Our scripture this week is John 17:1-11.
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”
John 17:1-11
Jesus prayed for His disciples and followers often, but on this night He made a special request, asking God that they might all be one in Him. Jesus knew that it would be difficult for them after His return to heaven, that they would need strength and hope to continue His work. Jesus is also preparing Himself in prayer for the ordeal that awaits Him.
His prayer is an acknowledgment that everything He has been given and has done comes from God. Do we go to God with thanks for the blessing of success, or do we only come with requests? Jesus taught us that prayer is to share everything with God, not just to ask for what we want.
God is the source of all things and every good gift is from Him. Jesus was well aware of all He had been given and the responsibility God had laid on Him. We too must go to God with gratitude for what we have received and what we can accomplish.
Gracious God, we are humbled by the generosity of Your blessings to us. May we be grateful for our gifts and use them as You intend in our world. Amen.