“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Hanging on the cross, Jesus prayed for his persecutors. He prayed for us.
How do you know the heart of God for you? How do you know that God loves you and forgives you? What did the Son of God pray?
By the very act of Jesus’ praying that intercessory prayer for us, asking for our forgiveness, God the Father demonstrated his abundant love for us by graciously granting his Son’s request to withhold judgment.
Jesus still prays for you whenever you sin, whenever you fail. He intercedes where you have sinned intentionally. He prays to help you overcome the blinding effects where sin has prevented you from seeing the way forward through repentance. In his kindness and grace, he is praying.
Today, I want to ask if you have done that in your life. Have your put yourself at the foot of that cross and allowed that intercessory prayer of Jesus Christ to be a prayer that he prays on your behalf?
This devotion is modified from The Crucified Life by Charlie Holt.