Face To Face

John 17:^9&20 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you… “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.”

You will live long in Jesus Name! However, if you knew that you will die in a few hours, you know that if you pray God will answer your prayers, what three things will top your prayer list apart from extension of life? Most people would pray for people or things closest to their hearts. A lot of people will also throw in an insurance prayer. Over the next few days, we are going to be looking at the prayer of the Man that had a few hours to live, at the things He prayed for, and learn from that. Please read John 17:1-26, this was Jesus’ prayer a few hours to His crucifixion. The entire John 17 is the longest most personal prayer that Jesus prayed in the New Testament. It reveals His heart. If you really want to get to know someone, listen to them pray. Have you overheard someone else’s prayer? What impression did that leave on you?

When you overhear someone’s prayers, it shows you their heart. As we dive into Jesus’ prayer, we see His heart. John.17:¹ “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father…” (emphasis added). This posture that Jesus took is a frequent posture that Jesus takes. Jesus in many occasions, when He wants to pray, He physically looks up to heaven and says, ‘Father…”. Folks have asked me why I always look up when I pray, it is because I am following Jesus’ example. I would not say I look up all the time but most times, my face goes up because the Father is on the throne and I am talking to Him. Note that I am not saying you must look up when you pray. However, even if you are not looking up physically, your heart should be looking up to the throne of heaven.

It is a posture that suggests that you are looking in the direction of the person you are communicating with. There is a saying that ‘talk is in the face’, have you heard that before? Imagine having a friend or someone you are in a relationship with and the person cannot look at your face when they talk to you. You want to talk to your spouse and he or she does not want to look at your face to face. It means that there is something wrong with that relationship. God wants us to emulate Jesus and the first thing we learn from His prayer is that He faces God when He prays. When you pray, you have to face God.

If you are talking to your spouse about something very important and he or she is facing the television, how would that make you feel? You probably would feel like you are not important to them. Have you ever been talking to someone and the person’s face is buried in a newspaper or in a video game? Yet he or she insists he or she can hear you and that you should continue speaking? It shows that you are not his or her priority. Similarly, if you do this, then it shows that the person in question is not your priority. But when the person is your priority, you turn your face and focus to them, and they feel valued and important. It strengthens the relationship.

Prayer: Father, as I turn my heart and face to You, hear my prayers, in Jesus Name. Amen!