THE DESIRE OF JESUS’ HEART

It’s useful to ponder what Jesus really wants. Jesus is the Son of God, present at creation and sitting forever at the right hand of the Father. It’s hard to imagine Him longing for much of any- thing. What do we give the God who has everything? Only what He wants…and what He wants is our wholehearted love. Jesus Himself expressed what He wants: “Father, that they would love Me with the love wherein You love me” (John 17:26).

God wants voluntary lovers. Jesus is not looking to abduct a Bride from a foreign tribe and haul her off against her will. He is intent on winning her wholly to Himself with her full agree- ment. In this passage, Jesus was in essence saying to the Father, “You said there would be a people who would love Me as You

love Me, Father.” Jesus was asking the Father to supernaturally impart the Father’s love for the Son to us, creating voluntary lov- ers who are so overcome with love that it can only be compared to the way the Father loves the Son. This prayer will be an- swered more and more fully as the First Commandment prevails in the lives of God’s people worldwide. The Father’s holy zeal and love for Jesus will fill the hearts of God’s people. Imagine the effect of affection for and a fascination with Jesus that is the overflow of the love the Father has for His Son. That is what Jesus prayed for us to receive.

In John 17, Jesus prayed the High Priestly prayer that ended His ministry before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and finally to the cross. Everything Jesus prayed for is, in essence, a prophetic promise that cannot fail. He did not pray amiss; everything the Lord asked of the Father in this prayer will come to pass. I think it should be the prayer of prayers, the model prayer in our desire to grow in intercession. The Church will love Jesus as intensely as the Father loves Him. The passion- ate God will give us the power to be passionate. The love the Father has for His Son will be imparted to us, and we will not be satisfied until we passionately give ourselves back to Him. There is nothing more satisfying than being lovesick for God and satisfied in it.

The Father is committed to seeing a people awakened in their affections for Jesus; a people who see and feel what God sees and feels when He looks at His beloved Son. The Father is zealous about having a passionate Church that loves Jesus as He loves Jesus. He will not fail in this. A revival of the intimate knowledge of God is coming, and as a result, the Church will be filled with holy passion for the Son. Divinely inspired intimacy and passion are on the Holy Spirit’s agenda, because they are the prayers of Jesus.

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