Protection

John 17:11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.


We have a number of accounts in the gospels which describe Jesus spending time alone in prayer. We have descriptions of jesus declaring healing or casting out demons or telling the dead to rise, but this account of Jesus prayer on this last night with his disciples is a one of a kind account of his prayer. Through much of this last night with his friends, he is clearly trying to protect them from what could happen when he is gone. He already saw that he was removed from the world, Judas was gone, the results were clear, and his focus was on the future of the New Covenant community that he was leaving behind.

One thing we find as we follow those early believers is that they were left in the world and if the protection he spoke about was protection of their bodies, it didn't work. The early church believers were beaten, imprisoned and martyred, but they were protected from spiritual death. The evil one could not win no matter what the world through at them.

I know that protection. God promises to guard our hearts and minds and give us internal security even in the worst  of circumstances. Good enough for me, in fact it's the best.