As we've seen so far in our look at John chapter 17, Christ's walk matched
His talk; He was faithful to His Father in heaven and had established
a testimony that He was sent by God. Jesus was loyal to and with God's
Word, sharing truth with everyone He met. I want you to stop and consider
for a moment whether or not people have that same perception of you today.
Do you have an established testimony as a child of God, dear lady? Our
life and our lips both authenticate our witness, and as we'll see today,
a life of intercessory prayer validates a sincere concern for people.
Let's focus in on verses 9-11 and take a closer look…
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine:
and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these
are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Why did Jesus specifically pray for His disciples? At the close of His
ministry, Christ prayed because He understood they were God's people.
It's not that He didn't also have a concern for the unsaved, but Jesus
was devoted to the welfare of those who belonged to the Lord and He whispered
each of their names in prayer frequently. God the Father knew that His
Son's walk matched His talk because He heard Jesus praying for those He
had given Him. Does God hear you do the same, dear lady?
Luke 22:32a (KJV)
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not…
Let's take inventory today; how serious are we about praying for God's
people? As believers, we have been given guardianship of the Lord's family
members. By this we learn that we need God AND man's involvement in our
lives, otherwise the Lord would never have set it up this way. Do you
look at the responsibility of intercessory prayer as an imposition - just
another task to add to your list of things to do, or do you look at it
as the privilege of being an overseer of that which belongs to your heavenly
Father? Do you take the oversight willingly, or does it have to be forced
upon you? Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference and ladies,
we need to adopt Jesus' attitude toward God's business and belongings
and become faithfully occupied as intercessors! It is when we soberly
and earnestly watch over persons in particular that we'll become diligent
in prayer as Christ was. It's a responsibility in which our Father expects
us to be conscientious…
1 Peter 5:2a (KJV)
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly…
Yes, we must be ready always to pray! Our Father will reward us for taking
the oversight for what is His. Thus, the question is, whose names should
regularly be upon your lips as you approach the throne of grace in prayer?
Why not start at home with your husband and your children and then branch
out from there to your pastor and each member of his family, to persons
among your church family, to specific missionaries, and then your relatives,
friends, neighbors, co-workers etc. Ladies, the Lord has placed you among
these people - HIS people, if they're saved - to watch over them in prayer!
We can have confidence in our prayers for those that are His knowing that
the Father is both willing and able to provide for His own. Are you truly
concerned for those persons who God says are yours as well as His? Are
you devoted to their good? It's an overwhelming thought that the God of
this universe has included people like you and I in on the wonderful opportunity
of keeping His children safe and secure while on our knees on their behalf.
We prove to our Father that we have accepted the responsibility for His
people when He finds us diligently praying for believers in particular.
What a thrilling thought to know then that we are working side by side
with the Lord for the benefit of others!
1 Cor. 3:9a (KJV)
For we are labourers together with God....
So then, what do we find that Jesus asked His Father to do for His disciples?
First of all, in our main text today, Christ was referring to the time
when He would no longer be on this earth. Because of that, Jesus asked
that the Lord would keep guard and protect those of His who were left
behind in the world. And ladies, there will come a time when our days
will end and you and I will no longer be on this earth either. Such a
solemn perspective certainly expands and organizes our present prayer
life concerning those we dearly love, amen? Have you ever considered praying
for the spiritual future of your loved ones, for their spiritual growth,
for the temptations and choices they will face? Have you considered praying
for their future spouses, the health and success of their marriages, the
church they will join and the pastor that will teach and preach to them,
the children they will give birth to - your grandchildren - and the godly
training of them the Bible says they should have? Ladies, we can pray
today that our grandchildren will be saved and serious about living for
the Lord even if we might never live to know them! We should file away
prayers in heaven on behalf of the next generation of Christians - the
future of the church and it's leaders that will need to stand strong on
the Word. We should pray for future open doors in foreign fields and men
with tender hearts that would listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit
and go where God would send them.
Proverbs 13:22a (KJV)
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children...
There is so much of God's work that can be accomplished through intercessory
prayer when you stop and think about it!! Though Christ was about to leave
this world in John chapter 17, Jesus still prayed that the glory of God
would continue through God's people. In essence, our Savior has passed
the baton of intercession down to us. What have you done to keep it going?
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2003
