John 14
The Road
1-4 “Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.” 5Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”
6-7Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
Jesus, You are everything! My mind knows that following You is the only way. Help me to make You my “way” every minute of every day. Let all the little and not-so-little decisions I make in a day be made to keep me on the “Way” – which is You.
You are the truth. I know I don’t see things the way You do all the time. I know I can look at a situation and understand it all wrong. Help me to know Your truth and see the world with Your eyes, at least as much as I can stand. Make me spiritually strong so I can know Your truth and live a life that day-to-day walks Your path in Your truth.
You are the life. Life is dead without You, only You. Change me Lord so my minutes and seconds are all full of You. Let my life be Your life and only Your life. Change me Lord, change me.
8Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”
9-10“You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
Jesus, You and the Father are obviously completely one. Can I be one with You and Father and the Holy Spirit? Not in that same way but in some way. Please help me to be so totally alive for You and only You that my life is Your life. Help me be one with You, please, it is the only hope of real life that I have.
11-14“Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.
Jesus, I know what this means – at least a little bit – and it is a hard lesson to remember. It sounds a little like we can ask what we want and You will give it. But what You are really saying is that if we ask for what You want, You will give it. When I think about that, it can be pretty scary. You wanted to come to this world to server, suffer, and die. What if that is what You want for me? It is scary, but Your will be done.
So Lord, change me so I learn to want what You want. For if I live and You and like You and want what You want, then my prayers will all be answered. Please Lord, help me to want to server, and want to suffer, and want die to self and live totally through You. Use this prayer time to change me Lord so I can pray for what You want me to pray for.
The Spirit of Truth
15-17“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! 18-20“I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.
Jesus, I need a moment of power and life like that. I know You and I know You are alive and the Son of God. But my life is under pressure now Lord. I’m probably missing some great truth now, but I need Your help. I know by now I should have the faith to walk through this furnace I feel I and my family are in, and if that is Your will, I’m sure it will happen. But Lord, we all could use a few minutes of Your miraculous power now. Please Lord, show me Your life. Sorry I had to ask. Please forgive my weakness. Please help.
21“The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”
Jesus, is that Your answer to my prayer above? Keep Your commandments, and You will be plain to me. I’ll keep trying Lord, but I need a miracle there too. Love and serve, that is what You are saying. Help me Lord to love and serve, and everything else will be OK.
22Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”
23-24“Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.
Jesus, I have not and do not love others the way i should all the time. Help me. Love truly is the center. Loving You and loving others opens my eyes and give life. Not loving others blinds me to Your ways. Help me to love, really love, those You send my way today.
25-27“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
Holy Spirit, help me to live in You and in Your peace. I know You are with me. I know You are in me. Somehow, I don’t remember to tap into Your power and peace as I go through my day. I don’t need more of You, I just need to surrender to You. Help me to stop my worrying and fretting, and just listen to You and live in You.
28“You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.
Jesus, You were (are) so sure of the goal and the purpose of Your life. How can I be so messed up? I thought I knew where I was going and what I was here for, but now, all I know is that I don’t know. I would like to say I live to bring You glory, but then why do I sin so much? Lord, I do think I know what I should do most of the time. Your way is simple. But since I don’t do that, does that mean I don’t love You? I am sorry God. Father, am I the prodigal son always returning home? Help me to just stay home with You and live with You forever.
29-31“I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.
Father, it is true, when I don’t follow Your instructions, it is through lack of love. Help me to love You as I should. Just change me!
“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”
*John14*