Welcome to Friday. If you have been following the devotionals this week, you will know that we have been on a whistle-stop tour of John 13 to John 17 which cover some of the teaching Jesus gave to his disciples in the last days before his betrayal.
Today's passage is John 17 – read it if you get time. The chapter is titled "Jesus Prayer for His Followers' in The Message translation and also extends to all people in the latter part. After this, Jesus is betrayed by Judas (John 18) and the crucifixion process gathers pace.
Having read this, the thing that struck me was the intensity of the prayer Jesus prayed. The Message translation (which you can get on Bible Gateway.com) breaks the chapter down into paragraphs focussing on the different aspects of what Jesus wanted to pray for.
I know that when I pray, (which is not as often as I should), I am guilty of wandering around a subject, not really addressing it and basically asking God for something if it's not too much of an inconvenience. As you read the chapter, see how Jesus is both very direct and yet not overbearing – he fully recognises and respects his relationship with his Father and yet pours out his soul as he knows his time is coming to an end.
My challenge today is to learn from the way Jesus prayed and to use it myself.
Lord, teach us today to learn how to communicate with you in the way that Jesus did.
Have a great weekend.
Richard Mason
Read the bible in a year: Psalm 68:7-14, 1 Samuel 19:1-20:42, John 17:6-26
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