John 17, What Do You Pray For?

John 17: Jesus Prays for His Glory, His People, and the Church

John chapter 17 be reading the entire chapter. Hear the word of the Lord. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said father the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him and This is eternal life that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

I Glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now father Glorified me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.

Yours they were and you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me and they have received them and have come to know in truth That I came from you and they have believed that you sent me.

I am praying for them I'm not praying for the world. But for those whom you have given me for they are yours all mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them and I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to you Holy Father keep them in your name, which you have given me that they may be one even as we are one While I was with them.

I kept them in your name, which you have given me I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost Except the son of destruction that scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy Fulfilled in themselves.

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 ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world just as I am NOT of the world. Sanctify them in the truth your word is truth as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world and For their sake I consecrate myself That they also may be sanctified in truth.

I Do not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their word That they may all be one Just as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be in us So that the world may believe that you have sent me the glory that you have given me.

I have given to them That they may be one Even as we are one I And them and you and me that they may become perfectly one So that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you love me father, I desire That they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am To see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Oh righteous father. Even though the world does not know you I know you and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that The that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.

What Christians Pray For, and Why Prayer Withers

If the Lord has blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, what do you pray for? Think back over the last week or month over your prayers. What's what's filled them? If you kept a log of the things you prayed for.

What would it show? What would what would dominate? The list of the items that you've asked God for now, let's leave out thanking God. You know for it for our food before every meal, which I hope you do.

But I mean, you know. Maybe the unforced prayers when you wake up before in the morning or maybe before you go to bed. If you have a regular prayer time. Which I hope you all do a lot of churches and pastors are concerned simply to get you to pray.

Somehow to inspire you to pray more than whatever you're praying now and maybe you know. Suggest I've got a regimentation like have a quiet time every morning. So that'll help you pray, which is not a bad idea.

But most of the pithy quotes and cute stories that I saw on prayer. Were geared simply to get you to pray pray more. The best one I think is a quote by John Bunyan famous Puritan you can do more than pray After you have prayed.

But you can't do more than pray until you have prayed. The cutest probe prayer joke, I think I was about a man running desperately from a lion in the jungle. And then crying out. Christian man crying out to the Lord phrase is gonna be eaten up any moment.

Lord make this lion a Christian. And to his amazement just as the lion pounces on in him. Tackling him to the ground and before biting into him the lion bows its head. It starts to pray. The man is amazed.

He's jubilant. The Lord's answered his prayer. Only to hear the lion say I thank you for this food that I'm about to receive. That's an old joke. Now the Christian literature is full of quotes and advice on how to provoke or inspire you to more prayer.

But maybe one of the reasons so many Christians have such a hard time praying is What they are praying for. They're going through a list of maybe relatives or friends. Coworkers whoever are sick or in some kind of crisis and they're checking off a wish list all about trying to get God.

You know to meet their needs to get God to be their sugar daddy. We've talked before about how this cultures religion is now all about what some people call a Therapeutic moralistic deism that it that is the spirituality.

It's popular. Today is about a nice God who wants you to be moral which means nice now. Righteousness is now considered niceness. That's the moralistic part. The the spirituality is therapeutic in. That God or the church or the preacher or whatever is like a counselor.

It's like a therapist. He's there to help you to adjust to life to soothe your feelings. If you've been feeling hurt God might help carry you. When you need him to you know, like he's portrayed in that popular Footprints poem but most of the time You can get along pretty pretty well without him.

Thank you very much. So that's the deistic part meaning that God created the world. It's like a clockmaker makes a clock. But you know once once you make the clock you just wind it up and let it go. You don't need the clockmaker there all the time.

Interfering with it. So in their view God is no longer really closely involved with the world. The universe is like a big machine. It's running on its own. Now if we need help with something in this big machine something the machine can't take care of by itself then.

Maybe we'll pray but most of the time we don't really need his help. So they think we don't need to pray. Not much anyway. It seems to me that most of the strategies to promote prayer we find now in this atmosphere in this culture of therapeutic moralistic deism.

