What would you pray for if you knew you were going to be executed tomorrow morning? A legion of angels? The rapture? A good lawyer? I think most of us would be fervently pleading for a miraculous change of circumstance, which is what makes Jesus’ prayer that evening so amazing. He didn’t ask to be rescued at all. He quickly acknowledged that the time had come for Him to die, but then began to pray that God would give Him the deepest desire in His heart. This is what He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You.” That’s it! That’s the first thing He asked for. He wanted to give glory to God.

To “glorify” someone, as Jesus is using that word here, means to raise that person to a higher level of esteem in the mind of others. It’s doing something to expand people’s love and admiration toward him or her. But how do you glorify someone who is already completely glorious? How do you give a meaningful gift to a God who lacks nothing? What would anyone give Him that He would desire? Thankfully, there is something, not that He lacks, but that He deeply desires. And that’s what Jesus asked for that evening rather than His own safety. He prayed for the privilege of giving His Father that gift. That was His deepest desire. What’s yours? What’s mine? The answer to that question is what we’re asking the Lord to reveal to us today through His Word.