AS ONE

 

I have always found the Intercessory Prayer touching and have reflected on it many times in my hope of understanding Jesus’s plea that those of us who believe on Him might be one with Him and the Father, as they are one (John 17:20,21).

As I have thought about it over the years, I concluded that we can be one with God the Father and the Son in our common purpose which is eternal life, which would involve our submission to God’s will. That’s unity and being one with God.  

However, I am of the opinion that there is a deeper meaning to being ‘as one’ in this prayer. It is not just being ‘as one’ but being one as ‘the Father is IN Christ and Christ IN Him’ so that we might also be IN them (v 21).

This deeper meaning would suggest that God the Father is IN us because He has access to the secret chambers of our hearts. Often this fact is brought to our attention as a warning to keep us on the straight and narrow by encouraging us to pursue the path of righteousness in our thoughts, desires and actions (Mosiah 4:30; Ezekiel 11:5; Genesis 6:5; 2 Nephi 9:20; Helaman 9:41; D&C 6:16; Alma 12:14; Jacob 1:4-6; Proverbs 6:16-19).

When we succeed in narrowing our distance from Him, and the reality of Him is a certainty in our lives, we are more inclined to be watchful of what we harbour in our hearts because we don’t want to live in shame. There is nothing He doesn’t know about us, including our needs, because of His power and because He is the Father of our spirits (Matthew 6:8).

The deeper meaning of being IN the Saviour is of course His experience with the Atonement where He got to know us intimately. The other side of the coin is our responsibility to have Him in US. This involves allowing the Holy Ghost access to burn the Saviour’s teachings and His love for us into the tablets of our hearts.

The advantage of having the Godhead in us is their knowledge of the intents of our hearts. This means when we are not performing to our best ability, their understanding of our situation and suffering of the moment means that they know it is not because of rebellion but because of lack of capacity. Sometimes our actions do not equate our intentions because we momentarily lack power due to our mortal weakness. This paves the way to mercy and grace.

The purpose of the Saviour’s mission was and still is to unite us with the Father…..to help us know Him through Him, that we might be IN Him and He IN us….He is the way, He is the intercessor……He is our all.

He hears me when in the solitude

Of my darkest nights on Him I call.

 

He hears me when in the silence, my heart

Tries to hide my fears that I might fall.

 

He hears me when in the crowds, my mind

Wanders and doubts begin their insidious call.

 

He hears me whether I cry to Him or not

Because He knows my very soul,

He knows it all. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: He Hears Me by Greg Collins)