Imitating Christ - Praying Like Him
Author
Faustino de JesĂşs Zamora Vargas
Summary: Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, prayed to the Father in his human form during his earthly life, with a deep reverence and submission. His prayer in John 17 is a hymn cried out by the incarnate God, and it is the only recorded prayer of Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh. In this prayer, Jesus asks the Father to keep us in his name, to protect us and guard us with zeal, and to unite us as one body of Christ, so that we can be a diligent avenue of blessing for others. He also urges us to serve for the benefit of others, seek spiritual unity, and be salt and light in a world of darkness. Jesus sends us into the world to spread the message of redemption and eternal life, just as he was sent by the Father to establish an order and incarnate the true and only God. Finally, Jesus prays for us to be with him where he is, to see his glory, and to glorify the Father. As Christians, we should imitate Christ in prayer, edify each other, support each other, and show the world the love for which he gave himself.
The divine Christ in his earthly life prayed to the Father in his manhood. The man who felt compassion watching the lost crowd "like sheep without a shepherd" (Mt 9.36), the man who wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35) and upon seeing the city of Jerusalem (Lk 19:41) a few days away of his death on the cross. He prayed with the conviction of being heard by the Father , with the certainty that his prayer would be a legacy of love for the disciples who also hear his cry.
The Word that was God (John 1.1) prayed for us, those of us who were given by God to his son Jesus to be a witness in the world, to be sent to fulfill his mission. If we wish to see the heart of the God-Man, his human nature, his dreams and longings for his church, his feelings of redemption for the world, his reverent fear of the Father and his desire to glorify him, let us go back to John 17, a hymn cried out. of the incarnate God, a prayer that we must imitate. The only recorded prayer of Jesus Christ in "the days of his flesh."
"Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name you have given me, that they may be one, just as we are one" (John 17:11). Do we pray with reverent submission? Do we ask that the Lord guard (protect and guard with zeal) in his name our brothers? Do we pray for the unity of the body of Christ, for being a diligent avenue of blessing for others? Because of the multitude that walks “like sheep without a shepherd?
Hebrews 5.7 says that Jesus was listened to for his reverent submission. What does this mean to us? A prayer "in passing" for God to see that we have him in mind? No! Rather, it is a mixed fear of love and respect that shows the willingness of the heart to abide by the will of the Father, whatever it may be, without conditions. The prayer of Christ to the Father is a reflection of the jealous heart of the Lord inviting us to serve for the benefit of others, a reminder for Christians that the sacrifice we have seen in Jesus for others is also a way to unite, to seek unity spiritual, a single feeling, not in the ecumenical sense, but in the unanimous appropriation of the Spirit to be "salt and light" in a world of darkness. Unity is vital to the church if we are to turn the world upside down with the message of salvation.
A plea from Jesus to consider in his prayer: “As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (Jn 17:18). Over and over again the evangelical message of redemption and eternal life is manifested on the lips of the Redeemer; He has sent us into the world. It was not the pastor or the local mission board, but Jesus, who in his desire to glorify the Father, pleads with him to take care of us and bless us in the mission. The world of the first century and the twenty-first century have much in common. Christianity was born in the first century permeated by ideologies and philosophies that manifested different criteria about God (s) and Christ broke into history just at the moment when history needed him to begin to establish an order and incarnate the true and only God . That is why "he was sent", and so he sends us today to a world that continues to boast of displaying a basket of gods for all tastes, colors and nations. Doesn't this seem like a good reason to imitate Christ, to pray for the missionary who was moved by reading Jesus' prayer for his disciples, to pray that the Lord would give us a passionate heart “to be sent”?
A hope for you and me: “Father, I want those you have given me to also be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, the glory you have given me; because you have loved me since before the foundation of the world ”. (John 17:24). (Underlined by me). We will be where He is, by His grace and for His glory. The prayer of Jesus about to suffer martyrdom on the cross and suffer for our sins until death, had only one purpose: the glory of the Father. Through Christ we have been sanctified in the truth of his Son (Jn 17.17): His word is truth. Brothers and sisters, I invite you to pray for the same reasons that Christ had and to imitate God in supplication, while we edify each other, supporting each other and showing the world the love for which He gave Himself.
God bless you!