Jesus spoke these
words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said . . . John 17:1a
Of all that Jesus did there was
only one thing His disciples asked Him to teach them about, His prayer life.
“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1ff.). The disciples didn’t ask Jesus how to
teach or clue them in on the finer aspects of hermeneutics. They didn’t ask
Jesus to teach them how they could do miracles or walk on water. They didn’t
ask Jesus how to defend the faith. They didn’t ask Him how to conquer the
world. No, they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. There was something
extraordinary and attention getting about Jesus’ prayer life. Of all that Jesus
did, and all they could have asked Him to teach them, they chose to ask Him to
teach them to pray. Wouldn’t you want to pray like Jesus?
We are about to look into the
prayer closet of Jesus. We are about to examine the holy ground of John 17. We
need to continue to keep in mind as we enter this chapter that the context is
Jesus’ definitive teaching on the Holy Spirit (John 14-17). We need the Holy
Spirit to understand this chapter and to apply it to our lives. Do you have the
Holy Spirit within you? Have you been born again?
When Jesus responded to His
disciples request to teach them how to pray, His teaching culminated with
saying, “If you then being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13). If you aren’t sure you are born
again or have the Holy Spirit, our Helper, indwelling you right now, then by
all means pause right now and prayerfully ask God the Father in Jesus’ name to
forgive your sins and give you spiritual life by indwelling you with the Holy
Spirit. You aren’t His unless the Holy Spirit is indwelling you (cf. Romans 8:9-10;
1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Pause now and settle the issue. Simply ask His
forgiveness for your sins based on your trust in Jesus redemptive work on the
cross. The debt of sin is death. Bu the free gift of forgiveness and salvation
from sin is through faith in Jesus (cf. Romans 6:23). Salvation from sin is
right here for you now. God offers you spiritual life; eternal life right now.
All you have to do is receive this wonderful gift; now. Then you’ll be able and
suited for the journey of eternal life with Jesus.
Maybe you do know the Lord and
have been born again but feel dry and distant from God. If you’re dry and
running on empty ask the Father in Jesus’ name to refresh you in the Spirit. Ask
His for personal revival. Ask Him to point out anything that is hindering your
walk with Him and then repent where needed. Then move on in a Christlike prayer
life. Lean on your Helper the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you and empower
you to enjoy a dynamic prayer life; one like Jesus has. We need the Holy Spirit
to help us pray. Wouldn’t you want the Holy Spirit to teach you and help you to
pray? Pause now and ask Him in prayer.
In the book of Romans, chapter 8
is the pinnacle of that book and perhaps the entire Bible. At the heart of that
great chapter of the Bible Paul teaches us that it is the Holy Spirit who will
help us in our prayer lives. He says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our
weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercessions for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”
(Romans 8:26-27). We need to the Holy Spirit to help us to pray.
The best way to learn something
is to live it out. Jesus taught His
disciples powerfully because He lived out His messages with them. They saw His teachings come to life each day.
Throughout the gospels Jesus called people to “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; 16:24; 19:21, 28; Mark
1:17; 2:14; 8:34; 10:21; Luke 5:27; 9:23, 59; 18:22; John 1:43; 8:12; 10:27;
12:26; 21:19, 22). It is one thing to tell
someone how to do something. It is another thing to show them how it’s done. That is what Jesus does here in John 17.
Here we see Jesus praying personally. Jesus said He was giving the disciples an
example to follow when He washed their feet (John 13:15). Can we think He is
doing anything less as He prays in the presence of His men? John the apostle
said we should walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6). Peter said we are to follow
in Jesus’ steps (1 Peter 2:21). Both John and Peter were there when Jesus
prayed His prayer in John 17. This prayer is recorded in Holy inspired
Scripture for us to see and imitate. Jesus’ John 17 prayer is an example of how
to follow our Savior Jesus in our own personal prayer lives.
Haven’t you ever wondered how
Jesus prayed? Haven’t you ever wondered how Jesus approached His Father in
prayer? What did Jesus say and do behind the closed doors of His prayer closet?
Let’s pull back the veil of His holy room. John 17 is an open door into the
prayer life of Jesus. Here we will see Jesus, God in the flesh; the Word made
flesh, the Creator of the universe, our Savior and Lord, pray. It is with this
great expectation that we approach this incredible chapter.
