I Felt Jesus Pray for Me
On some of my hardest days, I remind myself that there is a King who intercedes for me. It is hard for me to wrap my mind, and my humanness, around that notion: that Jesus the Christ prays for me.
I remember being at a retreat with my church. It was a weekend set aside to be with the Lord. I did not want to go. To be fair, I never want to go to anything, ever. But I absolutely did not want to go to this retreat. So much so that I asked the Holy Spirit for permission to skip it.
He said no.
While I was there, I felt such a huge block in my heart. I was dealing with so much disappointment, hurt, and shame. During one of the evening sessions, my spiritual father walked over to me while I had my head bowed in prayer, begging God to deliver me from whatever had me bound. He laid his hand on my shoulder and began praying, "Lord, You know. Show her. Show her. Show her." Then I felt a hand on my head. It seemed like he stood there for a long time. But as time passed, I heard my spiritual father's voice across the room praying for someone else, while there was still a hand resting on my head. When I asked him after the session if he had laid his hand on my head while praying over me, he said he had felt led not to. There was no one else near me. No one else came to pray for me. No movement. No footsteps.
That was the hand of Jesus. He laid His hands on me and prayed.
And you know something? I did not feel electricity in my body. I did not succumb to the overwhelming power of the Holy Ghost. I did not feel healed or delivered. All I knew was that Jesus came to see about me, and He prayed for me.
My spiritual father asked the Lord to "show me." What did I need to see? That Jesus was near. I needed to feel His closeness while my heart seemed to be breaking in real time. I needed to know that the King of Kings cared about my concerns. I needed to know that I was not alone. John 17 gives us a sneak peek into Jesus' conversation with the Father. We get to hear how He covers us in prayer. He prayed for our protection, our sanctification, our unity, our joy, and that we would know the Father, for that is eternal life. He did not pray that our troubles would cease. He did not pray that we would be taken out of the world. He did not pray that all of our wildest dreams would come true. In fact, He specifically prayed, "I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one."
And so, my prayer for you this week is that you would know Him more deeply than you ever have before. That you would trust that the Father knows all that you need before you ask Him, and yet the directive remains the same: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
I pray that you would make that great exchange with Jesus: your heavy burdens for His lightness. For He said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
And then, be still. Remain. Abide in Christ.
Scripture References
Hebrews 7:25
Romans 8:34
John 17:3
John 17:11-15
John 17:13
John 17:15
John 17:17-19
John 17:20-23
Matthew 6:8
Matthew 6:33
Matthew 11:28-30
John 15:4-5
