By Faith Enterprises

Christ Pleads His Will in Intercessory Prayer for Us

Tip! True prayer is a way of life, the truest life is literally a way of prayer.

"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am..." -- John 17:24

John preserved this intercessory prayer for us when he wrote down Jesus' precious prayer. Our Lord allowed His disciples the enjoyment of knowing what His intercession for them in heaven as their High Priest was really like.

Of course the disciples had heard our Saviour pray for them frequently, but they had never heard Him pray like He did at this precise time and place. They must have been extremely awed by the ease of His approach to our heavenly Father.

They heard Him pray with the absolute assurance of the Beloved Son, Who is One and the same and eternal with our Father. The disciples must have acknowledged that Christ breathed into His intercessory prayer the effectiveness and authority of His everlasting life.

Jesus unlocked the precious inheritance of His prayer to our Father by saying, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou gave me: for thou loved me before the foundation of the world." These gracious words of Jesus clearly show us what His final will is regarding the sacred domain for us as the redeemed. His absolute right to plead His will in prayer before our Father is founded on His completed work in this world. This is what He said,

Tip! “Supplication” is the very soul of prayer in the way of pleading for some one thing, very much needed, and the need intensely felt.

"I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." -- John 17: 4

Jesus' finished work and His last will are one in the Divine plan for the salvation of all people. He made it obvious that His intercessory prayer is an essential part of His redemptive work on the cross. It has pleased our Savior to show us this final conclusion of all He has willed and intended for us as His purchased people. The enjoyable hope of being with Him where He is will be fulfilled to the glory of our Father and to the eternal approval and wonderful admiration of His loving saints.

Tip! If you make a habit of sincere prayer, your life will be very noticeably and profoundly enriched.

The disciples could not understand our Savior's stated reason for going away. In their minds they were deeply confused; their hearts were greatly troubled by this alarming fact that He was to suffer and die. Was Jesus leaving them alone to serve and suffer in a world hostile toward all that they believed and preached about? I don't know, but could it be that they had almost reached the point of accepting final defeat? Because this is when Jesus re-energized their undecided nerves, saying,

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." -- John 14:1, 2

Wow! Let us highlight His wonderful words, "...A place for you." Our Lord was revealing the purpose of His departure. He removed the curtain that has been between time and eternity to validate the faith of His anxious people. Jesus wants us as His people to rest in our faith in Him by these comforting words He spoke to us, "In my Father's house are many mansions..."

Tip! The work of George Muller in Bristol, England, was a miracle of the nineteenth century. It will take the opening of the books at the great judgment day to reveal all he produced through prayer.

Praise God; there will be no homeless children in the family of God. All of us that believe in Jesus will have your home in stately mansions throughout all eternity. This inhospitable world has no lasting home for us as God's children. Yes, we were born in this world, and may even be buried in this world, but thanks be to God our Father; this passing world is not our home. We have no long-lasting city here on the earth. God's people are citizens of the celestial City, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city that John saw coming down from heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Tip! “Asking of God” and “receiving” from the Lord - direct request to God, immediate connection with God - that is true prayer.

Are you headed to that home in heaven? You can!

All you have to do is admit that you are a sinner. Believe that Jesus died in your place and rose again on the third day, and ask Him to forgive you and to come into your life as Lord and Savior. Then according to the Holy Bible, if your mean this with all your heart, you are Saved and are now a child of our Most High God.

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Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? explores the mysterious intersection where you and God meet and relate. Writing as a fellow pilgrim, Yancey explores the questions surrounding prayer that you may wonder about but not know how to express. Above all, Yancey shows you how to pray to a God who sees what lies ahead of you, knows what lies within you, and who invites you into an eternal partnership with Him---through prayer.

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey

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