This is my thesis:
Jesus is praying “for me!”
Who am I … that “my Lord,” should pray for “me?”
I am a no one.
I am nothing.
I am a sinner.
I am confused.
I am a man with unclean lips.
I do wrong.
My thoughts are sinful.
My “own words” are distasteful…even to me.
Sometimes I commit the same sin “over and over again.” I do not think.
I try, but still I fail.
I pray, but never enough.
I love, but always insufficiently.
Just knowing that “he” is praying for “me” means a lot…
It means like “everything.” It is everything.
The Son of the Living God, praying for “me…”
I cannot believe it.
It sounds so unreal.
It sounds “too good to be true.”
How is this possible?
I am unworthy.
I am not holy.
I am not fit.
I am not righteous.
How is it, that MY LORD would pray for me, much less remember “me?”
Again, I am no one.
I do not want to doubt it… I long for it to be true.
I do want to believe it.
I long to believe it with all my heart, mind and soul…
It makes me feel good inside. I feel whole. I am complete.
I am honored.
I am beyond thrilled. I am happy. You make me content, Lord. You, fill me up.
Lord knows, I need all the prayers I can get. I will take them all. From any source. From every source. But from you, Lord?
Certainly “YOUR prayers” carry more weight!
“YOUR prayers” mean something…
I am beyond honored. I am humbled. And “he” is praying for the likes of me…
It is true.
I am one of those who “believe” through the word “handed on,” “passed down” over the years, person to person in “an unbroken chain.”
I am a recipient.
I have been blessed. It is a gift.
From little on, the word was spoken to me.
Baptized at three weeks of age…communed, confirmed…
I grew up in the church.
It was my hiding place. My place of comfort. My home.
I was taught…and grew…I believed.
I studied. I worshiped. I dwelt. I confided! I praised. I thanked.
I helped. I aided. I guided. But praying “for me?”
OMG! It is too much to bear, too much to hear…too much good news for my ears…
I take my place in that “honorable line” and ask that “I may pass on THE WORD” in all its truth, to untold others…
…remembering that it comes from Jesus…it is sacred. It is holy. It is of God.
It comes from the Son of God. The One True God. The Creator God. The God who created heaven and earth. That “he” should care for “me!”
That “he” should “love me,” as I am, scars and bumps and bruises and brokenness…and all…
With the Psalmist of old I lift my voice to sing in those ancient words, “What is man that thou art mindful of him?”
My God, how good it is to be here. How good it is to be in your sanctuary. How good it is to “come home.” How good it is to dwell in your tabernacle.
How awesome it is to stand before you.
To take and eat. To drink. And to see that the Lord is Good…and his mercies endure forever…
You are my portion and my cup. You are my everything. You are all I need. All that I require. And you, O God, pray for me.
Thank you.
Amen!