John 17: 9, 11, 20 – 21 “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours…. 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…. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me.”

You are a child of privilege. Jesus the Son of God has prayed for you to his Father to bring you into the closest relationship possible with himself! Let this seep into your spirit. It will change how you think about Jesus and God your Father from here on. It will change the way you perceive yourself.

When Joseph contemplated ending his engagement to Mary, an angel appeared and told him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1: 20-21).

This Jesus has saved you at great price. This Jesus has prayed for you to be protected. This Jesus promised that his Father would send the Holy Spirit to be with those who believe in his name. (John 14:15) This Holy Spirit lives within you and the same Jesus promised his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

In John 17, Jesus was very deliberate when he prayed for himself, then for his disciples and then for all believers through time. He has grafted you into his family, you bear his name and he has given you power and purpose. In Him you live and move and have your being. You are his offspring. (See Acts 17:28).