"At His Feet" 02 by Jenny Crandall
9-21-24
What you are about to read is not entirely mine. All of what follows is based on the devotional readings I have come to cherish from a book called, “At His Feet” by Chris Tiegreen. He has written several other books, and I encourage you to check them out.
Today’s devotional is the second of a 5-day miniseries Tiegreen titled, “Fulfilling…”. The whole miniseries is based on John 17, Jesus’ high priestly prayer. I hope you are as encouraged as I have been by these 5 days, and I hope you take the time to dig deeper.
Day 2 - Fulfilling His Prayers John 17:6-12
Last time, in Day 1, Fulfilling His Mission, we began by exploring the importance of praying for yourself at the outset of your prayer time, remembering that if Jesus found it necessary to appeal to His Father about Himself first, in this most critical of prayers we see from Him, why not me?
Now the work of prayer is ready to include others. In verses 6-12, Jesus prays for His disciples. “I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours.” (v.9) Jesus is explicit about this segment of his prayer centering specifically around the 12 men (11 without Judas) with whom He has spent almost every waking moment for the last 3 years. He has seen their every reaction and response to His words, actions and silence, much of which brought them to acceptance of Jesus as the Savior, but also represented great confusion among them. No wonder He prays out of a heart of burden for them. Reading through this passage through the lens of Christ’s compassionate plea to the Father about these men, gives me a fresh perspective on two things: The close bond Jesus had with the 12 and His deep concern that they thrive after He leaves them; and Jesus, alone, reveals God to us (v.6). Jesus’ closeness with his band of brothers shows up in his knowledge that “the fate of the world is dependent on the faith of those who have followed Him.” (And Jesus’ prayers are not “scattershot, hoping to hit God’s target,” because neither was His mission, the subject of Day 1). And the irony about the Son of Man exclusively having the power to reveal God the Father to these 12 is that there was actually a need for these Jewish men to have God revealed to them! They thought they knew God, but they didn’t. Jesus had to reveal the Father, a bit at a time, through Himself.
We are no different. “The gospel mission of the Son of God is still dependent on the disciples He has called.” That’s you and me. And we are not alone. “The exalted Savior still makes intercession on our behalf at the throne of the Father.” “The Son of God does not have unanswered prayers.” Rest in that today.
Credit: Chris Tiegreen, At His Feet, p. 241, August 29
What you are about to read is not entirely mine. All of what follows is based on the devotional readings I have come to cherish from a book called, “At His Feet” by Chris Tiegreen. He has written several other books, and I encourage you to check them out.
Today’s devotional is the second of a 5-day miniseries Tiegreen titled, “Fulfilling…”. The whole miniseries is based on John 17, Jesus’ high priestly prayer. I hope you are as encouraged as I have been by these 5 days, and I hope you take the time to dig deeper.
Day 2 - Fulfilling His Prayers John 17:6-12
Last time, in Day 1, Fulfilling His Mission, we began by exploring the importance of praying for yourself at the outset of your prayer time, remembering that if Jesus found it necessary to appeal to His Father about Himself first, in this most critical of prayers we see from Him, why not me?
Now the work of prayer is ready to include others. In verses 6-12, Jesus prays for His disciples. “I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours.” (v.9) Jesus is explicit about this segment of his prayer centering specifically around the 12 men (11 without Judas) with whom He has spent almost every waking moment for the last 3 years. He has seen their every reaction and response to His words, actions and silence, much of which brought them to acceptance of Jesus as the Savior, but also represented great confusion among them. No wonder He prays out of a heart of burden for them. Reading through this passage through the lens of Christ’s compassionate plea to the Father about these men, gives me a fresh perspective on two things: The close bond Jesus had with the 12 and His deep concern that they thrive after He leaves them; and Jesus, alone, reveals God to us (v.6). Jesus’ closeness with his band of brothers shows up in his knowledge that “the fate of the world is dependent on the faith of those who have followed Him.” (And Jesus’ prayers are not “scattershot, hoping to hit God’s target,” because neither was His mission, the subject of Day 1). And the irony about the Son of Man exclusively having the power to reveal God the Father to these 12 is that there was actually a need for these Jewish men to have God revealed to them! They thought they knew God, but they didn’t. Jesus had to reveal the Father, a bit at a time, through Himself.
We are no different. “The gospel mission of the Son of God is still dependent on the disciples He has called.” That’s you and me. And we are not alone. “The exalted Savior still makes intercession on our behalf at the throne of the Father.” “The Son of God does not have unanswered prayers.” Rest in that today.
Credit: Chris Tiegreen, At His Feet, p. 241, August 29
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