Prayer To Learn From The Expert Pray-er, Jesus

 Learning From the Expert

I like to watch cooking shows.  One of my favorites is Masterchef Australia.  Included in the episodes of cooking battles every now and then are something they call “Master classes” where experts teach the contestants ways to do things.  They don’t just tell them what to do but they prepare the dish so their techniques are visible and the results are there to be tasted.

When I read Jesus praying in John chapter 17, I feel like I’m in a “prayer masterclass.”  While we often use The Lord’s Prayer - the prayer Jesus taught His friends when they asked Him how to pray – there’s something so much more personal and helpful to hear Jesus talk to His Father.  I’m blessed by the wonderful things He prayed that You and I would experience, but also by the tender and trusting open hearted expressions of faith and trust.

We’ll use Jesus’ words as we pray today:

Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

Heavenly Father, we first of all want to thank You for Jesus who has clearly shown You to us and shown us how to relate to You in the most personal and powerful way. As He asked, so we ask that You would get glory from our lives as we walk in the authority we’ve been granted.  We only seem to know a little of that closeness and authority but we want to experience more today.  We don’t want some dead facts running around in our heads about You but we want something to be alive in our hearts that You promise to give us when we invite You to come into our lives.  Come Lord Jesus.  Come today.  Come and show us the Father as You knew His love and His authority. 

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Thank you for Jesus willingly came to earth to provide eternal life for those who would put their trust in Him.  We’re grateful today that we can know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent, know Your heart of love and generosity for us, know Your willingness to get involved, even at the expense of Your own life, Your active interest in our little lives, and the mundane and not so mundane details of what’s going on in our world especially during these changing times when COVID-19 cases are going up and we don’t quite know what impact that will have on our activities going forward.   Loving God, we don’t want to just know some bits of information about You but our heart is to really know and experience the closeness of a trustworthy and loving Father who cares deeply for us and will make everything we need today available to us.

I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

None of us know how many days we’ll have on this earth but in this particular day we pray that what we do will be focused on the work You’ve given us to do today and finish it so You can be clearly seen at work in our lives and through us in kindness and truth to others around us.  You prepared a good work for us to do when You created us and planned it out over the course of every day of our life.  So, we want to leave tomorrow’s activities to tomorrow and just live with You in this day. 

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

Help us today to faithfully carry out the simple things that You give us to do today:  to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you.  From ancient times You’ve told us that is what is good and while other things seem to complicate life we want to just keep drawing ourselves back to carrying out the good things that build our love for you, our relationships in our families and with our friends, and reach out to those in need around us.  Amen