John 17 - His Keeping Prayers (#3)
John 17:9-12
By Bunni Pounds
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.
Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." John 17:9-12
One of the descriptions of Jesus in the Bible is that He is our Great Intercessor. If you have ever met a person who is called to be an intercessor, you know the power of that calling. The true intercessors that I have met are single-focused, steadfast, loyal, faith-filled, and zealous with a ton of tenacity to keep going in prayer, even when everyone else around them couldn’t care less about prayer.
Jesus is the ultimate Intercessor for us. Here, in His last minutes before His death, He was thinking about His disciples. He was praying for God the Father to keep them steadfast. He was praying that they would not be moved. He was declaring over them that He was going to KEEP them through His name.
His prayer continues even today as He stands on the right-hand side of the Father.
Hebrews says, "But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens..." Hebrews 7:24-26
These verses give me so much comfort because I know He has me. He won't let me fall too far that He can't reach me. He is praying for ME day and night, all the time interceding to the Father that I will be kept in Him. He will not lose me! He will not let me go!
Jesus—the Great Intercessor—has supernatural keeping power.
We elevate sin and the devil in our minds many times and think about the power that we are fighting against – the darkness. We all have struggles and we all feel the power of evil waging war within us, but Jesus is bigger than our flesh and our selfishness. His keeping power is greater than the power of the enemy. When we feel weak, He is strong.
I love this picture of Jesus standing up, doing warfare for us – telling the devil “Get away from my kids that I have redeemed. I have them! I bought them with my blood. They are mine.” He is the Almighty God.
If Jesus is continually praying for me, why wouldn't I want to join in with Him in those prayer meetings? Every moment, of every day, I have the opportunity to hear His heart and His prayers and pray alongside Him for myself, my family, and others.
Jesus is constantly praying for His Church—His Body. As I get closer to His heart, my heart cries out more and more for His Church to come into the fullness of everything that Jesus wants us to walk in. His heart is beating for us. He is praying for us.
Jesus is also forever praying for the lost, hurting humanity. The closer I get to Jesus and pray His prayers, the more I hurt for humanity and the lost sheep. I feel His heart and His love more for people.
Do we trust that the Great Intercessor can keep us in His love?
Do we trust Him enough to spend some of our time joining with Him in prayer for the Church and the harvest of people still yet to be found?
He is PRAYING. He is keeping and holding you and me steady through His prayers.
Let’s join in!
CHRISTIANS ENGAGED NEEDS YOU!
Would you consider partnering with us as a monthly donor to support the work of our nonprofit ministry? Or maybe a generous one-time donation?