Who’s Praying for Whom?

I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them.

These words from the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John speak to us in the time between Jesus’ ascension to the Father and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Grappling with the reality that Jesus will no longer walk among them, and anticipating the realization of a promise of the “Advocate,” those who witnessed the Ascension must have thought, “Well, now what?”

The “now what?” is answered so poignantly in the beautiful words of Jesus to the Father: “I pray for them.” Wait! Jesus prays for me? I thought I was supposed to pray to Jesus? Don’t be confused; instead, feel the deep and abiding love of Jesus who knows that we are a gift to him (“Father…you gave them to me”). To know that we are loved by anyone is life-giving. To know that someone is praying for us brings healing and consolation. To know that Jesus loves us, views us as gift, and prays for us is life-changing!

I also believe that this understanding of Jesus’ loving us and praying for us challenges our own praying. Thomas Merton said this about prayer: “It’s a risky thing to pray, and the danger is that our very prayers get between God and us. The great thing in prayer is not to pray, but to go directly to God. If saying your prayers is an obstacle to prayer, cut it out.” Merton is not criticizing the prayers of our Catholic faith life; rather, he prompts us to ask: How much time do I spend just sitting — not speaking – – and allowing God to just love me and say His prayers for me? Yes, we need our spoken prayers to get us talking to God, to perhaps even “break the ice,” but I think it’s healthy and wise to stop our praying for a moment and just imagine Jesus praying for us. I wonder what Jesus’ prayers are like. Does He desire something for me? Does He ask the Father for something for me? Does He just say how much he loves me? I believe it’s “yes” when it comes to my musings about Jesus praying for me.

We need to know we are loved. We desire to have someone praying for us. If we live in the moment of understanding that Jesus us loves us and prays for us, then we acknowledge that He kept His promise and His Spirit dwells in us. From there we can do anything – for God and for one another. I love you, and I pray for you every day.