Jesus' Prayer For Us

John 17:20-26

It is a comfort to people going through a difficult time if they know that someone is praying for them.  I know that it is an encouragement and comfort for me to know that someone is praying for me. In our Scripture for today we read the very blessed news that Jesus is praying for us!  Let’s see what He says.

Our passage for today continues on in the Gospel of John, where Jesus gave final teachings to the apostles following the Last Supper. When concluding these final words to them, He prays to the Father which is recorded throughout this whole chapter. In the middle of this great prayer of Jesus, He specifically mentions all future believers (vs. 20).  Everyone who has ever came to faith in Jesus following His resurrection, which would include you and I, along with every believer today, have all come to faith through the words of the Apostles passed down through the ages, particularly what is written in the New Testament.  Therefore, we are included in this prayer of Jesus!

What was it that Jesus specifically prayed here for us?  One main thing He prayed was for unity among believers (John 17:11, 23).  He also prayed for our protection from the Evil One (John 17:15), and for our sanctity or holiness (John 17:17).  Jesus prayed that God would keep us pure, give us abundant joy, peace, unity, and protection from Satan.

Unity is a powerful witness to the reality of God’s love.  When unbelievers look at those who profess Christ, what do they see, particularly within our churches? Do they see church members fighting and squabbling among themselves, so often about ridiculous things? Do they hear Christians gossiping about other members, and putting them down?  There are several different ways that we can show that unity Jesus prayed for us to have. We can pray for other Christians, avoid gossiping with each other, and instead build each other up. We should work with others in humility, and give of our time and money liberally to help each other. We should be exalting Jesus and not arguing over trivial or divisive matters (Philippians 2:2).  When the world sees that in the Church, then they will be more drawn to the Lord.

Our unity with other believers is based on our unity with Jesus and the Father. We will know unity with each other if we are living in union with God. Earlier in His Upper Room talk Jesus had called Himself the Vine, and us believers as branches connected to the Vine (John 15:1-8).  We are a branch in union with the Vine, and we are united with all the other branches who are attached to the same Vine. We are not a branch on our own. Jesus, the Vine, has many branches attached, and we are united together in Him.

Another very important part of Christians being united together as Jesus prayed we would be, is that we be unified in the truth.  We should not be united together in believing and following false doctrine and heresy, but instead in the truth of God’s Word. The basis of unity centers in adherence to the truth of the revelations God gave His disciples and that were received in the Word of God. When someone has strayed from Biblical truth or is openly and consciously living and following a path of sin, then it is not possible to be in unity with them. The Bible says to avoid fellowship with these people, but of course we need to continue to pray for them (II John 1:9-11).

What a blessing to know that Jesus is praying for you and for me! Let’s be sure to do what we can to see that prayer answered by being in unity with other believers who are also seeking to follow and obey God’s Word.