Reading your Bible for today January 4

January 4: John 17:9-10

KJV Key Verse: John 17:9
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Devotion:
Have you ever thought you were being selfish when praying for another Christian. Perhaps because you really liked them, or just because they are having a hard time with people who are not Christians? Christ gives us another example of just who we should be praying for here... not just the lost for their salvation, but for those who already are committed Christians.

Christ had already given the disciples instruction God will answer anything He asks and God will answer anything we ask through Him. What He prays for here is for those who have believed in Him, thereby believing in God. He wanted to make sure we came first and that we have a place prepared in Heaven for each one of us.

Later on in this chapter He does pray for the lost as well, but getting the priorities in the right order we find: First, He prayed to make sure He would again be glorified... Yes, He already knew He would, but by praying He identifies His love for God and His position as a servant of God (It's hard for us to get our heads round this unless we ourselves identify God the Father and God the Son as two separate entities... It's been done that way so that we may understand.)

Second, He prayed for the saved, that they will accompany Him to heaven. He does not say this by saying He wants us to be with Him, but rather that we do belong to God the Father because we have given our lives back to Him. He justifies this through our faith, not by anything we have done other than believing in Him. He is spelling it out again; it is our faith which is going to make it possible for us to be with Him in heaven. The simple faith we had when we said “Yes, I believe”. If we are being held second in line behind Jesus, His love for us can only be awesome!

Points to Ponder:
Did you find it hard not to buy gifts or special people last year?

Do you know Christ’s gift for you?