Most of the Christian answers to that are just to battle that last assumption about God to change our minds. Paints people's minds that God is distant that he's uninvolved in the world. And so the current Christian approach is to offer a therapeutic moralistic pietism.

You know. You're gonna have now a wonderfully personal relationship with a dear friend. Who will walk with you every step of the way through life and carry you when you need him to so we encourage people to exchange their their old idea of a distant God God that we think we can do without most of the time exchange that.

For an intimate friend that we need all the time and that's okay as far as it goes. But we're not getting we're not getting all the root of that weed. We're still just we're still just as self-centered.

Still reducing God to being our big therapist and our our big helping hand. We're just trying to convince people that they really need this great therapist that this really this heavenly friend. More than they thought they did.

Jesus Prays for Himself: Glory, Authority, and Eternal Life

So our solution then is to tell people to pray more. Not to change the very heart of why and what they pray for. What do you pray for. Well here we see Jesus praying. This is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the Bible.

He's frequently mentioned prayer. Inviting us to ask the Father in his name over the past few chapters. Which is this all this is this is the end of a long Talk that he's been giving to his disciples and these last few hours on the night that he's betrayed.

He's encouraged us to pray in his name with promises that if we do We'll get whatever we ask the therapeutic person. They'll probably jump on that promise. Get everything I want and ask for all the things that he or she Wants are the things he we feel that will finally make us feel whole, you know, maybe the money we need the job.

We would like where we're both very well paid and we're somebody special. We're a big shot a sweet relationship. We think we absolutely have to have the health. Because health is everything right people say that all the time today health is everything the health of family members.

They they don't want to ever have to let go. Those are the things that consume their prayers and then when all of that is not answered they wonder what we're wrong. That maybe the promise isn't for real and and when they think that they're praying kind of just withers away.

Pastors could come along and try to inspire them to pray more with cute slogans and heroic stories and funny jokes. But it doesn't work because of what they are praying for. Here Jesus has promoted prayer in this last talk with his disciples and then he does it.

The last thing he does with the disciples before the crucifixion is to pray. Now, what does Jesus pray for? He prays for three things prays for himself he prays for his people and he prays for. He prays for us.

First Jesus prays for himself. He looks up to heaven. It's his posture and prayer and he begins father. The hour has come. He was saying repeatedly in John three times that his hour had not yet come. But then you remember when these Gentiles came to him came looking for him.

He then pronounces that his hour has come. That's the climax when he's reached now. He's ready for the cross when the Gentiles are hearing about that him. This is the last time here in John chapter 17.

It's the last time that he will say that the hour has come and he says it to the father. His first request then is about himself. Now was Jesus therapeutic then it's all about himself. All right, all about using God to make himself feel better.

Some Christian is wanting to set themselves apart from this sort of self-centered Self-absorbed therapeutic culture might might swing to the other extreme. They think this is the spiritual thing to do is not at all pray for yourself deny yourself.

By by seeing yourself as not worthy of being prayed for the problem. Is it praying for ourselves? We all need to do that. The problem is what we pray. For ourselves if we're just praying about health or you know bodies money our feelings.

That's the problem. Jesus's prayer for himself. Notice what he prays for himself is that the father said would glorify. Your son talking about himself. He's praying that he'd be glorified. Now does that mean we can follow his example and you know pray father glorified me.

Well, maybe. If the reason you are being glorified. You being a whatever you want to be glorified in a successful writer or have a great career or a big family you know the best teacher or the pastor of a big church that can finally afford to build a proper sanctuary and doesn't have to meet in a gym anymore if.

The reason you're praying for that is The same as why Jesus prayed here to be glorified. Why was he praying to be glorified and what did it mean for him to be glorified? By the way, the reason you're praying for that is that the son may glorify you.

All right, you get that glorify me father. So that I may glorify you the purpose of our prayers must be the glory of God that he be seen as great. How great is our God? It's I think that song which was by accident put in there was the right song for today.

I don't like whatever he worked that way. Notice how quickly the request for Jesus to be glorified leads to others, right? He just take that first request glorify me sounds very self-absorbed. But then glorified me that I might glorify you father.

