Jesus' Prayer for His Disciples



Jesus
Prays for His Followers

John
17

¹After
Jesus said these things; he looked toward heaven and prayed, “Father,

the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can
give glory to you.
²You
gave the Son power over all people so that the Son could give eternal
life to
all those you gave him. ³And
this is eternal life: that people know you, the only
true God,
and that they know Jesus Christ, the One you sent. ⁴Having
finished the
work you gave me to do, I brought you glory on
earth. ⁵And
now, Father, give
me glory with you; give me the glory I had with
you before the world was made.

⁶“I
showed what you are like to those you gave me from the world. They

belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed
your teaching.
⁷Now
they know that everything you gave me comes from you. ⁸I
gave them the
teachings you gave me, and they accepted them. They
knew that I truly came
from you, and they believed that you sent
me. ⁹I
am praying for them. I am not
praying for people in the world but
for those you gave me, because they are
yours. ¹⁰All
I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is shown

through them. ¹¹I
am coming to you; I will not stay in the world any longer. But
they
are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of
your
name, the name you gave me, so that they will be one, just
as you and I are one.
¹²While
I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name

you gave me. I protected them, and only one of them, the one
worthy of
destruction, was lost so that the Scripture would come
true.

¹³“I
am coming to you now. But I pray these things while I am still in the

world so that these followers can have all of my joy in them. ¹⁴I
have given them
your teaching. And the world has hated them,
because they don’t belong to the
world, just as I don’t
belong to the world. ¹⁵I
am not asking you to take them out
of the world but to keep them
safe from the Evil One. ¹⁶They
don’t belong to the
world, just as I don’t belong to the
world. ¹⁷Make
them ready for your service
through your truth; your teaching is
truth. ¹⁸I
have sent them into the world, just
as you sent me into the
world. ¹⁹For
their sake, I am making myself ready to
serve so that they can be
ready for their service of the truth.

²⁰“I
pray for these followers, but I am also praying for all those who
will
believe in me because of their teaching. ²¹Father,
I pray that they can be one. As
you are in me and I am in you, I
pray that they can also be one in us. Then the
world will believe
that you sent me. ²²I
have given these people the glory that
you gave me so that they
can be one, just as you and I are one. ²³I
will be in them
and you will be in me so that they will be
completely one. Then the world will
know that you sent me and
that you loved them just as much as you loved me.

²⁴“Father,
I want these people that you gave me to be with me where I am. I

want them to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me
before the
world was made. ²⁵Father,
you are the One who is good. The world does not
know you, but I
know you, and these people know you sent me. ²⁶I
showed them
what you are like, and I will show them again. Then
they will have the same love
that you have for me, and I will
live in them.”

The
Holy Bible, New Century Version

SITUATION

This is the longest prayer of Jesus
recorded in the Bible. It marked the end of Jesus' earthly ministry
but looked forward to the ongoing ministry of the immediate and
future disciples. Prayer was an important aspect of Jesus' ministry.
Whenever a strategic time approached, Jesus spent time in prayer.

OBSERVATION

The world is a battleground. Constant
spiritual and physical warfare wages between the forces of God and
Satan. Jesus prayed that God would keep his people pure, give them
abundant joy, give them peace and unity, and protect them from
Satan's power.

INSPIRATION

Jesus frequently prayed alone,
separating Himself from every earthly distraction. I would strongly
urge you to select a place-a room or corner in your home, place of
work, or in your yard or garden where you can regularly meet God
alone ....

A missionary and his family were forced
to camp outside on a hill. They had money with them and were fearful
of an attack by roving thieves. After praying, they went to sleep.
Months later an injured man was brought into the mission hospital. He
asked the missionary if he had soldiers guarding him on that special
night. "We intended to rob you:” he said, "but we were
afraid of the twenty seven soldiers."

When the missionary returned to his
homeland, he related this strange story, and a member of his church
said, "We had a prayer meeting that night, and I took the roll.
There were just twenty-seven of us present." (From Hope for
the Troubled Heart by Billy Graham)

APPLICATION

Do you have special times reserved only
for praying? Remember, Jesus regularly went to a quiet place and
talked to God. Set up a prayer plan, keep it for a week, and ask God
to bless it

EXPLORATION

Prayer - Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalm 32:6;
Matthew 14:23; 26:36; Luke 6:28; Ephesians 6:18.