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His
eyes to heaven,” (John 17:1a). Jesus
prays with His focus on the Father. Don’t miss this. The first thing John is
inspired to reveal is his personal recollection of how Jesus prayed. Jesus has spoken to His disciples about the Father throughout John’s
gospel. Now He turns to talk in prayer to
the Father.
We often focus
on our position in prayer; kneeling; standing; head bowed; hands clasped. But
Jesus “lifted up His eyes to heaven” when He prayed. This is significant but
not because we see a physical position of Jesus. It’s important because when
Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven we see He
is focused on His Father in heaven. His looking to heaven communicates “I’m
looking to You. I’m focused on You Father.” That is more a position of the
heart than a position of our body. Remember that, our prayers should begin with
our focus needing to be on the Lord. When we pray we should direct our prayers
to the Father in the name of Jesus as directed by the Holy Spirit.
The account
continues, “and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son
also may glorify You,” (John 17:1b). Jesus prays with an objective to glorify
God. Yes, Jesus prays and asks the Father to glorify Him. To be glorified in this sense means to fulfill His heaven sent purpose of
paying the death penalty for the sins of the world; paying the price of redemption
for sin on the cross. The Father is
glorified as the Son Jesus fulfills His mission of redemption. God is
always glorified when we fulfill our heaven sent missions.
Jesus
transcendent objective is to bring glory to the Father. In what sense is the
Father glorified here? It is the Father who is giving His Son. It is the Son
Jesus who is giving Himself. And it is the Holy Spirit who is enfolding and
unfolding this grand glorious God ordained plan of redemption for humankind. Similarly
we belong to the Father. We are not our own. We have been bought with the blood
of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God
gives us to be spent in this world for the lost. Our sacrifice is His
sacrifice. We are not the Son of God; only
sons and daughters of God. But it costs the Lord to give us in ministry. He
loves us. It hurts Him when we suffer or go through trials in this life. God is
not emotionless or without affect. God is “merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). “God
is love” (1 John 4:8). Do you think God doesn’t grieve when He sees one of His
children tortured, bludgeoned, beheaded? Do you think the One who says, “weep
with those who weep” does not weep when we weep? (Romans 12:15). Ever think of
that, really ponder and meditate on that? As we cooperate with His mission abiding
in God’s love and living in His presence by prayer the Triune Godhead is
revealed in and permeates our purposes. We become an “epistle”; the words and
life stories in a living love letter from God to this lost world. God is
glorified in us in this way; as we learn Him in prayer and live in His love. This
glorifies God. At the end of your life will you be able to look back and see a
life lived for the glory of God?
This puts a pure
perspective on prayer. Someone has said, “Prayer is not the way to get God to do our will in heaven. Prayer is the
way to get man to do God’s will on earth.” [1] That’s how Jesus prayed; to fulfill God’s will
on earth. That’s how we should pray; to get people (including ourselves), to do
God’s will on earth. If we do that, we will glorify God.
Jesus continues, “as You have given Him authority over all flesh,
that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him” (John
17:2). Jesus prays in the authority given Him by
the Father. Just as Jesus operated in the authority of the Father we
operate in the authority Jesus gives us. Jesus emptied Himself when He came to
earth so that He would give us an example of how men might live (e.g.
Philippians 2:1-11). And now Jesus has commanded us to go and complete the “greater works than these” to fulfill the heavenly
mission (John 14:12-13). Jesus has commanded us to go into all the world in His name in His authority and make
disciples (Matthew 28:18-20); disciples known by His love (John 13:34-35). He has
sent the Holy Spirit to empower us to do that (e.g. Acts 1 and 2). When we pray
we pray in the authority of Jesus; we pray in His name.
“And this is
eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent.” (John 17:3). Jesus
prays for the eternal life of others. That eternal life is described by
Jesus as a personal relationship with God. “That they
may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Eternal life is not just forgiveness for sins so that a person can get into
heaven. That is a necessary part of it. But there is a greater broader deeper
definition of eternal life and that is knowing
God and Jesus.
The word “Know” (Greek ginosko)
means to have an awareness of, to feel,
to perceive, to understand, to be sure, to speak to, to have knowledge of
and/or be conscious of. This is a word that implies an experience and
relationship with someone. You are aware they are present, you feel for them,
you perceive their feelings, you understand what they are about, you interact
and speak with them, you are conscious them. Do you know God and Christ? That
is what eternal life is. Do you know what gives Jesus pleasure, what brings Him
joy, what grieves His heart? Do you know what is important to Him? Do you know
the things He wants to be a part of? Do you know the things he doesn’t want to
be a part of? Do you know how He would do things? Do you know how He loves? That
is what our objective should be for ourselves and for others in our prayers.
