QT Sharing (2 Apr)

Scripture Reading: JOHN 17:1-12

Jesus Prays for Himself

1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6"I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

This is the beginning of the Holy Week. Jesus had entered into Jerusalem. He was received with warm welcomed by His people. Even in this midst of excitement, Jesus still knew why He was there. The cruelsome outcome at the end of it. Was He afraid? I suppose so even though He was fully God, He was also fully man - man of flesh. Thinking about what He was about to go through, it must have been bad enough. But I believe He held on was because He understood His purpose on earth. He knew that He had to do it so as to fulfill His purpose and to give glory to God. In v4, it says, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." Even as Jesus He Himself is God, He submitted Himself to God the Father. Even as the Father had given an important but taunting 'task', He knew that He had to do it so as to fulfill His purpose and to give glory to God. It was never easy but Jesus knew that the Father was in control. I guess very much in our life, are we submitting ourself to God? Even when things are not in our control or things are not smooth-sailing, are we able to still look up to God and say that He is good?
Lord, help us to submit ourself to You. In doing so, reveal to us the purpose You have for us and that we may be faithful to Your plan and thus bringing glory to Your great and awesome name.


In v6-12, it talks about Jesus praying for His disciples, those whom God had chosen and given to Jesus. In v9, when Jesus said that He prayed for His disciples and not the world, it's not that He had no heart for the world. Jesus just wanted to focus His prayer on His disciples as He felt that immediate burden for them as He knew He would not be with them long. This really struck me. Have I been earnestly praying for those people whom the Lord has entrusted in my life? Nope! Taken for granted! It's not that I am going to leave them soon then I start to pray for them but are we really bringing our brothers' and sisters' in-Christ into our prayer? Are we truly concerned for one another enough to remember them in our prayres? I must admit I have fallen short of that? Even if there's no urgent need to pray for them, do we still remember them in our prayer?

Lord, these are the names that you have placed in my heart. Let me remember them in prayer as all times. And I prayed that You continue to reveal Your heart to us so that we may truly know You and Your plan for us.
Darren, Clement, Ding Yi, Xin Ling, Si En, Wen Yuan, Joanne, Amelia, James, Gordon, Colin, Samantha, Yvonne, Jamie, Magdalene, Daniel, Xu En, Xavier Milner, Andrew Milner, Joseph.