A Prayer That Will Change Our Lives

Introduction

I don’t know how many of you have ever heard of a woman by the name of Monica of Hippo.

You may have heard of her son, Augustine. Augustine was one of the early church fathers, but he did not start out that way.

He actually was a very wicked young man.

He lived a life of sexual immorality and he openly rejected Christianity, among many other things.

Monica, however, was a devout believer and she prayed earnestly for her son. She prayed for years even though she saw no fruit.

She eventually moved to Milan with her son and Augustine began listening to the preaching of Ambrose of Milan, another church father.

He was converted through the preaching of the Word and became a major theologian and key figure in the church.

Augustine helped clarify the biblical teaching on original sin, the doctrine of grace as a gift from God, and his autobiography Confessions is still one of the most read and influential today.

He is also the one who said a phrase you may have heard quoted before, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Why do I say all of this?

All of this is the result of answered prayer.

Tonight, we are going to go back even farther and finish looking at Jesus prayer for us.

John 17:20–26 ESV

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

1. Jesus Prays for Our Evangelism (v.20)

John 17:20 ESV

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

Jesus guarantees the success of the gospel here

These only refers the Disciples

Those who will believe in me through their word - refers to everyone else (including us) to come through their witness

Notice: who will believe through their word

There is a guarantee that we will believe

We’ve talked about the sovereignty of God for several weeks now, but we cannot escape that John is very clear in His gospel that those who believe are a gift from God to His Son and our faith is a gift from God.

There is not a possibility that the great commission might be fulfilled, but a guarantee that it will be fulfilled

We are simply called to be faithful witnesses

Illustration:

What is the job of the news media when they seek to communicate the events of the day to the public?

Most of us would argue that they are supposed to simply report the news.

There is a standard in journalism that once existed that a journalist was supposed to be unbiased and separate their opinions of what they are reporting from the facts they report. With the invention of 24 hour news channels, this was abandoned because people would not tune in long enough.

You used to have news reporters give an evening news report for maybe an hour at the most and they might repeat it at a later time for those who missed the first broadcast, but now they have to keep you tuned in.

To do this, the news channels will actually give commentary on the news as they report it and sometimes that commentary will get interpreted as the actual news.

The same type of thing is happening on college campuses with professors that are not just teaching content, but they are interpreting facts and theories through their worldview and spinning them to indoctrinate generations of students in their classes.

Application

As a Christian, we are not called to do this at all. We are simply to report the facts.

We report what the Bible says.

We report what God has done in our own lives through our testimony and what we have seen.

We pray and let God do the work of salvation in their hearts.

That’s it! We are not called to convince or argue with someone, but simply to report.

How many of us can do that?

Do we believe Jesus that people will believe through the word?

Romans 10:14 ESV

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

2. Jesus Prays for Our Unity (v.21-23)

John 17:21–23 ESV

21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Unity is a big deal in Jesus’s prayer.

He has already prayed for unity among the Disciples and now he prays for unity among the church that will be born

Jesus firmly believed that our unity was an evangelistic witness to the power of the gospel

Illustration:

In the early centuries of Christianity, the Roman world was stunned by how Christians loved one another.

Pagans were known to say:

“See how they love one another.”

They cared for the sick during plagues when others abandoned them.

They supported widows, orphans, and the poor.

Their unity became one of the greatest evangelistic tools the church had.

What about today? What do you think the world would say about us today?

The unity that Jesus prays for the church to have is the same unity that exists in the Godhead

Unity breaks down when we make ourselves bigger than God

We prioritize our feelings over the feelings of others

We demand our own way rather than yielding to Christ’s

We are not making much of Jesus and are making much of ourselves

Application

Do our relationships in the church display the gospel?

Do we forgive one another quickly?

Do we gossip about one another?

Do we prioritize our preferences over unity?

Unity does not mean uniformity.

But it does mean:

humility

forgiveness

patience

love

When believers live this way, the world sees evidence that Jesus is real.

3. Jesus Prays for Our Future (v.24)

John 17:24 ESV

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus is going to the Father

Jesus desires that we might be with Him

John 14:1–3 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus wants us to see His glory that He had with the Father before the foundation of the world

Why would Jesus want us to see His glory?

Jesus glory is the most beautiful sight we could behold. It changes us when we behold it.

Consider the Israelites before Mt. Sinai and Moses when He came out of the Tent of Meeting.

The Israelites stood in fear of God

Moses reflected the glory of God

4. Jesus Prays For Our Love (vv.25-26)

John 17:25–26 ESV

25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus prays for the love that we have for one another would match the love the Father has for Christ

Conclusion

To recap all the things that Jesus prays for us,

He prayed for us to proclaim the gospel confidently

He prayed for us to pursue unity together

He prayed that we would be with Him and live with eternity in mind

He prayed that we would love one another with the love God has within the Trinity

What are some areas you and I need to focus on?

Let’s pray as well that we might match up to what Jesus has prayed and is continuing to pray for us.