“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” John 17:9
Today’s Christian Daily Devotional
If you are going through an especially rough patch in your life this verse will give you much comfort. These are the spoken words of Jesus. The amazing part about this prayer to His heavenly Father is that they were breathed out during the tortures of His crucifixion. Can you imagine that despite all the pain and torture He was enduring at that moment; He was consumed with the thoughts of the ones who would choose to follow Him?
The heart of Jesus is so amazing. His unconditional love and selflessness is beyond any kind of human understanding. Perhaps that is why the world STILL rejects Him. They are perlexed and intrigued by a man who could give it all–the very blood from His veins– to a world that seemed to ENJOY His demise and desicration. Today, the trend sadly continues. It is not “cool” to actually be on fire for your belief in God. Faith is acceptable if it is the kind that blends in with every other fashion statement.
Whatever pain you are currently struggling with,comparatively speaking, no matter how hard it is– Christ dealt with so much more. This comment does not reflect a heart that has no empathy. This is the cold hard, truth. It is reality.
It is also reality that Jesus Christ feels your pain and in heaven He is pleading with the Father, joining you in prayer on your behalf. So, the greatest comfort through your painful struggle is the fact that you are not alone in your suffering. Christ is actually still suffering with you. What an amazing God we have! He created the whole universe, oversees it all, yet also takes the time become personally invested in our pain and heartaches and intercedes on behalf of each one of us. Sure makes one feel loved, doesn’t it? It should.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
How amazing your Son is. Christ had such love and a heart an unlimited capacity for unselfishness and the rarest form of love—love with no strings attached. As I read the words of John 17:9 over again, I imagine how hard it would be to be in that kind of pain and to refocus my mind off myself to pray in that pain for another? Lord, although my current issues and pains I am facing today seem unbearable for me, I ask for you help carry me through it. I am praying in agreement with Christ himself. I am your child, and I need you. I know that my present circumstance would not be happening to me right now if there were not something good that could come out of it. Reveal that good thing to me right now so I can hold onto hope. Let that hope carry me to victory on the other side of this trial. Help me to grow past this pain and to become more like the One who died for all of it to be taken away some day. In Jesus’ precious, lovely and holy name, Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s daily devotional. Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan