A Prayer Prompted by John 21

Heavenly Father,

We look forward to enjoying eternity in your presence along with the risen Christ. Help us to be mindful that heaven is our real home.

For every way that we have denied Christ we ask your forgiveness. We also ask that, like Peter, we would be restored.  Make us capable of following through on our commitment to Christ regardless of the cost.

Help us also to encourage others in their faith even as Peter was required to feed and tend to Christ’s sheep. As we engage in that ministry of building others up, help us to avoid a competitive or comparing mindset and rather seek to faithfully serve you.

In Christ,
Amen

Many other things – John 21:25

The Gospel of John ends with these words,

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

John records several miracles or “signs” as he likes to call them in order to draw attention to the Messiahship of Jesus. There is much teaching, much discussion, and many activities that John wants us to know about. Now, however, this Gospel comes to and end.

Not only does the Gospel of John end here, but John, being the last of four Gospels, completes the inspired record of Christ’s life. Jesus did much more than all this. The world itself could not contain the books, let alone this limited collection that we have in the New Testament. He continues his work today, thereby adding more and more to the story as history marches on.

There is no need or opportunity for any of us to write our own Gospel. It would be silly if we did. There is much opportunity, though, for us to reflect upon what Christ has done. Consider the moment you first came to faith in Christ. List five or ten instances of answered prayer. Think about the fact that you know Christ and that he is the source of eternal life. As such, that life will go on forever, which means there will always be more to tell. There are those times, and for me they are many, when the main person we need to tell is ourselves.

If we pause to thank our Lord for giving us eternal life and the circumstances that led to it, we can more firmly establish our relationship with him. If we think back each day and thank him for answered prayer, we develop a posture of gratitude, which is sort of the opposite of greed. And if we consider that there are many more things to come, even more than we can imagine, we develop a hopeful outlook toward the future. All of these things together will help us as we face each new day.

A Prayer Prompted by John 20

Dear Lord Jesus,

We have not seen you like these early disciples, nor do we expect you to appear personally to us, and yet we have taken that step to believe. With Thomas we proclaim that you are our Lord and our God. 

We thank you for dying for our sins and rising from the grave.  You truly have defeated sin and death.

As the Father sent you and as you sent those earliest disciples, we accept the mission you have given us. We are sent to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to all who believe, who put their faith and trust in Christ and Christ alone. Please empower us to carry out that mission. 

Breathe your Holy Spirit onto us and fill us with his presence and power.

In your name we pray,

Amen

A Prayer Prompted by John 19

Father in heaven,

You have glorified the name of Jesus now and forever by sending him to die on the cross.

In Christ you fulfilled your perfect plan, which was the plan for our redemption. There is no greater love.

Help us to never look lightly on the cross of Jesus Christ.  And help us to live for you.

Teach us to do what is right, even when we face the most difficult moral dilemmas, choosing you over self-interest and even over human authority every time.

And help us to love one another through great self-sacrifice, even as Christ loves us.

In Christ,
Amen