“I have
glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to
do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which
I had with You before the world was” (John 17:4-5). These verses
reveal the perspective Jesus had in prayer. Jesus
prays from a position of victory. Jesus had yet to go to the cross but He
prayed as though he had already gone to the cross and completed His mission.
That is an important perspective to adopt for our prayers. We don’t fight for victory; we fight from a position of victory. The end
result is secure in the Lord. Jesus had a rock solid confidence and trust in
His Father and the Spirit that He would accomplish that for which He was called
to do. That should be our perspective in prayer too. God will do in and through
us what He has purposed to do.
This is what the
apostle Paul meant when he was inspired to write that Christians are “more than
conquerors” (Romans 8:37-39). How is that so? By faith in God; Jesus trusted in
the Father and the Spirit to empower Him to complete the most difficult part of
His mission; the cross. We too must trust the Lord; that the Holy Spirit will
empower us to complete the life tasks He sets before us and calls us to do.
There is an
aspect of Jesus’ prayer which we cannot apply to ourselves. We are not God
incarnate. We are not the Second Person of the Trinity. So we do not pray for
the Father to glorify us like we were glorified with Him before. When we pray
we pray only for the Lord to be glorified. In everything we do we should do it
with the purpose of glorifying God (e.g. 1 Corinthian s10:31; Colossians 3:17,
23-24).
Jesus prayed from a point of completion of
His mission. Jesus prayed from a point where He finished the work He was assigned. A lot of times we start out
with a commitment to God but then don’t finish it. Jesus finished what He came
to do. We’d still be lost if He left the cross an unfinished loose end. He came
to go to the cross and to the cross He went. He came to rise from the dead and
from the dead He rose. Have you finished those things you’ve set out to do for
the Lord? Have you finished what God has called you to do? (cf. Ecclesiastes
5). When we finish our God given mission tasks it brings glory to God.
Have you
completely dealt with an area of sin in your life that the Lord has been
talking to you about? Or have you done only a haphazard incomplete job of
dealing with it; putting it to death? In the Old Testament King Saul was
instructed by the LORD to wipe out the Amalekites. He disobeyed and let some
live. It was an Amalekite that killed him in the end (1 Samuel 30). It was an
Amalekite that almost annihilated Israel through a plan of genocide (Esther
3:1). If you leave loose ends it will come back to bite you. Finish what God
directs you to do.
“I have manifested
Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours,
You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all
things which You have given Me are from You. (John 17:6-7). Jesus
says, “I have manifested Your name.” Jesus prays for those He has invested in
relationally. The word “manifested” (Greek phanero) means to shine forth. The idea is not, “so much declaration as it does illustration. . . . [not] “I have preached
about it verbally,” but rather, “I have lived it out observably.”[2] Jesus prays for those He has lived and spent
time with. We can pray with greater wisdom and knowledge when we pray for those
we have interacted with. Relationship preceded effective praying. Praying
edifies and enhances relationship. Relationship and prayer are a symbiotic
relationship; both feed off each other.
Jesus prayed for others with an awareness
that they belonged to God. The disciples belonged to the Father and to
Jesus. No one belongs to us. When we pray we need to understand that we are
praying for people that belong to God and are under His sovereign watch. We
never pray for people as though they were our property. We intercede on behalf
of others from the perspective that they belong to God.
“For I have given to
them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and
have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You
sent Me. (John 17:8). Jesus prayed for others to receive the right
words at the right time. Jesus said the disciples had received His words
and that they had believed that the Father sent Him. Jesus got His words from
the Father; “which You have given Me.” This is
something significant to recognize.
The word “words” is translated from the Greek term rhema. Rhema means a word spoken and implies an appropriate
word. Rhema is a word from the Lord;
the right word from the Lord at the right time. Rhema is a word directed by the
Spirit to address a particular situation with a person. Jesus spoke a rhema word to the woman at the well when
He informed her she had not one husband but five and the one she was living
with was not her husband (John 4). Jesus spoke a rhema word to the Pharisee Nicodemus when Jesus told him “You must be born again” (John 3). Jesus spoke a rhema word to the woman caught in
adultery when He said to her, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go and sin no more” (John 8).