That you might be esteemed and revered and worshiped and that glorification of Jesus then would lead to eternal life. For more people father glorify your son. He asked since You have given him he's talking about himself in the third person since he has given him authority over all flesh.

Right. Jesus is saying he has authority over all people. It's like he says in Matthew all authority in heaven on earth is given to me right before the Great Commission here. He's saying he has total power over all people.

The kingdom of God has come. He rules now. Now what? No, what would we do? If we had all power over everyone. That's what he prays here. Well, I have all you've given me all power over everyone. What are you gonna do if you had that power?

Probably the same thing we do with our prayers. Don't you think make the world all about ourselves our comfort our health and luxuries? We may not want to hurt anyone else, but we'll just arrange everything around us.

What Jesus does though is is Give eternal life to all whom you have given me. That's what he does with all power. He gives eternal life To people with it and notice he has authority over all people, but he uses that authority to give eternal life to some.

That's kind of the controversial part. You know see first. Saying about himself. I have authority over all flesh, but he gives eternal life. Only to those whom you have given me all the children of God as he says earlier in John who are scattered in the nations.

When they when they see Jesus lifted up on the cross, by the way, that's how he is glorified. They seem glorified. Then they will be drawn to him. So Jesus's prayer to be glorified isn't a selfish prayer.

You know that he'd be the great king. Just so we can show these doubters of these traitors like Judas that he was right all along he's already the great king. He's ruling over all people. His prayer was for the children of God that they would see him.

That they would be drawn to him. Even his prayer for himself as a prayer for the glory of God and the salvation of his people. Even when he's praying for himself. He's not really just praying for himself.

Jesus prays that he has Verse 4 he says he's already glorified the father and that he would do it More he would do it one more time in what he's about to do in verse 5 now father glorify me in Your own presence.

I think not only returning to him being in his presence, but also in being lifted up on the cross. Glorify me he asked with the glory that I had With you before the world existed. Now there he there's his pre-existence that he would have that glory that weightiness that magnificence that exaltation.

That worship that he had that he had an eternity past. That he would have it now have it now in the cross and forever and That prayer was answered right all these things. He's asking for our answer. He gets them how any but here in particular he's prayed glorify me and it was answered.

I mean how else do you explain how a a carpenter turned teacher from an obscure outpost in the Roman Empire is now? Worshipped at least outwardly by as God by billions of people from all kinds of nations worldwide.

How about exaltation and that's going to continue. God the Father has glorified him so now when when people even in today when people see the cross they know that Jesus was lifted up on that and Those who are the fathers?

Those are the father's children when they see that they get eternal life. They get a knowledge of the only true God so now Comes that relationship we like to talk about Knowing the only true God. It's what eternal life means knowing the God is Father and Jesus Christ is the Son Sent by him so we could have the Holy Spirit in us and have fellowship with the triune God.

So Jesus prays for himself so that he could glorify the Father and So that people would have eternal life and live in a relationship with God. That's what he prays for. What do you pray for? Well, Jesus prays second for his people.

Jesus Prays for His People: Protection, Unity, Joy, and Sanctification

For verses 6 to 19. I mean first he has in mind those people who are right there with him his followers. He says he has manifested. He's revealed the father's name. He used that phrase several times here in his name his being I think he means of who he is his nature.

To the people whom you gave me out of the world. In other words, there was already this set of people. Who the father had. Yes that the father is people father. You gave me like the father had them and the father gave them to the son.

It was a set of people yours. They were he says and the father gave them to Jesus. They they kept your word. I was his word to believe in Jesus. They kept it. They believed in him. They heard the call to believe in the son and that call created faith in them.

So they believed. And in verse 7, they know that everything Jesus taught us from the father. They have confessed that just at the end of chapter 16 where we were last week. And now here in chapter 17 in verse 8 Jesus says that he gave them the words the father gave him they accepted those words and They know now that Jesus came from the father.

That's what they said at the end of chapter 16. They've confessed it and the Jesus is reporting that to the father. They are believers because of the word. God knows who they who are his and he gets the word to them.

