We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by bs***********@gm***.com" data-hovercard-owner-id="111">Bruce Sampson.
Bible Reading:
John 17
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
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. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Word:
Anyone coming up in CrossFit can have a hard time being patient and learning the basics. It’s especially difficult when you come to class as a beginner and watch others doing the workouts you’re scaling, RX’d. However, as Christians, the basics is prayer. This isn’t just for beginners in faith but even for the most RX’d. Even Jesus prayed! Yes, God in the form of man prayed to God the Father from heaven.
I know, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
There were many moments recorded in the accounts of Jesus’s life where he would break away from the crowds or wake up early to go and pray. John 17 gives us a whole chapter to sit on a prayer between Jesus the Son and God the Father. There are a couple things to highlight.
The first, is that we were saved into prayer. Jesus calls eternal life knowing God. How do we know God? It’s just like you would get to know anyone. You talk to them. That’s exactly what prayer is. Prayer is talking to God. This relationship was made possible for you and for me because of the cancelation of sin that blocked our communication from God. Jesus gave His life for us that we could get to know God fully and ultimately His fully devoted love for us.
Here’s the second and most beautiful thing about this prayer. Jesus prays for our saving! He knew that we would try and skip past the basics. We are prone to forget that the main thing is Jesus. How quickly can we forget that without prayer, without connecting with God, that it makes it hard to be an influence to anyone to follow the Christ we claim to know as Christians. Without the basics of prayer there’s no RX’ing anything in Christ.
Prayer is key in the life of any believer and a gift available to anyone who believes in the name of Jesus. Prayer is a discipline that we must continually grow in and that we never move past. May we be an answer to Jesus’s prayer over us today, that we would know Him.
Prayer:
Thank you Jesus for making a way for us to know God. It is because you first prayed for us that we can learn the discipline of praying to you. Remind us to pray today. In Jesus’ name, amen!
Skillwork:
What was your experience like beginning CrossFit or a challenge? Start simple and pray what you got today. You can start by praying what Jesus prayed in John 17.
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