What would you Pray?
I would be the first to confess that I would not classify myself as a “Prayer Warrior”, but I do pray! And I believe that God hears my prayers, answers them… sometimes quickly, …….sometimes slowly, such that I had even forgotten what I had asked, …… and, speaking very truthfully, at times in ways in which I never get to know about the answers…. but the belief is still there, that my prayer has been answered.
So, with such confidence in prayer, what do I pray about? I pray for myself, I pray for my family, I pray for people and situations that come into my life, I pray for issues presented to me for prayer, I pray about wider national and international issues that seem to spring out of the news to me.
In summary, I pray about things that are close to my heart.
PS – I know that prayer is not just about requesting, so worship and thanksgiving are also aspects of my daily prayer life, but today we are looking at a “requesting prayer” of Jesus.
So, what does Jesus request for you and me…. “All believers” in his long prayer recorded in John 17? As we find out what it is, we can be sure that they are the things closest to the heart of Jesus, just as the things we focus our prayers on, are things close to our heart.
So, let us read the prayer of Jesus in;
John 17 v 20 - 26
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
So what is on Jesus’ heart for us?
Three things:
Unity of believers
Heavenly glory
Love from within
Let us briefly look at each in turn and as we do this, keep reflecting on your own life, your walk with Jesus and your knowledge of the Father. Actually, this is a very personal reflection and if you know that something is not quite as it should be, then please make sure you share this with a trusted Christian friend, or reach out to one of the leaders of KIC – L. BUT REMEMBER – this is Jesus’ prayer for YOU and I am 100% sure it WILL be answered!
Unity of believers
John 17v 22 – 23a
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity
I think we all know that, as Christians, we should be united…be as one… and yet any Church group is a really mixed bunch of people who might not normally mix, aside from their love of Christ. Apart from doctrinal differences which we are not going to consider here, I think that many denominations, or church groups, exist because, our differences as people, make us feel more comfortable in a particular style of service – wild and upbeat…or quite and reflective…. I have always thought that at KIC we can include a bit of everything… and I like that!
All too often our human DIFFERENCES come out above this very clear longing of Jesus that “we might be one”. Perhaps that is why He prayed about it because he knew it was going to be an issue for the Church, as it had been from the moment Adam and Eve rebelled against God.
But the importance of this Unity cannot be underestimated…
Jesus prays… “that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me”
Our unity with each other is driven by our unity with Jesus which, in turn, is driven by the unity which Jesus has with the father. This is SERIOUS, and where there is disunity in the Church, then this chain of love is broken.
John 17 v 23b
Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
When this unity goes then so does this witness of the Love of God towards the whole world – our love is a living testimony of the Love of God as demonstrated through Jesus and His work of Salvation on the cross.
The greatest commandment emphasizes this:
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
And a very practical action is found in
Ephesians 4v26
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
It is not always easy or natural, but strive for UNITY AMONGST BELIEVERS
Heavenly glory
I think it was something very special, to SEE JESUS. I am fairly certain that he did not walk around with a halo around His head, but perhaps there was something of a “glow” about his face as I have seen depicted in some paintings.
John 17 v 24
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
To have been with Jesus when He was alive on earth would have been so great. We have missed this chance, and actually the opportunity was given to very few people. We know through our faith, that we will all see Jesus when we are finally with Him in heaven. That is great and something we must all look forward to! However, I believe that Jesus is praying that we might see something of this before…right now…TODAY!
And how do we see this?
We see it through the love of the Father towards the Son, which has flowed throughout history – the Alpha and Omega, from beginning to end. This is well captured in the song by Stuart Townsend:
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
……and daughters!
Love from within
John 17 v 25 – 26
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Our unity is on the heart of Jesus, but He knows this will not be easy for us… we are fallen people and too easily think of ME first. But there is an amazing fact in these verses, and it is this that enables us to ultimately gain the same unity that is found between the Father and Jesus.
“in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” v 26b
Is this fact not mind boggling??!! I thought it was the Holy Sprit who did all the “living in us” stuff, but NO…well actually yes, but that is NOT the end of the story… the love of GOD is also in us, AND “I myself” ….JESUS is in us…. You are not just temples of the Holy Spirit, but a host for the full Glory of God…Father, Son and Holy Spirit… Perhaps this is what Jesus is getting at when in v22 He says “I have given them the glory that you gave me”.
Can you believe that? The same Glory that Jesus had is the same as we now have – the glory of the Holy God living within us AND the expression of this is a LOVE SPREADING OUT TO OTHERS!
The prayer of Jesus for us…..
Unity of believers
Heavenly glory
Love from within
All I can say …actually shout, is a very loud AMEN!
Prayer
