THEME: Blessed in order to Bless
Three prayers are significant here. Firstly, Jesus begins by praying for himself. He seeks God, and asks for help so that Jesus can glorify God. He is demonstrating that reliance on God. Jesus knows that if he tries to use his own strength, he is not being 100% human. We know that Jesus is divine, yet, when He is on earth, His primary focus is to be fully man, to point people to God, and to save the world.
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." (John 17:1)
Secondly, Jesus prays for his disciples. He prays that God will protect and preserve all of them, for the sake of God's kingdom, and that the Scripture be fulfilled. He ends the prayer as follows:
"For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (John 17:19)Thirdly, Jesus prays for ALL believers. The pattern is remarkably similar. Jesus asks for God's glory so that God's glory can be made manifest to all.
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:25-26)In all three prayers, the pattern is clear. Jesus asks to be blessed not to accumulate blessings for self, but to share and distribute the blessings to all, for the glory of God. When we serve, we learn to serve God out of a desire to make God's glory known. When we ask for blessings, our motive is to bless others. When we asks for God's gifts, we want to use the gifts to point people to God. in the ministry of God, there is no room for self-fulfilment or selfish accumulation of gifts. Everything is given by God, and is to be used for God's purpose.
What I Learned: The person of God asks God for anything in order to bless his neighbours, for the glory of God.
conrade
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