We all know Jesus prayed. Many of us have His most famous prayer memorized. It starts, “Our Father, which art in heaven…”
See! You are probably reciting it right now.
We also know Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days. We know He prayed in the garden, and we know He prayed on the cross. Those were the “biggies,” but if you read the Bible carefully, you will notice that His whole life was lived in prayer, even sneaking away from time to time to pray alone.
One of His most passionate and insightful prayers, though, was the one Jesus prayed over His disciples in John 17. It is a long, detailed, heart-felt prayer. This prayer culminates in a passion that we would be one with Him and the Father, and that we would be one with each other in love.
The unity that Jesus prayed for is as spiritual as it is relational. This is not the shallow “unity” that many people promote in our culture. It is a deep, spiritual “oneness” that cannot be achieved without Him. It starts with knowing the Father, which is the eternal life that we were created to enjoy. This is made possible by the blood of Jesus that reconciles us into deep intimacy with Him. Once we are changed by love, we are changed to love. God’s love for us empowers and facilitates God’s love through us.
Jesus said that the greatest Commandments were to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as our self. In the prayer here, Jesus seems to be describing exactly what it looks like when we live out that kind of love. Our relationship with God must intersect our relationship with other believers. We must not disconnect the two. We are not to be one with the world, but we are to draw the world to Jesus by our oneness with other believers. Unity with God and with other believers is a tangible expression of divine love, and is built upon the foundation of His truth. Jesus desires us to walk in this type of unity. Jesus’s oneness with the Father is not only an example for us, it is also what empowers us to be one with each other. In praying for our unity, Jesus is praying for us to live out the two great Commandments.
This is also why we pray. Prayer shifts society because prayer changes us. As we pray, we align our heart to the Father’s heart. Spending time in God’s presence changes us from the inside out. We conform to His image, which we were created to reflect. We start to look and act more righteous, more godly, more holy, and more loving. This is something we are to grow in, more and more, every day.
In summery, this wonderful prayer shows the priorities, the passion, and the heart of Jesus:
The heart of Jesus is that His glory would glorify the Father.
The heart of Jesus is that we would believe His words.
The heart of Jesus is that we would know the Father.
The heart of Jesus is that we would have eternal life.
That we would be filled with His joy.
That we would be kept from the evil one.
That we would be sanctified by the truth.
The heart of Jesus is that we would cause the world to believe that He was sent by the Father.
The heart of Jesus is that we would be with Him and see His glory.
That we would be one with each other.
That we would be one with the Father and the Son.
That we would be filled with the Father’s love.
The heart of Jesus is that He would abide in us.
Praying for each other is how we become the answer to Jesus's prayer.
When we become one with God and with one another, we are fulfilling Jesus's prayer.
Therefore, let us believe in Him and abide in Him. Then we can pray like Him and love like Him.
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