Jesus's Heart for your Motherhood
The Prayer of Jesus in John 17
In this devotional series through John 17, we’re exploring Jesus’s prayer for his people before he goes to the cross. As John 17:13 states, Jesus delivered this prayer that we, his people, might have joy, a joy that comes from understanding more deeply who he is and how his power is at work within us. As our eyes are opened to Jesus’s work within us, our response is simply to surrender to his work and to take joy for all he is doing in our lives.
However, in order to surrender to Jesus and his work, we first have to trust him. The beginning section of the John 17 prayer establishes why we can trust Jesus. Why can we trust that Jesus is doing good work within us, specifically in this season of motherhood?
Let’s take a look at what the first section of Jesus’s prayer teaches us in this regard:
John 17:1-5
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
At the start of his prayer, we see what is most central to Jesus’s heart. Jesus’s heart is for God’s will - his perfect desire and plan - to be done.
At the beginning of his prayer, Jesus requests to be glorified in God’s presence, so that he might glorify God. In other words, Jesus is asking to be restored to his place of glory in heaven. But Jesus’s ascension and glorification are none other than one with the cross. In order to return to the Father and the glory of heaven, Jesus must first accomplish his saving work on earth. Jesus’s request is simply a readiness to face the God-ordained plan of his death and resurrection.
Jesus grounds his request in God’s will alone. We see this several times throughout these five short verses. “The hour has come,” Jesus says in verse 1, acknowledging that he is operating according to God’s plan and timing. “Since you have given him authority to give eternal life,” Jesus says in verse 2, granting that his role has been given to him according to God’s will. “Having accomplished the work that you gave me to do,” Jesus says in verse 4, again acknowledging his operation according to God’s will and timing.
Nothing of Jesus’s motives are selfish or sinful. His heart perfectly beats for the Father’s will to be done. And what is God’s will? As Jesus prays in verses 2-3, “To give eternal life…And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Jesus’s heart is for our life - for us to experience life through him. As we continue to explore Jesus’s prayer for us, we can trust that all his requests come from this place of desire.
This trust in Jesus is something that can be hard to hold onto, especially in some of the challenges we face in motherhood. Perhaps you find yourself heavy with loneliness, and you wonder why God hasn’t brought more community to you in this season. Maybe you’re unable to shake the sense of anxiety and overwhelm you feel in your daily responsibilities, and you doubt whether God can or will bring you relief. Or maybe your days simply feel mundane, and you question if God is really concerned with you and your story right now.
In whatever you are carrying, this you can believe: Jesus is not apathetic toward you. His desire is for your life, and all your circumstances are held within his perfect will. Jesus is actively working to use all that you are facing to bring you into a deeper knowledge of and relationship with him. As Romans 8:28 declares, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Today, bring whatever you are struggling with to Jesus, remembering that you can trust your loving Savior who prayed for you first, and who always acts according to his Father’s perfect will.
Be a mom in the Word of God every day!
Below you will find daily Scripture readings that expand upon the teaching of this week’s devotional. This week’s passages center on the theme:
Trust that God and his work in your life is motivated by love.
Take some time to sit with each day’s designated passage. Read the verses a few times through, meditating on or praying about the phrases that stick out to you.
Day 1: Romans 8:26-28
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Day 2: Isaiah 62:3-4
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
Day 3: Luke 12:29-32
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Day 4: Jeremiah 29:11-13:
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Day 5: Ephesians 1:3-6
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
