Grace and Truth, John 17, Jesus Prayed for Us

During a time which must have been filled with unbelievable fear and horror for him, Jesus prayed for his disciples. And he prayed for us.

 

His first concern was to bring praise to his father.

 

Verse 1: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

 

Jesus had protected his disciples while he was with them, but now, as he was leaving, he prayed for his father’s protection for them.

 

Verses 11-12,15: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

 

He prayed for all believers, including you and me, so that people in the world will believe in him.

 

Verses 20-23: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

 

Lord, protect us from the evil one. Help us to show the world around us your love for them.