The prayers of Jesus as our high priest are real. They are not prayers meant to change the mind of God and neither will ours. However, when I pray, I pray believing in the sovereignty of God and it is my privilege to spend time with Him. I do not believe for one minute that my prayers will in any way manipulate or change the mind of God, but rather, that they are meaningful expressions that seek for God to be glorified. In the same way Jesus prays – prayers that God uses as part of His plan to save those who are lost to Him – save them completely no matter where they are.

I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ, the righteous one. – 1 John 2:1 GNT

Now, I definitely am not saying that our prayers and those Jesus offers are anywhere close to the same, but why am I trying so hard to put a distinction between the two? Jesus is my mediator because part of the essence of His priestly work is on behalf of me and you. He may be glorified, but He is still knows what it is like to be us and is thereby able to act/pray on our behalf.

I am tasked to go and pray, read the Word – God will engage. I pray that I will remember to praise Him for all He has done. May I keep myself humble in that praise and in my prayers.

Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.”

On the way they were made clean.^[a] When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. – Luke 17:14-16 GNT

The power of Jesus can make anyone whole as He does when He answers prayer. I notice though that Jesus pointed out to the one who returned to give thanks that his faith is what made him well. Jesus pointed out something different in him than what the others experienced. Prayers of faith may mean they come with praises of faith.

And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.” – Luke 17:19-21 GNT

I pray the the Kingdom of God may be found in me as I spend time with Him.

Prayer often avails where everything else fails. How utterly all of Monica’s efforts and entreaties failed with her son, but her prayers prevailed with God, and the dissolute youth became St. Augustine, the mighty man of God. By prayer the bitterest enemies of the Gospel have become its most valiant defenders, the greatest scoundrels the truest sons of God, and the vilest women the purest saints. Oh, the power of prayer to reach down, down, down, where hope itself seems vain, and lift men and women up, up, up into fellowship with and likeness to God. It is simply wonderful! How little we appreciate this marvelous weapon! – R. A. Torrey