Bible Verse of the Day Thursday October 12th 2023

John 17:20 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.

The beginning of the 17th chapter of John opens with Christ Jesus acknowledging to the Father that the time of His sacrifice for all people on earth had come. The time for Him to go to the Cross for the salvation of all humankind was near. He prayed first for His followers of that day because they would be going through trials and tribulations of indescribable depth after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension back to heaven. Then, in verse 17, He includes all people who believe in Him through the message of the Cross of Calvary (Hebrews 7:24-25).

Jesus prayed for those of all ages who would come to believe through the direct message of the Apostles or the revelation of the New Testament. Faith in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf comes through hearing the gospel (Romans 10:17). One of the most severe deterrents to spreading the gospel is prayerlessness in our churches. We often miss out on great blessings from God because we fail in our daily prayer life. Sometimes, too much focus is placed on sins of commission, breaking one of God's commandments. However, we can be just as guilty through sins of omission, not doing what we know God wants us to do. During the early part of the nineteenth century, Robert Maccheyne, a Church of England Pastor from Edinburgh, Scotland, once wrote: "If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet the distance makes no difference; he is praying for me!"

Jesus is the only one who could offer the prayer from John 17:20. He was God in the flesh walking among us, yet He was always praying to the Father. Since Jesus was God here on this earth, and He felt the need to be in constant prayer, how much more should we be in prayer? Since we are all sinners and there is not one righteous person among us (Romans 3:23; 3:10), how much more should we be following the model and pattern set for us by Christ Jesus?

Jesus prayed for all people down through the ages. Some people believe that the process for spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) is to work through worldly manners by changing laws. However, a more robust and efficient method would be to pray for those far from God to believe the gospel's truth. This method would be following the example of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.