Have you ever contemplated what prayer is like from God’s perspective? Imagined what God does while we pray? Wondered if God prays for us too?
Today’s Lectio 365 used the passage in Romans (8:31-34) addressed this very topic. In it Paul describes Jesus’ sitting at the right hand of the “Father” interceding for us. I haven’t thought about this in a long time, and I found myself wondering what it’s like to have Christ pray for me.
So often my prayers focus on my words and needs. Yes, this is still good and sacred prayer. And there is more to prayer than my (our) effort.
Consider Christ interceding on your behalf, God praying to God about you and for you. How does this awareness of Divine intercession change your prayer experience? How does it change your awareness when you’re not praying?
This topic dovetails well for me with our podcast discussion Thursday night. We talked about hell, and I’m not surprised by how many folks wanted to hash through it. What was so intriguing to me though was how much time we spent talking about heaven. We wondered about what the afterlife could look like, what others said about it, and what we hoped for.
As a result of the discussion and the Lectio, I’ve been thinking all day about what is called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” in John chapter 17. Give it a read.
“I’m not praying only for them but also for those who believe in me because of their word. I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I’ve given them the glory that you gave me so that they can be one just as we are one. I’m in them and you are in me so that they will be made perfectly one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you have loved them just as you loved me.
“Father, I want those you gave me to be with me where I am. Then they can see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
“Righteous Father, even the world didn’t know you, but I’ve known you, and these believers know that you sent me. I’ve made your name known to them and will continue to make it known so that your love for me will be in them, and I myself will be in them.”
I believe this is just one of the ways God prays for us: that we may be one with God and each other. Oneness. Not merely at the end of all things but also right now. Christ prays that we would believe in the power of God’s Love and be transformed into Christlikeness as a result of living in and through that same Love. As we do, we can experience a taste of the Kindom of Heaven in our present life, not merely the afterlife.
This awareness is key. Perhaps you can think of a way to help you become aware of this Divine intercession throughout your day. Maybe your daily prayers or meditations can be the prompt. Perhaps it’s something as silly as the tone or vibration of your phone’s notifications that can bring this awareness to you. Whatever it is, I hope you experience this Divine longing for connection, interceding on your behalf.