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

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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Moses: Bible Model for talking with God

As Christians and Jews enter Holy Week leading to Passover and Easter, the conversations between God and Moses in Exodus give us some of our best and blessed examples of Bible prayers – especially conversational prayer.

In Exodus 3, God initiates prayer-talks that continue throughout this second book of the Torah. Instead of posting those pages, I’ll summarize highlights found in chapters 3 and 4 but encourage you to read all of Exodus this week to see what you notice too:

Exodus 3:
• God gets Moses attention with a Burning Bush.
• Moses takes the time to stop and see what's happening.
• God calls Moses by name.
• Moses immediately responds.
• God establishes a relationship with Moses by identifying with his forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Moses expresses fear.
• God immediately lets Moses know that the LORD is aware of the suffering of the Hebrew people and has called Moses to lead them.
• Moses does not ask who God is, but asks, “Who am I to lead?” (Exodus 3:11)
• God reassures Moses that God will be with him.
• Now Moses asks God Who God Is.
• God says, “I AM Who I Am,” (Exodus 3:14.)
• God also gives Moses a job description of what to expect and what to say.

Exodus 4:
• Moses worries that people will not believe him or respond.
• God gives Moses signs and powers that would get anyone’s attention!
• Moses gives God excuses!
• God again reassures Moses that God will be with him.
• Moses asks God to please get somebody else for the job!
• God gets annoyed yet provides someone else to help – Moses' brother Aaron.


Questions: From his early childhood, Moses lived with Pharaoh’s daughter, so he might not have been too confident about speaking Hebrew! What other occurrences could have made him hesitate to take on the task God gave him? Does lack of confidence in your God-given talents, experiences, or ability ever get in the way of the work you feel led to do?

Prayer: LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and me, thank You for providing everything needed to do the work that You have given. Help me to be clear about what that is! Help me also to stay focused and close to You in prayer. Praise You, LORD, for the reassurance, encouragement, human help, and heavenly power needed for the task at hand, and thank You for helping us to overhear Your patient, lively, and loving conversations with Moses.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. If you can use these articles in your Bible study group in your church or synagogue, just let everyone know where to find this site. For articles on a variety of topics, see Blogs by Mary.

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