November 16 - For Those Who Will Believe

Today's Reading: 
Numbers 26:52-28:15
John 17:1-26
Psalm 44:13-26
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Focus Verses:
John 17:20-21
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Insight:
While it's usually confusing to most people, I like to refer to this chapter as "The Lord's Prayer." The model prayer Jesus gave his disciples when they asked him to teach them how to pray is profound and beautiful (Luke 11:1-4). The prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17 is very personal and deeply relational. It gives insight into his sense of mission and his hope for the world.

Jesus asked his Father God to help him accomplish his purpose in a way that would demonstrate divine love and glory. He asked God to protect, sustain, and guide his disciples. He asked God to help them know the truth and to live holy lives. He prayed for the unity of believers—not just for those who were following him at that point, but for all believers who through the testimony of the disciples would subsequently come to believe in him.

Response and Action:
In this prayer of Jesus, I can recognize his claim to divinity. He calls God his Father and claims to have been present with God in glory before the world began. I also recognize Jesus' call to his disciples to follow him in faith, to walk in holiness, to be witnesses of the truth, to share the gospel, and to live in unity with other believers.

O God, thank you for Jesus and his prayer for all who believe in him. Thank you, Jesus, for interceding for your people at God's right hand. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, help me to grow in my faith, to lead a righteous life, to be a light, to live in harmony and shared purpose with other believers, and to give glory to God. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Psalm 133:1
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

Resources:
Thinking About Church Life
by R. Paul Stevens & Robert Banks