Safe and Sound
Opening Prayer
Sovereign Lord, how magnificent You are. I praise You for Your majesty and power, goodness and grace.
Read John 17:6-19
[6] “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. [7] Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [8] For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. [9] I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. [10] All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. [11] I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. [12] While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. [13] “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. [14] I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. [15] My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. [16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. [17] Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. [18] As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. [19] For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How has Christ empowered his disciples and, ultimately, us?Checking my guitar onto an international flight is the closest I get to handing over something precious to someone else. I go through all the necessary preparations to ensure that it is still indestructible! Up until the moment it disappears, I am attentive to its every need. If that is how I feel about my guitar, it is no surprise to see how caring and protective Jesus is towards his disciples. They have walked together, witnessed miracles together, navigated life and death together, and now the time has come for Jesus to leave them. During this momentous prayer, they are uppermost in his heart and mind (9). The words of Jesus disclose a genuine love for his friends and an all-encompassing trust in his Father. Unlike my lack of faith at baggage handlers understanding the word “fragile,” Jesus entrusts the precious lives of his followers into the protective care of his Father’s hands (11), asking God to shield and preserve them from evil (15). Yet he does not ask for them to be removed from the world, but to live as holy people, set apart to make Christ visible (17-19).
Apply
Who are the people you care most about? Name them before God now as you lift up your prayers and release your cares to him.
Closing prayer
Great and Loving God, give me generous portions of Your love so that I might use it toward others for Your glory.
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