Have you ever been present when a fellow Christian brother or sister, one who has a very close relationship with the Lord, has been in prayer? It is a special, hallowed time, listening to their close, holy, and intimate conversation with the Lord. There are several great Christians from the past that I would love to have been present with in their prayer times. In our Scripture reading today the Apostle John shares a privilege that he and the other apostles had, when they were privileged to listen when Jesus was in prayer to the Father. Let’s take a look at just a part of this prayer.
Many times throughout the Gospel accounts we read of when Jesus departed off by Himself to pray to the Father, often either later at night or real early in the morning. This 17th chapter of John’s Gospel contains a prayer of Jesus that He prayed in the presence of His chosen apostles. In Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 we have what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. However that might better be called the Disciple’s Prayer. John 17 is truly the Lord’s prayer, showing the face to face communion Jesus had with God. This is Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. In the previous three chapters Jesus was talking to, and instructing His disciples. Now He is talking to God. Jesus is at work as our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is also our advocate and our mediator (I John 2:1-2; I Timothy 2:5).
Whenever a strategic time approached, Jesus spent time in prayer. Now, within a few short hours, He would be arrested, given a mock trial, tortured, and crucified to pay for our sins. He prayed for God’s glory, for His disciples, and even for future believers, which includes each of us. Jesus stated that “His hour had come” (vs. 1). His time had come - both for His death and resurrection. These were events that would glorify Jesus. He accepted this path to glory, knowing He would be exalted to the Father (vs. 1-5).
In His prayer to the Father, which He has shared with us here, Jesus tells us what brings eternal life (vs. 3). We receive eternal life by knowing God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, and entering into a personal relationship with Him. That life begins the moment we accept Jesus as Savior, not just after our physical death on earth.
As Jesus continued His prayer, He looked past the cross, and asked to be returned to the glory He shared with the Father before the world began (vs. 5). We read here a testimony that Jesus gave to His pre-existence as God before His physical birth and before creation. Before Jesus came to earth, He was one with God. In His prayer, Jesus asked the Father to restore Him to His original place of honor and authority.
Our passage continues as we read that those who believe in Jesus were given by the Father (vs. 6). They were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), when our names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 17:8).
As Jesus continued in His prayer, He wanted His followers to be united in harmony and love, just as the Trinity is (vs. 11). He prayed for them (and for us as we read later in verse 20), because they would have to face the world’s temptation and hatred without His immediate physical presence and protection.
The world is a battleground between those who follow and are under God’s authority and Satan’s forces. Jesus prayed for His followers then and throughout all ages to come. His prayers defeat Satan. We need to trust God’s hold on us more than our hold on Him. His faithfulness does not depend on ours. God hears the intercessory prayers of Jesus. We are kept and preserved by Him (Jude 1:1), and shielded by God’s power (I Peter 1:5). That is the power of our living and ever-present Savior, and we can have peace knowing that Jesus is praying for us, just as He did that last night before His crucifixion.
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