So that they'll believe now for us. Jesus says he is praying in verse 9. He says I'm not praying for the world. But for those whom you have given me. Now there are two kinds of people. There's the world that doesn't believe.

Those and there are those called out of the world by the Word of God who do two kinds of people. Those who belong to the father? Believers we can call them the church and then there's the world. Jesus prays for his people here.

Not for the world. Now that's kind of scandalous to people today now that God should choose one people. But not another. It's a scandal. They say is not fair. Everyone should have an equal shot an equal opportunity to believe.

But God doesn't have to be fair. You know if to be fair means everyone is the same. He has to be just and he chooses to be gracious. By choosing and saving some. He's gracious. Now he didn't have to do that.

He could be fair and Leave us all in sin and death. That's fair. But he chooses to save some. Even though that's unfair. It's gracious. Jesus has gathered these people and They all belong to the father in verse 10 and he prays for things for his people there once they'd be protected.

Second they'd be united. Third that they'd be delighted and finally that they'd be dedicated. What do you pray for for God's people. He prays to the Holy Father knows he calls father Holy Father verse 11 kind of combining weaving together both the reverent and the worshipful word holy.

With the intimate personal word father. He prays that now as he is going out of the world. That they would be protected While they stay in the world. Keep them he prays in your name by the power of that revelation that truth what's in Scripture.

Of their knowing God. Jesus says in verse 12 keep them with that Jesus says he's kept them in the father's name. He's kept them by revealing the father to them. He guarded them So that not one of them was lost.

That's how they are preserved. That's how we are preserved. Thus far it's not because of their willpower. Because of their dedication or our willpower our dedication but because Jesus protected them except for one.

There was one he didn't keep there was one. He didn't purposefully guard now. It wasn't as though You know the free will of Judas kind of overcame Jesus's will to protect him. Jesus wanted to protect him.

But Judas's had to give be given free will and Jesus couldn't get his way. It wasn't that's not the way he says it's that Jesus chose by his free will To not protect him and he calls him the son of destruction.

That's his nature. That's his destiny to be destroyed so that the end of verse 12. He did it so that Says there Scripture might be fulfilled. Right, so it was done by God's decree and his way so skipping down to verse 15 Jesus prays again to protect his people.

Now we might imagine this is the he's already said at the end of chapter 16 in the world. We have tribulation. We might imagine that he would pray that we'd be taken out of the world. That'd be a way to protect us.

But Noah wasn't taken out of the world when first the temptation and then destruction came he was protected in it. Israel when it was just a large extended. Jacob's large extended family wasn't taken out of the world.

You know when there was this horrendous famine coming. Oh God arranged the whole thing with Joseph going down into Egypt to leave the whole family down into Egypt. So they would be protected. Jeremiah wasn't taken out of Jerusalem when God poured out his wrath on that city.

But he was protected through it. Daniel wasn't taken out of the lion's den, but he was kept safe in it. Jesus does not pray that his people his people be taken out of the world, but that they'd be kept safe From the evil of the world.

That's all around them. Next Jesus prays that his people be united at the end of verse 11. He prays that they be protected in order that. This is the purpose of the protection in order that they would be one.

His people should be one in purpose and in mission in harmony just as the Father and the Son are one. Maybe maybe when we're being tried and Persecuted. Maybe then arguing and dividing over who's right about the end times won't seem that important anymore.

Maybe when we're working to bring all of God's children who are scattered abroad into one. Maybe when we were doing that. Arguing and dividing over whether to you know, only sing psalms or only hymns or only contemporary songs are allowed.

Electric guitars. Maybe that won't make so much sense anymore. He'll pray more for that coming. Third Jesus prays that his people be delighted in verse 13. Notice that he prays that these things that all that he's spoken these last few chapters all the way from chapter 13 to here is so that They may have my joy.

His joy fulfilled in themselves. I mean, that's just great. I'm not gonna say a whole lot about it. It's just it's great. Jesus isn't a kill joy. According to here he's a he's a fill joy. He's praying that his people carry on and fill up the joy that he has brought that he started.

