Jesus prayed, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." (John 17:15)

For over ten years as I opened the door each morning to the staff wing of the Bible college where I worked, I was greeted with a painting of Jesus pointing at me, with the words, "I am praying for you," scripted at the bottom.

As I dealt with the challenges of my job, the ups and downs of relationships, the hopes and dashed hopes for the future, the seeking of God's will for my life, and an extremely busy schedule, I was reminded each morning that Jesus was at the right hand of my Heavenly Father, interceding for me. It was a comforting way to begin each new day, knowing that I wasn't alone in all of life's challenges, that Someone much greater than I was "going to bat for me" in the heavenly realms.

I was recently reminded of this painting when I saw a glimpse of it in an old photo, and decided to do a little digging in Scripture to renew my awareness of Christ's intercession for us. As I pulled these verses out and listed them, I realized how assured we can be that Jesus is, indeed, "going to bat for us":

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-2)

"It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." (Romans 8:34)

"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)

We also have the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17, first for His twelve disciples, and then He prayed, "not . . . for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word," which includes you and me. The rest of that passage is Jesus praying for us!

In Luke 22:32, Jesus told Peter, "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail."

Reading these verses leaves no doubt that Jesus prayed for His present and future disciples when He was here on earth, and that His praying for us did not stop when He returned to heaven.

What a wonderful Lord we have! Not only did He die for us - a one-time act of love - but He now intercedes on our behalf to the Heavenly Father - a continual act of love for us!

We all face many challenges each day. Some seem overwhelming and impossible. But we are not alone. Jesus is praying for us!

© 2010 Fern Horst

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