The only way we
can speak a rhema word is by the
enabling and leading of the Holy Spirit who helps us to do so. Jesus said, “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what
you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should
speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in
you” (Matthew 10:19-20). That is the idea of a rhema word.
When
“Christians” shout offensively at people caught up in sin they aren’t doing
God’s work or fulfilling God’s will. They are merely venting their own petty
angers. Whatever we speak and especially when we speak the truth of God’s word,
we are to speak it in love. There is no other way to speak for God than to
speak what He gives us in His love to others (cf. Ephesians 4:15).
When we pray we
should pray that the Spirit helps us and others to receive God’s scriptural
word. But we should also pray that we and others receive a rhema word or a word from the Spirit that is right for the moment
and circumstance; the right words at the
right time to people. And we should pray that the words received would lead
people to a belief in Jesus.
“I pray
for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for
they are Yours. (John 17:9). Jesus focused His prayers on His disciples. When
Jesus says He doesn’t pray for the world it doesn’t mean He never prays for the
world. He came to save the world (e.g. John 3:16). This prayer contains prayers
for people in the world (John 17:23). So what does Jesus mean?
The term “world” (Greek kosmou)
can refer to planet earth, or humanity, or a world system. When Jesus says He doesn’t pray for the “world”
here He is saying He doesn’t pray for a world system. Jesus didn’t pray to
change a system of government in the world. Instead He prayed for those who
have answered God’s call to exit world systems and live the life of a disciple.
We may live in such systems of government, but we are not of them; we live by
God’s higher standard; by God’s word. Our citizenship is first and foremost in
heaven (cf. Philippians 3:20).
Jesus priority is to bolster with prayer those who have followed Him and are His
disciples. We should not neglect praying for those who have accepted the Lord
as though everything that needs to be prayed for them has been accomplished.
Those who follow Jesus still face temptations and the attacks of the enemy. We
need to pray for one another in the body of Christ. Anyone who knows Jesus
knows this to be true.
“And all
Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have
given Me, that they may be one as We are.”
(John 17:10). Jesus prays for the
unity of believers. Jesus prays to the Father on behalf of His disciples
who will be left in the world behind Him. He prays to the Father to “keep through Your name those whom You have given Me.”
Then Jesus prays to the Father that His disciples would “be one as We are.” One of the greatest concerns of
Jesus for believers in the world is unity.
This is the first thing Jesus prays for on behalf of His disciples. The history
of schism and conflict within the church throughout history shows us why Jesus
included this petition in His prayer. The church historically is too often more
carnal than spiritual. Historically the church is more Corinthian than
crucified with Christ (cf. Galatians 2:20). Jesus taught, “A house divided against itself will fall” (Luke
11:17). The enemies’ most effective tactic is to divide and conquer. Are you
praying for the unity of believers? You should be. The unity of believers should
be one of our top prayer priorities.
“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.
Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of
perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world,
that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:12-13). Jesus prayed that His joy would be fulfilled
in His disciples. Joy is the assurance and stabilizing comfort that no
matter what trial, source of confusion or calamity one is experiencing, God is still
in control. God has a plan and He will complete that plan. That is good to know
when all hell is breaking loose around us. Pray for others that their joy would
be fulfilled in a close deep abiding saving relationship with Jesus by the Holy
Spirit.
Judas chose to become “a devil” (John 6:70).
It’s not likely Judas was ever saved. He walked in the group of Jesus
disciples, but he was never one of them. Just because you come to church or
hang out with Christians or disciples of Jesus doesn’t make you one. You may
spend time with Christians, but are you one? Do you “know” Jesus? That is what
eternal life is.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them
because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray
that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from
the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John
17:14-16). Jesus didn’t pray for His
disciples to be taken out of their difficulties, He prayed they would be
protected through them. Difficulties and trials are the instruments through
which a strong faith is built (e.g. 1 Peter 1:6-9). Therefore Jesus doesn’t
pray for His people to be removed or spared difficulties and trials, only that
they would be kept safe from the evil one who tries to use the circumstances of
life to destroy faith and life. Next time you are going through a difficulty
don’t forget to pray for God’s will to be done; for His purposes to be
fulfilled in and through whatever He has ordained to happen.
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent
Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I
sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John
17:17-19). Jesus prayed for His disciples
to be sanctified in the truth of the word of God. “Sanctify”
(Greek hagiadzo) means to make holy, purify, consecrate, sanctify, to
make distinguishable from the common, and /or to set apart for service.