Well, finally Jesus prays that his people be dedicated in verse 17. He says sanctify them that means to set them apart because they're not of the world. Just like Jesus isn't of the world. His people are to be set apart and there was to be dedicated by God's truth.

God's Word as. As I believe in a statement of faith says that God's Word is the is the standard of Christian unity. This is this is how we this is what what we have to believe to be one it defines who we are.

Believing it and obeying it. Believing the Word of God and obeying it in a world that you know, just wants to follow its own feelings. About what is right or wrong? It feels good do it. That's the world way the world is we're different because By God's Word that tells us what is right or wrong that sets us apart from the world.

And then in verse 18 Not only the Word of God sets apart. We're believing it and trying to do it in a world that wants to follow his feelings. But then in verse 18 a mission sets us apart. Our mission Isn't just to make money and lived in a comfortable house.

Until we get a retirement and then spend the rest of our years relaxing in a hammock. That's what the world thinks is its mission. Ours is to go out into the world just as Jesus was sent by the Father into the world.

We're to be dedicated for that mission. We don't use our dedication like some Christians. Thank you. We're excited to buy it. We're holy as. An excuse not to do mission as though, you know, we're just too holy.

To have our virgin ears offended by some dirty word some gym guy might say when he's playing basketball here. We can't allow that and so we use them our Holiness so called to stay away from people in the world.

No, that's the opposite of the case. Dedication is for mission not excuse to avoid it. So that we can be set apart dedicated he's. Jesus says he's dedicated himself and notice verse 19 for their sake.

I consecrate or Sanctified to the same word to sanctify. That they also may be Sanctified. I consecrate myself. I sanctify myself that they may be Consecrated or dedicated for the in the truth our dedication to him.

Doesn't make them doesn't make him Dedicated to us you understand that's the way some people think if I get dedicated to God. He'll be dedicated to me and he'll give me what I want. No, it's the other way around Jesus was dedicated to us.

So we would be dedicated his dedication causes ours. That's why people that's what Jesus prays for for his people. What do you pray for them? Then he prays specifically for one group of people. He prays for us.

Jesus Prays for Us: Church Unity, Witness, and Wonder

Starting in verse 20. He prays he says for those who will believe in me. Through their talk about the Apostles through their word and that's us. Right, the Apostles gave us the new the New Testament. We are believing through their word.

So here we are. Let's he pray for us. He prays three things for us specifically. That we be one that we be winsome and that we be wonderful. Jesus prays that we believers and in verse 21 may all be one and.

The model for being for us being one is the way the Father and the Son are one. You know, they work together for one mission for the glory of God. They don't get offended with each other. They don't divide because one of them wants more glory than the other.

No they are one in in mission so that for the glory of God so that Jesus is seen as great and That the Father is seen as great. By Jesus being seen as great so they have one goal if one love one spirit.

And praise it again in verse. So first in verse 21 They may all be one praise it again a second time at verse 22 that we may be one like the Father and the Son. Because Jesus has given to us. Here's another reason here.

He's given to us to his church his glory. Right, so we should be one that's a weightiness a heaviness something powerful. We're not an afterthought. We're not a plan B. We're what Jesus came to do to make us church glorious.

That should be enough to hold us together. When personalities and egos and hurt feelings try to tear us apart. Then again, this is how important it is to him. So the third time first 23 That we be one.

Because Christ is in us. Paul Talked about how says Christ in us is the hope of glory as he gives us the assurance that we will have glory. Not shame not the nothingness of death. Jesus is here in the church.

So we're called the body of Christ. He's in us. Each of us has a part in it. We're in his body is in us. The Father is in him. That should be enough To make us perfectly one. He says it was complete unity.

Now that doesn't have to mean we have to be Organizationally one, you know with everyone that says they're a Christian skeptic sometimes use the numerous denominations up to 40 ,000. They say they exaggerate.

I don't think it's really that many but anyway, whatever they say that skeptics Will to claim see if you had the truth, you'd be able to stay together. That's bogus now first of all many of the denominations are just Geographical like the Church of England or the Dutch Reformed Church, you know different nations or areas developed different churches historically.

