I Pray For Them

In John chapter 17 Jesus offers the great intercessory prayer. The words of Jesus Christ’s prayer read, in part:

(9) I pray for them….

(15) I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil….

(19) And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

(20) Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

To me, this is Jesus Christ praying for me and for you. I find it very powerful and moving to read those words and imagine Him praying for me as I try my best to get through this life righteously.

In verse 19, Jesus says that He sanctifies Himself that we might be sanctified. I think of His atonement which required His complete sanctification in order to overcome all things. And because of that, He offers me a way to become sanctified, too. In this painting there is a cool light shining on one side of Him, and a warm light hitting the other side of Him. These different colored lights represent how everything good is because of Jesus Christ while everything evil was overcome by Him. They all converge on Him, and He bore the weight and responsibility of it all. And He did it for you and me. I created this painting to help people remember that Jesus Christ prayed for them, and still prays for them.

Reproduced from the artists original artwork of oil on board 12 x 16.