Protect Them From the Evil One (5/12)

Last week we heard Jesus speak a new identity over us: friends. No longer are we merely servants of God, who go and do as He commands, but we are now called friends, because we have been let in on God's heart and purpose for the world. We are co-conspirators with God in loving our neighbors, our enemies, and everyone in between.

Now that Jesus calls us friends, he does what good friends do. He prays for us. He pleads on our behalf. He petitions to God on account of us. And there's something holy, something special, about listening in to what he has to say about us.

• Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

• 1 John 5:9-13

• John 17:6-19

• Psalm 1

My prayer for us: Jesus, our friend, we thank you that prayer goes two ways and not just one. So often we speak and you listen. Help us to listen well when you speak concerning us. And may your prayers for our protection, for our joy, and for our grounding in truth come to pass today and with power. In your name, Amen.