Practically they need to that doesn't that doesn't mean they believe in a different gospel or that they you know ostracize each other. They don't but it's also irrelevant. You know just because we're not part of the same organization.

We all write checks to the there's one headquarters somewhere was one man at the top just because we don't have that. That doesn't mean what we can't be united and with other churches and with other Christians a few years ago I forgot what year was but four or so years ago and these memories evangelists power lifters.

Did they would bend bars of iron and stuff like that to show off how strong they were and they use that to attract people. They came here to Castle County and if it did evangelistic rallies and the Anseville Civic Center, and that was hosted by another church.

In this area they spearheaded it they did it and we helped. We helped get the word out. Some of you were greeters at the door handing out their flyers and some of us were counselors at the when people came forward.

Now not everything was done the way we would prefer if we were in charge there. But we went along because the gospel was enough to make us one with what they were doing. And may we always be so. You know, sometimes we can be right about every little detail or we can be one and it's better to be one sometimes.

Second Jesus prays that we be winsome. He's meaning winning attractive. In verse 21, he prays that we be one so that here's the purpose of our being one. Will be one that the world may believe. Father that you have sent me.

You might have thought he didn't care about the world, you know earlier when he notably didn't pray for them, but here he prays for us. That we'd be able to win the world that our oneness. We have a oneness that that overcomes all the things that divide the world here in this culture in the South race.

That that oneness would make Jesus attractive to the world it would be it's amazing you can get along. When one body that we have enough love to hold people together of different races and different cultures.

Different tastes and music are in dress that you're willing to not be bothered. If the young guys leading singing don't tuck their shirts in or that we sing contemporary songs. You're willing not to be bothered by the other we sing hymns.

You're willing not to be bothered by that or that you realize that this this glorious thing called the church isn't Just about you and your ego and the way you've always done things or maybe. The way the new way you'd rather do things.

But it is the children of God the father. The children that he's loved so you love them, too. Notice by the way how loved We as the church are at the end of verse 23. How loved Jesus says to the father?

Talk about us. We are loved. Talking the father as you father love me as. In the same way We are loved by the father. In the same way the father loves the son if that's the case. We could love each other enough to stay together can't we and The world will see that love.

We'll see that we have something that binds us together. That's that's greater than a than a shared history a shared culture a shared politics. Shared musical taste something greater than that. Something draws us together.

That overcomes all the suspicions and the anxiety of different races and cultures and languages. The world sees that. It sees that what binds us together is stronger than what tears them apart. It sees that and is won over.

And Jesus prays that we'd be so attractive to the world because of a supernatural Love that people from the world will know then. That Jesus really was sent by the father. Sent for us because they'll know they'll see in us what he did for us.

Well, finally Jesus prays That we'd be wonderful. I Mean that kind of a literal way like full of wonder. Starting in verse 24. Jesus says that his desire for us is that we be that we be with him wherever he is at the father's right hand.

You know, that's not fulfilled for all of us yet it will be eventually when you love. You want the one you love to be with you? Jesus loves us his church. And so we praise that we be with him so that we would we would see his glory.

We would see that glory the the awesome holiness that made the angels cry. Holy holy holy that Isaiah saw him high and lifted up and he he was filled with wonder with awe. He wants us to be wonder struck by his awesomeness.

Now people today will travel thousands of miles or pay thousands of dollars. Maybe more to get a little taste of just a little taste of wonder. We love by nature. We all love and crave Wonder. So they'll go so they can stare out on the vastness of the Grand Canyon.

I'll go and look at the just be absorbed in the Amazing beauty of Yosemite. It's just something you never been there. It's just amazing. It'd be a place like this on earth. This past week. I heard on the radio and underwater photographer for National Geographic Talk about how he just weeps at night.

He says when he thinks of the splendor of the leopard seals that he saw in the waters off of Antarctica. The SpaceX Corporation is planning on flying a couple of billionaires who can pay Tens of millions of dollars.

To fly them around the moon for a no pay that tens of millions for a glimpse of glory. Now all of that wonder in nature. Is this a pale reflection of the glory of its creator? The Son who called the Word who by By whom all things were created.