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

Good Friday prayer of Jesus

 

On Good Friday, Jesus the Son of God nailed our sins to the cross.  

Only a few days earlier, throngs of people had sung His praises and thrown down palm branches to ease His ride into Jerusalem. But now, crowds gathered to jeer at Him as He hung between criminals in the worse kind of torture – crucifixion.

Just to breathe, Jesus had to lift Himself up, thrusting His weight into the nails that held His hands against the hard wood while dragging His flesh further into the nails that fastened His feet.

And yet….

As the people railed against Him, hurling every kind of insult, and dogs snapped at His feet, and breathing itself became a torture, Jesus used these final moments to pray His last Amen on our behalf:

Luke 23:34 – a prayer of Jesus
from the King James Version (KJV)

Then said Jesus,

Father,
forgive them;

for they know not
what they do.

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

Luke 23:34 – a prayer of Jesus
in contemporary English

Father,
forgive them!

They don’t know
what they’re doing. 

 

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.

 

©2021

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Praising God on Good Friday

In Psalm 31:5 (Psalm 31:6 in the New American Bible, Revised Edition, NABRE), we find this prophetic Bible prayer of faith:

“Into Your hand I commit* My spirit,
and You have redeemed Me,
LORD God of truth.”


In Luke 23:46 Jesus quotes that Bible prayer in Psalms but pluralizes God’s “hand.”

“And with a loud voice,
Jesus called out,
`Father, into Your hands
I commit* My Spirit,'
and having said this,
He breathed
forth the Spirit
with His very last breath.”


*Commit or Commend?

In KJV, NABRE, and other translations, the word “commend” is used, rather than “commit.” As Jesus Christ the Son of God hung on the cross, He surely committed Himself wholly to the Father. However, “commend” is even more awesome (in the truest sense) as the word indicates approval, praise, and applause!



© 2015, Mary Harwell Sayler prayer-a-phrased today’s readings from many of the translations found on Bible Gateway.

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The Passover in Exodus prefigures the Passover Lamb of Christ

Background and foreground: God and Moses came to an agreement that, yes, he would lead the people out of slavery in Egypt, and, yes, Aaron would help. The two brothers from the Tribe of Levi then told the Hebrew people how God would rescue them, and they believed it, but Pharaoh did not. He said, “Who is God that I should obey? I do not know the LORD,” Exodus 5:2.

So instead of letting the people go as hoped, Pharaoh increased the workload, making brickmaking impossible to do in the time given! When the Hebrews cried out to Moses, Moses cried out to God.

“And Moses said, ‘O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You even send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done nothing but harm everyone, and You have not delivered Your people at all,” Exodus 5:22-23.

Harsh words! But then it was a cruel time as Pharaoh continued to use a strong hand to force the people into harsh labor. And so God said, “Now you will see what I will do to put Pharaoh under My strong hand until he is forced to let My people go!” Exodus 6:1.

The next few chapters bring on The Plagues! These were not just pesky critters aimlessly getting in Pharaoh’s face though. Each plague battled one of the many gods in which Pharaoh (and, perhaps, the Hebrew people) believed. So this was spiritual warfare! This was combat in heavenly places – combat that had never before been seen with such power and passion as would not be seen again with such strength until the Passion of Christ.

For each skirmish with the gods of Pharaoh, God told Moses and Aaron exactly what to expect and what to do, and they obeyed. During the plagues, Pharaoh repented and asked Moses to intercede for him in prayer, which Moses did, but the Egyptian ruler still did not let the people go!

The Egyptian people, however, were more than ready for the Hebrews to leave! So just as God said would happen, they gave the Israelites more than enough clothing, gold, and other supplies to hurry them along in their travels.

Before the last plague showed God’s power over life and death, the LORD told Moses and Aaron to prepare a Passover lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread to eat in haste. They were also to use blood drained from the lamb to paint the frames of their doors.

And God said, “This is the LORD’S Passover for I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments for I am the LORD. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live, and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you or destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. And this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD. Throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as an ordinance forever,” Exodus 12:11-15.

Questions: But, what about today? Does this ordinance remain in effect? Did Jesus celebrate Passover? Do we?

“And on the first day of the (seven-day) Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for You to eat the Passover?’ ” Matthew 26:17.

Jesus told the disciples exactly what to expect and what to do, and they found everything just as he said.

“And as they were eating the Passover meal, Jesus took the unleavened bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat. This is my body.’ Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins,” Matthew 26:26-28.

Jesus became the bread and wine for the Passover Feast that Christians celebrate as the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus became the sacrificial Passover Lamb whose blood covers the doorframe.

Jesus the Christ became the Door through which we safely go, between life and death, between heaven and earth.


Prayer: Praise You Heavenly Father for loving us so much you gave Your Firstborn Son as our Passover Lamb. Praise You, God, for Your power, forgiveness, strength, and love forever.

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© 2012, Mary Sayler, all rights reserved. If you share this with your church, synagogue, or Bible study group, please let everyone know where to find the site. Thanks, and may God bless our Passover Feast each day of this Holy Week.

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