our Savior, and He needed His Father!
That's just when we need Him too, amen ladies? Aren't you glad that during
trying times we find our Lord waiting to help us? Think about those moments
when you usually turn to the Lord in prayer; for what sort of things do
you usually petition God? What was Jesus concerned with during His time
of trial? We find in the text above that He had the glory of God on His
mind…What a wonderful example of self-sacrifice! Christ wasn't consumed
with personal comfort, but love for the Father. Many of us use the hard
times we go through to draw attention to ourselves. May we all strive
to have Christ's focus in that hour (God's hour for us!), in each and
every trial we face. Rather than crumbling, it ought to become the "hour
of power" in our lives, and an opportunity for the glory of God to be
seen…
Verse 2-3:
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent.
The Bible says here that only Jesus Christ has the power to give us eternal
life; there is no other way! Eternal life is not something we earn by
character or conduct; it is a gift we receive by admitting we are sinners,
repenting, and believing on Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation.
Eternal life therefore results in a true knowledge of God the Father and
God the Son. Jesus prays here that people would comprehend the purpose
for His life. I hope you have that understanding of salvation today! And
ladies, before you and I set out to minister with the truth, we ought
to model ourselves after our Savior and pray for the understanding of
people. Pray for their darkened hearts and minds to open up to the Word
of God and it's truths as Christ did. As a matter of fact, Jesus has already
prayed for each and every soul as seen in this passage of scripture; isn't
that a marvelous thought?
Verse 4:
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do.
Ahhh, the beauty of completion! Jesus never started anything that He did
not finish… Is it that way with us, ladies? Can each of you announce to
the Father that you have finished your work?? What glorified God the most
in His only begotten Son's life was the completed work of Christ on the
cross! And what glorifies God in our lives is that we see a thing through
to the end and that we do not quit or give up on what we have been given
by God to do. Many believers start the Christian race and soon fizzle
out, subtracting from the glory of God in their lives. As we bring that
thought down to an even smaller scale, what about the basic responsibilities
we have been given as wives, mothers, and keepers at home? Are we completing
our work in those areas, or are there some things left undone, deducting
from the glory of God in our lives or from our testimony as a Christian
woman? Bring God's glory to this earth - finish it! The Lord knows that
if we are faithful in the little things, we'll be faithful in the bigger
ones. The Bible says in Eccles. 7:8, "Better is the end of a thing than
the beginning thereof...." You can boast all day long of what you are
planning on doing, but what have you actually accomplished, dear lady??
That's what God commends and did commend in the life of His Son. If Jesus
didn't finish His work, where would we all be today?? In hell! Sad to
say, many of God's people are lazy; we need more of a desire to complete
the work He has for each of us. The Son of God brought glory to the Father
by fulfilling God's will and carrying it out to the finish - will you,
too??
Verse 5:
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was.
It's really something when you stop and think about the sacrifice Jesus
Christ made to come down here on this earth to die for us! While in this
world, Christ never lost sight of the glory of God; He never forgot it
- not when faced with good times or with difficult times. You see ladies;
Jesus enjoyed the glory of God before the foundation of the world, yet
He put that glory aside for the likes of you and I to redeem our wretched
souls! Surely we can learn from Christ's life of sacrifice and put ourselves
aside for others that they might have the truth, amen? Surely we can give
up the comforts of home and go to a foreign mission field to carry the
gospel to lost folk! Surely we can endure a brief moment of uneasiness
and pass out a tract and invite someone to church… Surely we can give
up an afternoon to spend some time in the scriptures with someone who
needs discipling… What has God asked you to do that you are not willing
to put yourself aside to accomplish?? In the light of eternity and what
Christ did at Calvary, it seems a pretty small sacrifice, don't you think?
Trade self in for something bigger - trade it in for the glory of God!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2003
