John 17 | What am I going to do about it?

Taking Jesus' prayer here in John 17 as an example can have its limitations. On the surface level, it can be easy to simply change the content of my prayers. Boom. Application done. To me that is insufficient. It does not address the deeper issue of pride. Absolutely praying for others can be and will be a great starting point. But alongside that, my application is two-fold.

The first application is another pursuit in prayer. In leading into my prayers for others, I will be seeking the Lord for His love for others to be in me. After all, it is the overflow of the love of God that had Jesus loving people the way He did. He is love. As His love is in me, that love pours out to others. That allows for the same level of security that Jesus had in His prayer as well. This is utterly essential.

The second, and more painful of the two, is a re-visit to the death of self. Sanctification is an ongoing process. With this we are well aware. Death of self is a daily thing. While there are many ways in which I do put the flesh to death daily, I can see how this has been a blind spot for me.

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
-Philippians 2:3-4

A good amount of my prayers were motivated through selfish ambition. The content of my prayers would be found solid and sound. But that it limited me praying for others is something note worthy. It isn't that I never prayed for others. It is that I prioritized prayer for myself. And for that, I repent.

What application are you implementing today?