Jesus prays for His followers
John 17:20-26

Jesus prayed a lot! Seriously His prayer life was consistent and focused, in fact it was a vital part of His earthly ministry. He would often withdraw to lonely quiet places to spend time in prayer with his Father.

Those quiet places allowed Him to focus on His relationship with God and to seek guidance and strength.

He prayed publicly with His disciples and also before important events in His ministry, for example the selection of the twelve disciples.

He had a well established daily prayer routine which included rising early in the morning to commune with God and to seek guidance.

In times of crisis Jesus turned to prayer which demonstrated His reliance on God for guidance and strength. Jesus prayed constantly for His disciples and as we have heard this morning He prayed for believers which includes us as Christians today. The needs of others was also uppermost in His prayers, which demonstrates his compassion and love for others.

Jesus showed through his prayer life, heartfelt supplication and genuine love for His Father, which Jesus reflected to others through His ministry.

Jesus’ prayer life was a vital part of His life and ministry, reflecting His deep connection with God and His willingness to seek guidance and strength. His pattern of prayer is a great example for us His followers today. It demonstrates how important prayer can be in our own lives and in our own relationship with God.

Our reading from John chapter 17 verses 20 to the end focuses on Jesus praying not for His eleven disciples alone but also for all who have ever believed and those who will believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ in the future. In this section of Jesus’ final prayer, He prays especially for us.

This long prayer in John 17 is often called His High Priestly Prayer, because Jesus intercedes with God on behalf of the disciples, present and future.

I know that the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples, the Our Father prayer is special, but the prayer in John 17 is the prayer in which Jesus pours out His heart. It also represents Jesus’ provision for the disciples on the eve of His death.

For the disciples were about to experience the trauma of Jesus’ death. This prayer gives us a glimpse of the trauma that Jesus was about to go through as He prepares to leave them.

Jesus prays that all believers are to be one in heart and mind. We are to be one in Christ and in God. Just as God and Christ are one in each other. This oneness is a spiritual oneness, it is unity brought about by the Holy Spirit.

Further into the prayer Jesus prays that we might remain in Him and in God. Only when we are united with God and Christ can we be united with each other. When this happens we will bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Our unity with each other comes from our unity with God and Christ. We are branches of the same vine. We can show the world that our unity is not based on human love but on divine love. God does love us, in fact I believe that he loves us just as much as he loves his own Son Jesus.

Let me ask you a question: I don’t want an answer, may be you could think about it during coffee or in the car on the way home.

How does the world see unity and love between Christians today?

This is what Christian unity should look like in a perfect world and I quote: Unity should be striving for oneness in Christ despite doctrinal differences and diverse traditions, as emphasized by Scripture and exemplified in the concept of “one body, one Spirit”. It’s about prioritizing relationships, serving together, and finding common ground for mutual understanding, ultimately becoming a visible expression of Christ’s love to the world today.

To conclude:

Jesus continued to make God known to the disciples after His death and resurrection through the Holy Spirit. And He is still doing so today. As believers Jesus continues to make God known to us through the Holy Spirit, so that God’s love may be in us and Jesus himself will be in us too. Through the Holy Spirit we know God and we know his deep love for us. We also have Jesus living in us, which is all the work of the Holy Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit is continuing to do his work in the life of every believer.

So can we follow the prayer life pattern of Jesus? Can we set a time and a place to be alone with God? I know that life can be complicated and difficult, getting time to be with God can be at times impossible, we all have intricate and complex lives. Jesus had times when He found prayer difficult, take the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane for example.

If we can have the love of God welling up within us it will fuel our witness to others and make it impossible for the world to ignore Jesus Christ whose name we bear. “See how they love one another,” the world says. That is a powerful testimony. Seeing how Christians love the poor and needy is equally powerful.

Shall we pray?

Blessings Rev’d Ian.