20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:20-26
Additional Scripture Readings: Romans 8:26-27; 2 Peter 3:9
Before we believed in Jesus, before we even knew who he was, Jesus prayed for us.
Jesus prayed in the garden, prior to his arrest and crucifixion. First, he prayed for himself, that God would complete the work of salvation he began in sending Jesus to live and die. He prayed for his disciples, that God would keep them faithful, that they might have God's joy within them, and that God would protect them from the evil one.
And then he prayed for us. For you and me and for all who would come to believe in him after his death, that we would be unified and that God's love would be in us.
When we read Jesus' words in this passage, remember that he prayed them for all of us. We can insert our own names and picture ourselves as the subject of his prayer. We can see in his prayers the events of our lives. Jesus also prayed for those we love who have yet to come to know him as Savior and Lord. He loves them even more than we do-so much that he prayed for them before he died on the cross on their behalf.
Jesus prayed for you. Nearly two thousand years ago, in a garden in Israel, you were on his mind. Don't you feel loved?
