“But as I continued to pray, God helped me see that my whole perspective was skewed. He then tweaked my prayers and massaged them and refined them – and then He answered. It’s as if He then was telling me, “That’s the prayer I want you to pray.”
DAVID JEREMIAH, THE PRAYER MATRIX, p. 18
We are so glad you are joining us for our 21 Day prayer focus. 21 Days culminates as we break our fast together on Sunday, February 9th. Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as together we seek the heart of God.
We want to encourage you to grab a journal or a notebook – something to write on as you walk through each prayer guide. Yes, it will add a few minutes to the time it takes to do the devotion, and it will also deepen your experience and shape your walk with God for years to come. This journal or notebook will be a keepsake to remind you of God’s faithfulness during this challenging season for all of us.
Daily Devotionals: As we step into this next season in the life of our church, we are asking the Lord to help us “Make Room in our Hearts” – for the people Jesus loves, and the people Jesus brings. During these 21 Days, our whole church will be reflecting and meditating on these same thoughts and prayers together, with one mind, guided by and depending on one Spirit.
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Engage the Word: Make Room in Our Hearts
Over these few days, we continue to focus on Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17 from the Upper Room, as He prepared to go to the cross, where Jesus prays for His disciples, for us and for the world. In today’s passage, Jesus prays…
John 17:6-10
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
Connect the Heart
Why does Jesus pray these words to the Father? If He is God, wouldn’t we be able to assume that His thoughts already align with the Father’s thoughts, so prayer is unnecessary? That actually makes some sense since Jesus IS God – so why, then, does Jesus pray these words to the Father? Two things seem obvious to me – and a third is almost too good to be true. 1) Jesus willingly models a life of dependence before the Father so that we might see what a life of dependence looks like. 2) Jesus shows us here that, yes – living a life of dependence is crucial to spiritual vitality – but the words we use when we pray matter greatly. 3) Jesus actually prays for us.
Did you move past that point already? Let me repeat it: Jesus actually prays for us. This, to me, is mind-blowing. And if you think that He is referring only to the disciples in the upper room and not to us (we’re not finished with the High Priestly Prayer yet), the author of Hebrews reiterates this amazing truth in Hebrews 7:25: “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus didn’t stop praying for us after this High Priestly Prayer in John 17. No – He lives to make intercession for you. For me. Always. Every day. Wow.
Reflect on the Truth
- Jesus, fully God and fully man, chose to live a life of total dependence on the Father. Is your heart – your words, your actions, your desires, your motivations – reflecting this life posture and heart orientation before God that Jesus modeled for us? How might Jesus’ example of a life of dependence and prayer be an invitation for you to experience more intimacy with Him?
- What are some things that you would like to bring to Jesus – knowing that He “always” turns right around and goes before the throne of grace to intercede before the Father on your behalf?
Depend on the Spirit
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that these thoughts are pointing to. (For example: you may write down, “I’m struggling with a few things that seem impossible to resolve – but I know that with you, all things are possible. It’s comforting to know that you are bringing these very things before the Father right now.”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His word, His Spirit, His people.
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For Prayer:
Today, pray for our Ascent Church family – that each man, woman, student and child will grow deeper spiritually in this season as we seek the heart of the Father, and seek to align with the heart of Jesus, together.
Fasting
Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as together we seek the heart of God.
Previous Posts
To read yesterday’s blog post devotional, please click here.
To read our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Introduction, please click here.
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Some parts of our 21 Days devotionals are adapted using various resources on scripture and prayer like Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, The New Bible Commentary, Logos Bible Software and other resources.
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