Jesus’ ministry and this prayer are filled with references to the use of the
word of God in His disciple’s lives. Jesus prays to the Father for His
disciples to be helped to apply the Holy Bible to their lives. He prays for God’s
word to distinguish them from the world just like Jesus was distinguished from
the world. Jesus was sanctified. His disciples should be too. The best
definition of what it means to be sanctified is “that
you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Pray to God for
your own sanctification. Pray for others
to be sanctified in the word of God.
The term translated “word” (Greek logos) means simply statements, words, message, declaration, etc. But Jesus identifies
this word as “Your word” or God’s word; the
written word of God; the Bible. Jesus particularly referred to God’s word as “truth.” “Truth” (Greek aletheia) means free from error, dependable, integrity, and true. God’s word, the
Bible is free from error; it is inerrant. The Bible is our source of truth:
“Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. . .
. The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments
endures forever” (Psalm 119:142, 160). The truth of God’s word is the scalpel
with which the Spirit performs spiritual surgery on us. The truth-full word of
God is our manual for life. And that word will go with us into eternity. Jesus
said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words
will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).
Jesus died so that we might be
sanctified. Jesus died to make us individually holy – “just as He chose us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:4). We are righteous through faith in Him (2
Cor. 5:21). When we put our faith in Jesus as Savior our sins are forgiven and
Christ’s righteousness is put to our account. But because we are spiritual
birthed when we accept Jesus as Savior (e.g. John 3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus
3:5-7), we are to put off the “old man” of sinful ways and put on the “new man”
of Spirit led ways (e.g. Ephesians 4:17-24; Colossians 3:12-17). Once we are
saved from sin there is a new continuing Christlike walk in the Spirit that we
are called to live (e.g. 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:1-6). This is a new way of
life, a life set apart for God’s use, is the sanctified life.
Jesus died so that corporately we would be a glorious blemishless church
bride. No pock marks on this bride. “Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of
water by the word, that he might present her to Himself a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and
without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27). Jesus died to make us “holy, and blameless,
and above reproach” (Col. 1:22). The blood of Jesus scrubs us clean of sin
(Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19). If Jesus shed His precious blood to cleanse us
and free us from sin, then we ought to seek living the sanctified life that
fulfills His purposes in us.
Remember, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (John 16:13). God’s word is full of His truth
because God the Holy Spirit inspired it through holy men of old (cf. 2 Timothy
3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21). The Holy Spirit is the One who uses the truth-full
word and works this sanctification in us. That is why He is called “the Holy Spirit.” There is a “sanctification
of the Spirit” that we are to surrender to and seek to have worked in our lives
(1 Peter 1:2). “Sanctification by the Spirit” is something that is done through
“belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Living holy involves growing in the
fruit of the Spirit which is love (Galatians 5:22-24). The Holy Spirit pours
His love into us when He enters us at our spiritual birth (Romans 5:5). The
maturing of the Spirit’s love in us is the best definition of sanctification (1
Cor. 13:4-12).
Therefore, to be sanctified means
to be sided with the truth of God’s word in contrast to falsehood that opposes
God’s word. To be sanctified means to have a Biblical world view. It means to look at the world through the
lens of scripture. God’s word helps us make sense of this fallen world. God’s
word gives us direction and purpose in life. We have meaning and worth based on
God’s word. The word of God is the determining factor in what is sanctified and
what is not sanctified. You can’t discard God’s word and be acceptable to God.
“I do not pray for
these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;” (John 17:20).
Jesus prays for you and me and all those who
believe in Him through the historical ministry of His followers. Jesus
prays for you and me. He is praying for our sanctification and preservation. He
is praying for you and me right now – as you read this. “Therefore He is also
able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He
always lives to make intercessions for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Just think of it,
right now, Jesus is praying for you. That should be a great comforting thought.
Have you come to Jesus? Have you repented of your sins and asked the Father’s
forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ? Have you been born again? Have you
received spiritual life? Does the Holy Spirit live in you enabling you to
closely abide in Jesus? Jesus has a perfect plan for you. He wants you to spend
eternity with Him. The life in Christ is a wonderful life. What are you waiting
for? Jesus is praying for your salvation right now. And if and when you do know
Him He will continue to pray you through to eternity with Him. When you feel
all alone or are tempted to despair, always remember, Jesus is praying for you!
