Today's Devotion: 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jn 17:20-21)

In John's Gospel, the writer shows Jesus in prayer to the Father, before the betrayal in the garden by Judas. Here, Jesus prays not only for His disciples, but He also prays for all believers. Yes, He is praying for you and for me.

Today's Comments: The Teacher's Commentary suggests that John's Gospel was written for the Church and, when compared to the other gospels, gives us the deepest spiritual and theological teachings of our Lord. While some believe that this prayer of Jesus suggests a desire for denominational unity, it can also suggest that it is Jesus' desire that each individual Christian be united with Him. Such unity, of course, requires responsive obedience. As the accompanying Bible Knowledge Commentary suggests, Jesus prays that we are to be bonded in a "unity of love, a unity of obedience to God and His Word, and a united commitment to his will." Just as God the Father did His works through the Son, while the Son always pleased the Father, our goal is to please God so that we may do His works in the Church. Once we are able to do that, the question of denominationalism, I think, will lose all importance, and what seem to be our real denominational differences will disappear and become denominational preferences, only.