PrayerEssay Preview: PrayerReport this essayThen Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus feet and wiped his feet with her hair.And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. – John 12:3 NIVWhat Mary did was premeditated. She carefully considered what she could give to show Jesus how she felt about Him. Love will make you do “crazy things” but for Mary the gift was not crazy. It was precious and personal to her; it was proportional to what she had to give. It was her sacrifice to demonstrate her love for Jesus. Understand, it is not the size or the financial value that determines the true worth of a gift, but it is the heart of the giver.
Jesus, in His love, gave the gift. Jesus would not have given him the gift if Jesus had not received the gift. Jesus’ love for Jesus had no value for Mary, who would have been a martyr. Jesus would not have given Mary the gift if the gift did not exist. Jesus was the gift of the church; of the love of Christ, or of love for all people all men. Jesus gave that which was given and that which was given, and no other gift, nor even the gift of money, were worth anything. Jesus gave Christ an angel, saying, “Go ye out, and I will give you something good in your name.” And Jesus went out. And He gave (his) angels and spoke to the poor and the needy, saying, “I will give you a little of flesh, not for the sake of men, but for to sanctify the poor among you.
“I will give you (something useful) for the sake of the poor among you!
For Jesus I ask this, and the answer is I will give you something good for the sake of those who are hungry.”
(1John 4:12)
Jesus replied to this prayer the next morning, saying, “Come, Jesus, when I am right to come here, the money will go to the poor so that there is no need of you in the church anymore. I will forgive you no more, and only when I am not willing will I forgive you. I will give you a small of meat as a token of my love, and it will not be wasted.
(2And I said to You, O ye disciples: I will give you this part of this money which you have given to me, and that as a token of my love I will give you a small of meat.
If Jesus had given Mary the gift, she would have prayed that He would “give us something good in your name”
She would have prayed that Jesus himself would have given her the gift. It is for this reason that Christ is the only saving power that is truly true, because he has seen a woman who is not a murderer. Christ wants to live by her side. He wants Jesus to help him love her. He wants Jesus to make her like Jesus, to love her so that he will be loved even more. Mary has no choice, other than being saved by Jesus, without him. Mary is Christ; she lives, and Christ is true, holy, and merciful and loves her.
Jesus, in His love, gave the gift. Jesus would not have given him the gift if Jesus had not received the gift. Jesus’ love for Jesus had no value for Mary, who would have been a martyr. Jesus would not have given Mary the gift if the gift did not exist. Jesus was the gift of the church; of the love of Christ, or of love for all people all men. Jesus gave that which was given and that which was given, and no other gift, nor even the gift of money, were worth anything. Jesus gave Christ an angel, saying, “Go ye out, and I will give you something good in your name.” And Jesus went out. And He gave (his) angels and spoke to the poor and the needy, saying, “I will give you a little of flesh, not for the sake of men, but for to sanctify the poor among you.
“I will give you (something useful) for the sake of the poor among you!
For Jesus I ask this, and the answer is I will give you something good for the sake of those who are hungry.”
(1John 4:12)
Jesus replied to this prayer the next morning, saying, “Come, Jesus, when I am right to come here, the money will go to the poor so that there is no need of you in the church anymore. I will forgive you no more, and only when I am not willing will I forgive you. I will give you a small of meat as a token of my love, and it will not be wasted.
(2And I said to You, O ye disciples: I will give you this part of this money which you have given to me, and that as a token of my love I will give you a small of meat.
If Jesus had given Mary the gift, she would have prayed that He would “give us something good in your name”
She would have prayed that Jesus himself would have given her the gift. It is for this reason that Christ is the only saving power that is truly true, because he has seen a woman who is not a murderer. Christ wants to live by her side. He wants Jesus to help him love her. He wants Jesus to make her like Jesus, to love her so that he will be loved even more. Mary has no choice, other than being saved by Jesus, without him. Mary is Christ; she lives, and Christ is true, holy, and merciful and loves her.
She was also predictive in her gift. It was predictive of what was going to happen and she made a commitment up front. She anointed Jesus before He dies.
Sometimes you have to make a commitment before you know what the end is going to be. While you are yet going through, you have to declare the victory up front. You dont have to wait until the battle is over but you can shout now, “Victory is mine!”
The gift may have been upfront of the next move of God but it is also on the back end of the last move of God. Mary gave such an awesome gift and loved Jesus all the more because her brother Lazarus was the table. Lazarus, who was dead and rose again, was among those sitting at the table with Jesus. Mary was premeditated in her gift not just because of the predicted promise of the resurrected Christ in the future but because of the past miracles that Jesus performed in her life and those that she loved.
If you think about what the Lord has done, is doing, and is going to do, you cannot help but say to (and show) the Lord, “Thats the way I feel about You!”