Jesus prays for us

 

As Jesus faced the certainty of the cross, He prayed for us!

John 17:10-19 – a prayer of Jesus

 

Holy Father, all I have belongs to You,

and all You have is mine.

The people You gave Me

have given Me glory.

I won’t be in the world much longer,

but they will be in the world

as I come back to You.

Holy Father, keep them safe

by the power of Your Name –

the Name You gave to Me,  

so their unity may be like Ours.

 

While I’ve been with them, I’ve kept them safe

by the power of Your Name – the Name You

gave to Me. I watched over them, and none,

but one, became lost, showing scripture true.

But now, Father, I’m returning to You, and I

say these things while I’m still in the world,

so they will have the same joy We have.

 

I have given them Your message, but the world

now hates them because, like Me, they don’t fit

into the ways of the world.

I’m not asking You to take them out of the world

but to protect them from the evil one, for they

do not belong to the world any more than I do.

 

Let Your truth make them holy,

for Your words are truth.

I’ve sent them into the world as You sent me.

And so, for their sake, I dedicate Myself – I

consecrate and sanctify Myself – so they, too,

will be sanctified, consecrated, and dedicated

to the truth in You.

from The Book of Bible Prayers

Confessing with Jeremiah

Living in troubled times, the Prophet Jeremiah drew close enough to hear God’s word, and we can do this too! As Lent reminds us, we prepare for Easter by confessing and turning away (repenting) from whatever obstacles stand between us and the Lord.

May God Himself put on our minds and hearts any fear, anger, bigotry, violence, idolatry, complacency, or other sin we need to release into His forgiveness. Freed of these dark stains, we’re ready to receive the light and living water of Jesus Christ.

 

Jeremiah 14:20-22 – a prayer of Jeremiah
from the King James Version of the Bible

We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness,
and the iniquity of our fathers:
for we have sinned against thee.

Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake,
do not disgrace the throne of thy glory:
remember, break not thy covenant with us.

Are there any among the vanities
of the Gentiles that can cause rain?
or can the heavens give showers?
art not thou he, O Lord our God?

therefore we will wait upon thee:
for thou hast made all these things.

From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019 

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Jeremiah 14:20-22 – a prayer of Jeremiah
paraphrased into contemporary English

We confess!

We’ve acted badly, Lord,
and so have our ancestors.

Our whole family has sinned against You,
and yet, surely
Your character will not allow You
to abandon us, Lord,
nor disgrace Your glorious throne.

Please remember Your promises to us
for we rely on You.

What worthless foreign god could
send us rain?

The sky needs You
to do such things, O Lord our God.
And so
we wait for You to help.

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations researched on Bible Gateway then paraphrased into everyday English by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

 

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