Is He Praying for Us or Are We Praying to Him?

Message Description:

One of the ways Jesus chooses to care for us is through prayer. As revealed in His great prayer for us in John 17, He advocates for us, intercedes for us, and prays for us.

• He’s praying we be made Holy
• Dr. Jeremiah’s message – “Is He Praying for Us or Are We Praying to Him?”
• Next Time on Turning Point

When I was a child growing up in my father’s church, we used to have Wednesday night prayer meetings and Sunday night church services.
And quite often, both on Wednesday night Sunday night, they would take time out of the early part of the service for what they called, uh, testimony meeting.
We would have open testimonies. We do that now at funerals. We used to do it in church.
Open testimony. Open mic. It was always interesting.
But what I noticed was there was always about three people, but every week, they would be the first ones up, and I hate to say this, but it was three ladies.
And they always said the same thing.
They would get up and say, I’m just so thankful that I’m saved and sanctified.
And then they go sit down.
I knew what saved was, but I wasn’t sure what sanctified was, and I was pretty sure I didn’t want it because I didn’t want to turn out like them.
I didn’t know what sanctified was until many years later, and I found out it’s not a bad word.
It’s a good word. Anchified means to be made holy.
Up in heaven, Jesus is praying that you and I will be good people, holy people, He’s praying for our sanctification.
The Bible is god’s chief means of bringing that about.
And so we aren’t surprised to read that his prayer goes like this sanctify them by your truth.
Your word is truth. What he’s praying is that when we open this book, we don’t just learn more of the Bible But the Bible gets into our lives and changes who we are.
He, he says, sanctify them. Make them holy by your truth, your word is truth.
He’s praying for us right now as we meet in this room, that the word of god that we’re studying from John 17 will not just pass through our minds and out the other side, but they will find a place of residence in our hearts, and we will listen to the words, and those words will change us from the inside out.
That’s what Jesus is praying. He is praying for our sanctification. He is praying for our maturity.
When you survey the life of Jesus, you find a man who cared for the people around him in surprising ways.
He touched lepers and cured the sick. He befriended social pariahs. He cherished children.
His last acts were to pray for the forgiveness of his murderers and then to look beside him and feel compassion for a dying thief.
Whom he encouraged and assured of salvation.
The more difficult Jesus life became, the more people crowded around him with demands, and the closer he moved to a torturous death, the more loving and caring and forgiving he became.
When Jesus saw broken humanity, he reached out to care for them.
And I don’t know about you, but one of the versus I learned as a little child was 1st Peter Five 7.
Cast all your care upon him. For he cares for you.
Although Jesus is no longer walking beside us in the physical realm, His concern for us is no less real.
And the Bible tells us that one of the ways he chooses to care for us is through prayer.
I mentioned this to you earlier in this series that Jesus is praying for us, but I wanna unpack and explore that a little bit further today.
After Jesus accomplished all that was necessary for our redemption and salvation at the cross, he took his place at the right hand of the father.
And from there, for the last 2000 plus years, he has continued his ministry to us through prayer.
We all know that we pray to Jesus, but we may not know that Jesus prays for us.
The Bible speaks about this in several places in generality.
For instance, Romans 8 says it this way, who shall bring a charge against god’s elect?
It is god who justifies, who is he who condemns?
It is Christ who died and furthermore also risen who is even at the right hand of god who also makes intercession for us.
He’s interceding for us said Paul to the Romans.
And the writer of Hebrews echoes these words because he continues forever, he is also able to save to the uttermost, those who come to god through him, since he always makes intercession for them.
Mark it down in your notes that Jesus is praying for us.
Have you ever had the experience of knowing that someone was praying for you?
I mean, that there’s not anything like that in the world to know that people are praying for you.
So many times, you guys send me notes or personally tell me pastor, we pray for you every day, and you have no idea what that means to me, to know that you pray for me and that I pray for you.
And Worthington is a lifelong Christian worker who now is retired in North Carolina she recalls her parents rising every morning for devotion.
She said, when my father was working, he would get up at 4:30 and study and pray.
And as long as I live, I will remember hearing him in the bathroom, praying out loud over his prayer list.
I remember hearing my mother pray for me.
I would come home from a game or from some outing, and oftentimes I would walk in and out and hear my mother praying for me out loud.
Perhaps your thinking as you listen today, you know what, Doctor. Jeremiah?
I I don’t think anybody has ever told me that they’re praying for me.
I’m sure there’s somebody here like that.
Well, you can have that joy right now because on the final night of his normal earthly life, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his prayer life.
How he prays for us, it’s recorded for us in the 17th chapter of the gospel of John, This passage is normally referred to as Christ’s high priestly prayer.
It’s the longest section of the words of Jesus in the Bible.
And some of the great past teachers of the Bible have said, this is such a special passage that they don’t dare preach on it So when they’re preaching through the book of John, they preach through the 16th chapter, and then they preach from 18 on, and they just read John 17.
Some people say John 17 is Holy Ground. Take your shoes off when you come to John 17.
This is Jesus praying. And we have the words of his prayer.
Very interesting that his prayers are quite different than ours, although in some ways they’re the same.
What’s the one thing we pray about most often when we pray for our children, especially if they’re not around us, we pray for their protection and their safety.
And I want you to know, first of all, today, that Jesus cares about your security.
Read with me, John 17 verses 1115. We’ll put them up on the screen.
This is what it says. Holy father. Keep through your name, those whom you have given me.
I do not pray that you should take them out of the world.
But that you should keep them from the evil one.
In these verses, Jesus is praying that the father would keep us secure in the world.
Has there ever been a time in your history or mind when we’ve needed that more to know that the father is hearing prayers from the son for our protection?
We are living in a dangerous world and a frightening world in many respects, but Jesus is praying for us.
He’s asking the father to keep us safe as he himself had kept his disciples safe while he was on this earth.
And the word keep is a wonderful word.
It means to guard or watch over, I think of Jesus on one occasion, The disciples are out in the middle of the sea of Galilee in the boat, and they’re in deep trouble.
There’s a big storm While they’re out in the boat, Jesus is up in the mountain, the Bible tells us he went up to the mountains to pray.
And when they got to the moment of their greatest trial, Jesus comes to them in the midst of the storm because he’d been watching over them from the mountains.
And when he wasn’t in the boat with them, he was watching over them in prayer.
And that’s what he prays for us, father.
In the midst of their storm in the midst of their difficulty in this world, watch over them, protect them, and keep them.
He’s praying for your security, for your safety, and for mine.
I look back over my life, and I’m sure you could do this as well.
And I realized that there were many times when I was at a Crossroads where I had a decision to make, and I didn’t know what to do.
And if I had made the wrong decision, it would have changed everything about my life.
I surely wouldn’t be here today. I could have gone the wrong way.
It was the indwelling holy spirit that brought conviction to my heart, kept me from doing the wrong thing.
And oftentimes when I was at a point of decision, I would be reading the word of god and a portion of god’s word would jump off the page into my heart And it was like God was speaking out loud, and I would know, this is the way.
Walk in this way, and I would do the right thing, where if I had been left to myself, I would have probably done the other thing.
Many of you know as you look back over your life, you did a lot of things you didn’t want to do, but they turned out to be the right things.
But the one thing I’ll never understand till I get to heaven is this, when the Holy Spirit has done all he can do to keep me out of trouble, And the word of god has done all it can do to keep me out of trouble.
There’s still more. For up in heaven, next to the father is my savior, and he’s praying for me.
He’s praying, take care of Jeremiah down there in El Cajon. Don’t let him do something foolish.
Keep him from the evil one. Don’t let him get caught up in something that could ruin his life.
The word of god in the spirit of god and the prayer of the lord at the right hand of the father.
Then in the next verse, Jesus asks his father to protect us from the evil one.
How many of you know that Satan is our accuser? He’s called the accuser of the brethren.
The Bible says he goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
He’s trying to devour our testimony for Jesus.
He can’t devour our salvation because he has no right to take that from us.
But he can destroy our reputation and destroy our influence for god.
He’s always about that testing us and trying to get us to make the wrong decision.
But did you know that the lord Jesus is praying for us that we will not be overcome by Satan.
The best illustration of that is an immersive scripture concerning Peter, Luke chapter 22 verse 31, Jesus is talking to Peter, and this is what he says, Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail.
And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren.
God allowed Satan to sift Peter, but he did not allow Peter to fall through the sieve.
And although Peter fell, his faith did not fail.
What a reminder to us men and women that Jesus cares enough to pray us through our failures.
All of us are men and women who have failed.
We’re not failures because we fail but we have all failed in some way.
And when we fail, the Bible gives us this encouragement that as Jesus prayed for Peter, during his 3 point denial of Jesus.
Jesus prays for us. Even, you know, we think, well, when we succeed, it’s Jesus praying for us.
No, when we’re failing Jesus is praying for us, and he prays us through our failures so that we get back to the place of fellowship with him.
We don’t fully understand the spiritual warfare that we face every day.
We do not know all the ways in which the devil accuses us before god.
But we have the blood of Jesus Christ pleading for us, and we have the one whose blood is pleading for us.
Jesus protects us from the evil one. He shields us by his prayers and by the power of his blood.
His prayers are a protective force around us. Jesus is praying for us. What is he praying?
He’s praying for our protection. He’s praying for our security. Number 2, Jesus cares about our sufficiency.
Verse 13 of chapter 17 says, now I come to you And these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
In verse 13, Jesus prayed that the joy he has might be fulfilled in us, He wasn’t talking about just joy, but fulfilled joy, overrunning joy, abundant joy, sufficient joy.
He was talking about Jesus joy. Let me tell you, as you know, he’s not talking about happiness.
That depends on the happenings He’s talking about joy. That depends on Jesus, and Jesus joy is so amazing.
Jesus joy is the answer to the hebrew greeting shalom.
They tell us that the word shalom means more than peace it means a sense of well-being within a person.
The joy of Jesus is that since you have that no matter what’s going on around you, The most important thing is okay.
And in your heart, there’s this feeling, this sense of the sufficiency of the joy of Jesus.
I’ve seen this illustrated in so many believers, and I’ve even experienced it sometimes in my own life.
And during very troubling times and times that would normally take a smile off of your face.
The inward Jesus puts joy in your heart that’s beyond anything you can explain.
You know, Jesus was a joyous person.
I’ve always been amazed that when Jesus came on the scene, his first miracle wasn’t at a funeral, but at a feast.
It was at the feast of cana of Galilee. It was a marriage.
Everywhere you look, Jesus was involved in joy.
Throughout the new testament, he generously imparted his joy to other people. One day he healed a crippled woman.
She stood right up and began praising god.
The Samaritan leper healed by Jesus returned to Jesus, and the scripture said he was praising god in a loud voice And when the lame man at the gate beautiful was healed, he got up and went into the temple.
Listen to this. He was walking and leaping and praising god. Now there’s a man who’s happy.
Describing these moments in the life of Jesus, Paul put it this way, He said the kingdom of god is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Paul said, our lives ought to be characterized by righteousness and peace and joy.
We ought to be the most joyous people in the world. We can’t help it. We rejoice.
We sing upbeat music. We sing happy music. We sing joyous music.
I know some people think you worship with a dirge, but I can’t put that together in the New Testament scripture.
We are to be people of joy. He’s not only praying for our security. He’s praying for our sufficiency.
He wants us to have joy. Jesus joy. Fulfilled joy, shalom, in our hearts.
Here’s the third one. Jesus cares about your maturity. This is found in John 17.
Jesus’ pray, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.
When I was a child growing up in my father’s church, we used to have Wednesday night prayer meetings and Sunday night church services.
And quite often, both on Wednesday night Sunday night, they would take time out of the early part of the service for what they called uh, testimony meeting.
We would have open testimonies. We do that now at funerals. We used to do it in church.
Open testimony, open mic, it was always interesting.
But what I noticed was there was always about three people that every week.
They would be the first ones up, and I hate to say this, but it was 3 ladies.
And they always said the same thing.
They would get up and say, I’m just so thankful that I’m saved and sanctified.
And then they go sit down.
I knew what saved was, but I wasn’t sure what sanctified was, and I was pretty sure I didn’t want it because I didn’t want to turn out like them.
I didn’t know what sanctified was until many years later, and I found out it’s not a bad word.
It’s a good word. Sanctified means to be made holy.
Up in heaven, Jesus is praying that you and I will be good people, holy people, He’s praying for our sanctification.
Tries to read that his prayer goes like this.
We don’t just learn more of the Bible, but the Bible gets into our lives and changes who we are.
He he says, sanctify them. Make them holy by your truth, your word is truth.
He’s praying for us right now as we meet in this room, that the word of god that we’re studying from John 17 will not just pass through our minds and out the other side, but they will find a place of residence in our hearts, and we will listen to the words and those words will change us from the inside out.
That’s what Jesus is praying. He is praying for our sanctification. He is praying for our maturity.
Here’s the 4th one. He’s praying about our ministry in John 1718, he says this.
As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
Now, let me just break that down for you.
Jesus was the 1st missionary to the world in which you and I live.
One day in heaven, god called his son to the throne and said, I need you to go to the earth.
Where the people are struggling and don’t know what to do and they’re in sin.
I want you to go there and to seek and to save that which is lost pay the penalty for their sin on the cross.
Now Jesus is saying to his father, just as one day you sent me into the world, I am sending all of your disciples, including us into the world, with the same message to seek and save the lost.
Whenever we go out to do the ministry god has given us, we can be assured that up in heaven Jesus is praying for us.
He’s praying for me when I preach as all of you do.
Some of you pray that I won’t preach so long. I understand that.
But I don’t think Jesus is praying that.
I think you all are praying it, but I don’t think Jesus is praying it.
He’s praying for you when you usher. He’s praying for you when you teach children.
He’s praying for you when you work in the parking lot. He’s praying for you when you drive the shuttle.
He’s praying for you when you serve on the board.
If you’re in the ministry of Jesus, you can count on it.
You are on his prayer list, and he’s praying for you.
That you will carry out the ministry in a way that brings fruit to the kingdom.
He’s praying for your ministry. Here’s number 5. He’s praying for your unity.
John 17, 2020, and 21, says this, I pray, Jesus is praying now.
I pray, father, that they all may be one as you are in me.
And I in you that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that you sent me.
Right now, up in heaven, Jesus is praying for our unity.
He’s praying for our oneness that we would reflect according to the Bible the same spirit that he has with the father, he wants us to be 1 in our unity.
And then finally, Jesus is praying for our destiny. Listen to this.
Verse 24 of chapter 17, Father I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am.
Now folks, here’s another one of those little kind of upside down truths.
We all know that we wanna be with Jesus.
I mean, all of us, we talk about that as we get older We have so many people that we’ve invested in heaven already.
We look forward to the day when we’re with Jesus and we’re united with the people that we love.
But here’s what we may not know about Jesus. Listen to this. Jesus wants to be with us.
It’s not just that we wanna be with Jesus. Listen to this.
It says that they may be with me where I am. Jesus wants us to be with him.
Over in John chapter 14 he says, in my father’s house, are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you under myself.
Now, listen to this, that where I am, you may be also. Jesus wants us to be with him.
We wanna be with him.
We know that, but did you know that Jesus wants you to be with him way more than you wanna be with him?
It’s his desire for you to someday be with him.
If you put your trust in Jesus Christ, there isn’t any doubt about the fact that that will happen.
The Bible says when you’re a Christian, if you trust the lord, absent from the body is present with the lord, as soon as you take your last breath down here.
You take your first one up there. And you’re absent from your body, but you’re present with the lord.
And the lord Jesus is so looking forward to that that he prays about it in his prayers.
It’s on his prayer list that one day we will be with him Pray is an amazing thing, and the father in heaven is hearing the prayers of his son, Jesus, for you right now.
When he prays for us, we draw near to him, he draws near to us, and he’s praying for you right now.
If you don’t know him as your personal savior, his prayer is that you might come to him and open your heart and receive him And if you’re a Christian, I don’t know what you’re going through this week, but let me tell you something.
Jesus is praying for you. You pray to Jesus but Jesus is praying for you.
He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what your need is.
And right now in heaven, Before god’s throne, he’s interceded for you and for me. Hallelujah.
Thank you, Jesus. If you have never taken the step to
believe in Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. You can do that today.
If you will allow us, Doctor Jeremiah would like to send you 2 resources that will help you.
The first is a booklet called Your Greatest Turning Point, which will help you as you begin your relationship with Christ.
And the second is our monthly devotional magazine turning points to give you encouragement and inspiration throughout the year.
These resources are your completely free when you contact Turning Point today.
Next time on Turning Point,
If you put your trust in Christ and you allow god to take over in your life, he will enable you to do things in your life that you never dreamed were possible.
He will change you from the person you are to the person he created you to be.
The Bible says when you become a Christian, old things pass away. And all things become new.
Join Doctor Jeremiah next time for a special Easter message, the 7 signs of Easter.
Here on Turning Point.