November 6

Our Great Intercessor

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. — John 17:20

Thus in this wonderful intercessory prayer our Lord reached out beyond the little circle of imperilled disciples that stood around Him that night, and gathered in His arms all those who to the end should believe on Him. It embraced us, therefore, who in these days believe on Christ. He looked down along the ages and saw us and our dangers, and amid the deepening shadows of His cross prayed for us. How sweet to be prayed for by Christ!

Even that is not all, precious as it is; for we are told elsewhere that Jesus ever lives to make intercession for His people. We are not to think of Him as losing interest in this earth when He went away. This intercessory prayer, whose sentences we catch as we read this chapter, is but a momentary revealing to us of Christ’s continual pleading for us within the veil. We are to think of Him as in heaven watching us perpetually and praying for us in every time of danger. He sees each stealthy temptation as it approaches, and asks, “Father, keep thy imperilled child.”

It is a very precious comfort even to know that a dear human friend is praying for us. Many a time in my youth was I kept from doing wrong things by the thought that in my quiet home far away my father and my mother, every morning and every evening, stretched out holy hands in earnest, loving prayer that God would keep their boy. I could not do the wrong thing with this vision in my mind. Still more powerful in its restraining influence upon us should be the assurance that day and night Jesus in heaven is thinking of us, watching us from His holy height in glory, and at every appearance of evil prays for us. How could we do the evil thing if we but stopped long enough to think of this Divine intercession for us?