Monday after Exaudi
Posted on May 30, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. John 17:20-26 (NKJV)
17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Devotion
Not only did Jesus pray for His disciples who traveled with Him and heard His teaching, He prays for those who would yet come to believe in Him through the word of these first disciples and believers. Jesus prays that those who would come to trust in Him through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word would also be one in Him, and one with each other. John also speaks of this in his first epistle when he writes: “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
Through His Word, God graciously calls His elect to faith in His Son as Savior and Redeemer. He grants them the forgiveness which Christ won for them on the cross, thus bringing them into fellowship with Him, with Christ Jesus His Son, and with all believers of all time who trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. In fact, the closer we walk with our Lord Jesus by continuing in His Word and holding fast to Him in faith, the more united and one we become with Christ and all others who trust in Him. Many seek unity among Christians and churches without regard for the teaching of God’s Word. True unity, on the other hand, is created by the Holy Spirit and given to us as we hear and believe all that God’s Word teaches!
Prayer: Almighty, Everlasting God, make us to have always a devout will toward Thee, and to serve Thy Majesty with a pure heart; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