Jesus continues,
“that they all
may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may
be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which
You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in
one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as
You have loved Me” (John 17:21-23). Jesus prays for all Christians in all ages to be united and that the
world would believe in Him through the testimony of that unity. Unity is so
important in Jesus’ prayers. He emphasizes it by repeatedly mentioning it in
His prayer. The unity of believers is one of Jesus’ greatest concerns. That’s
because the world will come to know Jesus through the testimony of the unity of
the church. IN the church there should be unity; no racial, cultural, ethnic,
economic, intellectual, gender or any other division. We are to be one in
Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave or free, there
is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians
3:28).
In our brittle
fragmented world the church should be a shining example of how people can come
together into one God’s family united and abiding in the love of Jesus. The
united church is a POWERFUL instrument of God in a fragmented fighting world. It’s
no wonder that the unity of the church has been so persistently and
unfortunately effectively attacked by the enemy. Whenever there is disunity in
the church amongst believers it takes away from the churches effectiveness to
reach the lost and tarnishes the name of Jesus. What a tragic and stupendous
lost opportunity when the church is divided or bigoted in some way. Pray for
unity in the body of Christ.
Please don’t
mistake what I mean when I speak of unity in the church. I am not saying the
church should overlook or condone sin. The church should not overlook or turn
the other way when willful rebellious sin tries to establish itself within its
walls. Paul dealt firmly with such situations (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:9-12). There
is no place in the church for the ordination of immorality. The standard of the
church is the word of God. What the word of God calls sin the church must call
sin. To disregard scripture and follow sinful secular trends is offensive to
God. But just as Paul advised to welcome back those who repented of their sin so
should the church (2 Corinthians 2:6-9). The goal of the church should always
be reconciliation and restoration (cf. Galatians 6:1).
Love covers a
multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). But love does not overlook sin. Love speaks
truth (Ephesians 4:15). It was Jesus who told the sinful woman to “Go and sin
no more” (John 8:11). The church reaches out to the sinner with a powerful gospel
that provides forgiveness for sin as well as changed lives with the power to
overcome sin (Romans 1:16-17). The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ enables “fornicators
. . . idolaters . . . adulterers . . . homosexuals . . . sodomites . . . thieves
. . . covetous . . . drunkards . . .
revilers. . . [and/or] extortioners” to have said of them, “And such were some
of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians
6:9-11). To those we say, no matter the background, praise the Lord and welcome
to the family of God.
Grace is
extended to those caught up in sin and struggling with it. The church ministers
to those in the battle against the flesh and sin. The church needs to disciple and
help people to live Jesus’ abundant life. The end product and aim of the church
is for its members to come to a life of victory in Christ. Unity should never
cost complacency or condoning sin. That is to cheapen what the church is. No,
unity is made up of those who like Paul say, “But by the grace of God I am what
I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than
they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians
15:10).
“Father,
I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they
may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the
foundation of the world. 25 O
righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these
have known that You sent Me. 26 And
I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love
with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John
17:24-26). Jesus concludes His prayer in
worship. Jesus ends His prayer in a final petition that His followers would
one day be with Him in glory and see His glory. And Jesus prays and associates
that glory in the love between Him and the Father. Jesus exults in the Father’s
love. Jesus proclaims the righteousness of the Father. He worships and requests
that people would come to know the love of God. That is how we should conclude
our prayers.
When we end our prayer time with God we shouldn’t just get up and
leave. We should end our prayers in worshipping the Lord for His love and grace
all to His glory. Maybe we should get into a holy habit of ending our prayers
with a time of worship singing something like the Doxology, “Praise God from
whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above
the heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Or maybe we could
praise Him with words like the Gloria Patri, “Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.” If that is too formal or conjures up
dark religious memories, then maybe as we close in prayer we should pause and
ask the Spirit how we might bless Him with worship. Why not ask Him to bring to
our mind and heart a song that would please and bless Him. Whatever you do, end
your prayers like Jesus did, in worship.
Jesus prays. Do you pray? How do you pray; like Jesus? What do you pray
for; what Jesus prays for? How do you end your prayers; like Jesus did? Is the
Holy Spirit in you guiding you in prayer? Have you been born again? Jesus lived
a wonderful and glorious prayer life. Such a prayer life attracted the
attention of those around Him. Let’s seek the Lord to help us pray like He
prays. Let’s pray to the glory of God.
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