Most followers of Jesus know the Lord’s Prayer, and even non-followers know that it exists. And although fewer of us have been brought up to learn it, nonetheless we seem to know the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. Perhaps it’s called ‘The Lord’s Prayer” because, in Luke’s version, Jesus outlines the prayer just after He Himself had finished praying, and was asked by the disciples to teach them to pray, presumably in the same way in which He had been praying. And yet, more accurately, this prayer should be called ‘The Disciples’ Prayer”, or ‘The Model for the Disciples’ Prayer”.
Here, however, in John 17 and following, we have ‘The Lord’s Prayer’, an intimate look into Jesus’ prayer to the Father, uttered on the night He gave Himself over to suffer and die for all of us. Having just spoken of what would happen to Him and to His followers, He looks up to heaven and begins to pour out His heart to the Father. Let’s notice a couple of things about the prayer, or this part of it.
First, notice Jesus’ desire to bring glory to the Father: this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God (John 17:3). The Savior of the world, soon to be glorified as such on the cross (that, by the way, is still the glory of Jesus, the cross), Jesus prays that the Son may glorify the Father, and acknowledges that all the authority which He possesses comes from the Father. Just as John the Baptist was the herald, pointing people to Jesus, so Jesus is the gateway to the Father, directing people into the Father’s heart, our final resting place. I wonder if we are the same kind of signposts, pointing not only to Jesus, the Man/God, but also to God the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Second, notice the desire which Jesus has for the Father. He speaks, perhaps longingly, of the glory that [He] had in Your Presence before the world existed (John 17:5). In addition to desiring that people might connect with the Father, Jesus Himself desires to do so as well, longing to enjoy that most intimate relationship with the One with Whom He eternally exists, but from Whom He has been separated physically during His earthly life. As you look over your life, do you have the same longing to be in the heart of God yourself, eager for it not only now, but also in that day when we, too, shall be intimately united with the One for Whom we have been destined in love?
Finally, notice throughout how Jesus is praying for us. Are you aware that Jesus is still praying for us in that way (see Romans 8:34)? And is it possible that part of the answer to His prayer is that we are one, in unity with brothers and sisters in the fold of the Good Shepherd? As someone once said, “a lone sheep is a dead sheep”. Are you intimately connected with others in Christ, such that it might be said that your relationship parallels or at least models that which the Holy Trinity has within Himself?
May we listen to Jesus praying for us, here in John, and today from the throne, and may we become the answer to His prayers.
