“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your Name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
– John 12:27–28
Wow, what an amazing scene. Especially when you read verse 29 right after this. It says, “The crowd that stood there and heard this said that it had thundered,” so there was a voice booming from heaven, not that everyone understood, but it was God speaking in response to this prayer from Jesus who’s facing the cross at this point. And he says, “My soul is troubled.” And obviously, this is a unique moment in history, a unique moment in Jesus’ life. No one else has faced the cross, faced judgment for the sins of the world of all who would trust in him for salvation.
Jesus was about to pay the price for their sins. So, that’s troubled at a level no one else has ever experienced or will ever experience, but this is the beauty.
John 12:27–28 shows us Jesus’ response to tribulation.
So, Jesus has experienced the depth of trouble in this world in a way that you and I, when we experience trouble, he is completely familiar with whatever we experience when it comes to trouble, because he’s experienced infinitely more than we have.
And so, I want to ask you today, is there any sense in which your soul is troubled in which you are hurting or you’re facing something that could cause you fear or worry or anxiety? Is there any unrest in you, any trepidation in you, confusion in you? There’s so many different ways this can play out, but I want to encourage you to hear Jesus’ prayer in verse 28, as he’s looking at the cross in the middle of a troubled soul, he prays four words.
John 12:27–28 challenges us to look to God when we face trials.
“Father, glorify your Name… Whatever lies ahead, including the cross, this is my prayer. Father, glorify your Name.” And I want to encourage you in any way you’re facing trouble, trial, tribulation, as we prayed about in John 11, sadness, grief, anything you’re facing that’s hard in this fallen world, make this your prayer. Father, glorify your Name, and let’s think about all this means as we pray this.
Oh God, first and foremost, we praise you for sending your Son to die on the cross for our sin. Jesus, we praise you for going to the cross, for the glory of the Father and the salvation of our souls, in the salvation of our souls. Yes, we glorify you, oh God, for saving us from our sins. Jesus, we praise you for enduring the judgment we deserve. We praise you for not backing away from this hour, but stepping into that hour so that we might be saved.
This verse reminds us God will be faithful when we face trails.
All glory be to your Name. And so we pray that you would help us when we, in a very different way, in a lesser way, face trouble, trials, tribulation, even for those of us who are facing those sorts of things right now, God, we pray the same thing Jesus prayed. Father, glorify your Name. We pray that you would show your glory on our behalf as we walk through trouble, trial, tribulation, challenges, show yourself as our Provider. We trust you will provide for us. Show yourself as our Peace. Lord, show yourself as our Comfort. Show yourself as our Strength. Glorify your Name through all the ways you provide for us. Glorify your Name before others. God, use troubles, trials, tribulations we’re walking through, to point others to your sufficiency, to your peace, to your hope, to your joy to who you are. Father, glorify your Name.
Help us to walk through trouble, trial, whatever in your Sovereign Hand, you lead us through. We pray. Do it for the glory of your Name. Lead us for the glory of your Name. God, may John 12:28 be the cry always on our hearts. Father, glorify your Name no matter what we walk through in this world. God, we pray this just like Jesus taught us to pray.
Prayer for the Yemeni Arab People
Hallowed be your Name, through our lives, through our families, through our churches, in all the nations, hallowed be your Name.
Oh God, among the Yemeni Arabs of Yemen. 8 million of them know hardly any followers of Jesus, the few followers of Jesus being persecuted among them. God, we pray. Glorify your Name in Yemen. We pray for this, oh God. Glorify your Name, help our brothers and sisters there, the few of them who are there. God help them to walk through trouble, trial, tribulation and persecution… For your glory and help us to know how best to help them. And use our lives, our intercession, even now, our resources to glorify your Name in Yemen. Oh God, we pray all of this according to your words, your example. Lord Jesus, we pray this in your Name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
