(John 17)
So begins the most unique, passionate prayer in the Bible. John 17. Jesus, fully aware of His diety, of His incarnation, lifts His eyes and His voice to heaven and sets free a prayer that resonates throughout time.
Christ is hours away from His final breath. What a privilege we have to know His final thoughts, the words of one of His last prayers!
“I glorified You, Lord, on the earth, having accomplished the work which You had given Me to do. And now, glorify Me together with You, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
The longing to return home is undeniable. Jesus was homesick. And yet, He devotes the remainder of His prayer to His disciples, on the unity that should exist among them – among us. “I ask that they may be one; even as You, Father are in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us.”
He speaks of the world and the spiritual dangers therein: “I gave them Your Word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
He then crys out for strength and protection for His followers, that they would stand firm together, stand firm against “the evil one”.
In a yearning for us to experience the same kind of love that God gave Him, He ends His prayer with a hope “that the love wherewith You loved Me may be in Them, and I in them.”
Amen.
The hour has come. Your walk to the cross has led you to this moment – Good Friday. The final challenge is simple.
Challenge #30: Write a final prayer. Pretend this is your final hour. What thoughts come to mind? Who would you pray for? What would you thank Him for? Write your thoughts, but in the poetic form of a prayer. The hour has come.
It is difficult for me to finish. I plead with you to continue living your life with purpose, integrity, authenticity… with grace.
I pray that you continue to walk as though each month were your last.
Tomorrow, consider these final thoughts: THE THIRD ACT
