I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.  John 17:20-23 HCSB

I am amazed at how many things that are in the Bible that I have overlooked.  I have read the Bible through twice in the last few years, but still find things that I either glossed over or read thoroughly but did not retain.  When I read the heading for this section in my Bible which said, “Jesus Prays for All Believers”, I was amazed.  I mean here Jesus is praying in the garden, knowing that the time is near that He is about to be arrested, humiliated, tortured and hanged on a cross and He is praying for me?  It’s one of those things that humbles me to my core and in all honesty, I just can’t wrap my head around it.  He’s about to die, not for anything He has done, but for all the stupid stuff that me and all the other sinners have done and will do.

To put things into perspective here, this is just after the Last Supper.  Just a week prior, he rode into town on a donkey with people waving palm branches and putting their clothes on the ground before him.  They were shouting praise to Him and worshiping Him.  They shouted, “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the king of Israel!”  and soon they will be shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” One of his own disciples has just betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver.  With all this going on, Jesus prayed for you and me.  In John 15:13 Jesus tells them that, “greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends”.  Jesus is going to lay down his life for us, but before that He prays for us.

When I find myself in a tight spot, I am quick to ask my friends to pray for me.  It brings me such peace and joy to know that fellow Christians are interceding on my behalf.

There are many passages of scripture that point to the fact that Jesus loves us more than we can ever fathom.  He put us first by being willing to die to take on our sins.  Why is it so hard for us to put Him first.  He didn’t let the world get in the way, so why do we? Why do we let the world shame us from boldly proclaiming the gospel of Christ?  Why do we let the world shame us and keep us from giving our testimony?  Why do we let the world make us “too busy” to do the things that God is calling us to do?

The world does not love us, the world seeks to destroy us.  Satan uses the things of the world to stop us from doing God’s work.  So remember, Jesus not only went to the cross and died for us, but he prayed for us.  He interceded on our behalf with God the Father. Remember this when the world is trying to get in the way of what you are doing for God.  Remember this when the world is trying to steal your peace and joy.

Jesus prayed for us and died for us so that we may have eternal life.  He has already prayed that the world may see Him in us.  He has prayed that we, as believers, may live in complete unity.  He has prayed that the world may know how much he loves us.

Knowing this humbles me in a way that I hope will make it just a little easier to glorify Him in my daily life.  As we head into Easter weekend with the Easter egg hunts and the family get-togethers remember that we are celebrating the love that Jesus had for us while we were still sinners.  Remember that if we put Him first, he will handle everything else (Matthew 6:33-34).   Put Him first in your life, like He put us first in His.  You will be amazed at the difference it makes!

Have a great day!