Prayer, Part 3

John 17:1 KJV 1900

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Introduction

Tonight we are continuing a multi‑week study on prayer.

Even though we are on the third week, I truly feel just as though we have only scratched the surface on this topic of study and practice.

Our goal through this series is to emphasize on understanding true biblical prayer.

Passage: .John 17:1 But I want to draw my points from the rest of the chapter

Context: Jesus prays immediately before His betrayal in John 18.

Teaching and miracles led disciples to finally understand He came from God.

The Timing and Importance of Jesus’ Prayer (John 17)

But first, turn back to the very end of Chapter 16.

John 16:29–30 KJV 1900

29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

Now we see that in Chapter 16, Christ has sat down with His disciples and he is telling them that He is about to leave them. He is about to die, about to resurrect, and about to ascend back to the Father, and they finally come to this conclusion that “You really are sent from God.”

You would think that the miracles they had witnessed would be sufficient, Him walking on water, Lazarus coming from the grave would be enough.

What finally convinced them, was His teaching. Jesus just sitting down with them, being personal with them and reminding them of the promise that is coming.

And finally, somewhere along the line, the light bulb clicked on. You are the son of God.

See, so many of us think that we have to have this miraculous moment or this emotional experience to understand who God really is and what He really wants to do in our life.

We think we have to go outside and the clouds have to align just right for us to figure out who God really is.

No, we just need to get in His Word and let Him teach us through His Word and we'll begin to understand who He really is.

But tonight, I want you to look, as we look at verse, chapter number 17, Jesus begins to pray in verse number one.

And I want you to look where this prayer finds itself in the life of Jesus. Anybody know what happens in John chapter 18? Jesus is betrayed by Judas. And he begins the process, he begins the steps to Calvary.

And so chapter number 17 is probably a prayer that takes place in the most crucial point of Christ's ministry. He's about to head to Calvary. He's about to be mocked and buffeted and beat and whipped and chastised and all those things.

But right before all of that, He allows us to get an insight into His prayer of life.

Now do I think that Jesus changed his prayers necessarily because of what he was facing? The short answer is no.

I think when Jesus prayed, every time he prayed in the Scriptures, he prayed honestly, he prayed like we're supposed to pray, and I believe his prayers are the epitome of the teaching of prayer in our life.

I believe the greatest teacher, without a doubt, is Jesus Christ. And we looked last week as he gave us the model prayer, as he laid it out to the disciples when they said, Lord, teach us to pray. And he laid out that, Hallowed be thy name, and pray this way. Have these models. Have this guideline to your prayer.

But tonight, we're going to look and get an eyewitness account as Christ prays himself.

And listen, I'm all for somebody telling me how to do something. But if you're anything like me, I'm a visual learner. You got to show me how to do it. If you show me how to do it, I'll be much more likely to remember that.

But tonight we're going to look at Christ as he prays and as he he's praying in a crucial moment of his life and of his ministry. And to see what he prayed about.

Now tonight, to be completely honest with you, how come it's that way in our life? Our most earnest prayers are in our most desperate situations. Our most earnest prayers are when nothing seemingly goes right. That's when we really begin to pray.

Well, prove that, Brother Ryan.

Did you pray the same way over your lunch this afternoon as you would if you went to the doctor tomorrow and found out you had cancer?

Our most earnest prayers come in the most desperate situations. But I don't think Christ, when He prayed here, no doubt it was a crucial point. It was a very important point, a turning point, really. But I believe His prayer life was still the same, just like it ought to be in our life.

How quickly do we just bless our meals? Lord bless it. Jesus name. Amen.

I guarantee you, if I were to get up tomorrow morning and find out that there's this great thing or this great tragedy that's taking place, I'm not just going to say, all right, Lord, bless it. No, we're going to pray. We're going to pray with earnest desire, but we ought to have that same desire in every prayer that we pray.

Occurs at the most crucial moment of Christ’s earthly ministry.

Jesus is about to suffer betrayal, mockery, beating, and crucifixion.

His prayer life remains consistent regardless of circumstances.

Contrast with human tendency to pray earnestly only in crisis.

Three Desires in Jesus’ Prayer Before Calvary

I want you to notice as we look at Christ, we'll see three desires that he had in his prayer right before he heads to Calvary.

1. His Desire to Glorify the Father (vv. 1–5)

I want you to notice first of all tonight that he had his desire to glorify the Father. His desire to glorify the Father. We'll cover verses 1 through 5.

John 17:1–5 KJV 1900

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

A. The Pressing Matter (v. 1)

Verse number 1, it says, His hour had come. It was time for Calvary.

It was time to complete redemption's plan. It was time to give His life on the cross of Calvary. It was time to lay down His life as that sacrificial lamb for the sin not just of a man, but for every man. He was about to lay down His life, and He said, Father, the hour has come.

What did he tell his mother when she told him to do the first miracle? Woman, my time has not come. He said, but now the hour is here. The hour is here for what needs to be done, for the plan to take place.

Everything in Christ's ministry had been leading up to this point.

I thank God that he gave the deaf people hearing and he gave the blind people sight and he made the mute people talk. And I'm glad that he got the lame people up and walking again. I'm glad he called Lazarus out of the grave. I'm glad that he turned the water into wine. I'm glad he came walking on the water. I'm glad that he stilled the storm.

But above all of that, I'm glad that he gave his life on the cross of Calvary to die for somebody like me and to pay the debt that my sin had earned. And everything has led up to this, and in Christ's first part of his prayer, he says, Lord, the hour has come. Let me glorify you. Let me glorify you in what's about to take place.

He was about to face unfathomable pain, suffering, and shame. And he said, but Lord, through it all, when my hour has come, let me glorify you. Let me glorify you. was his prayer. He desired to glorify the Father in the pressing matter.

“The hour has come.”

Time for Calvary and the completion of redemption.

B. The Promised Result (vv. 2–3)

There was a promised result in verse number two and three.

This wasn't just some cooked up scheme that they came up with all of a sudden.

They had nothing else better to do. Jesus didn’t just come to earth and say, well, while I'm here, I might as well redeem the whole human race, or well, my plans didn’t go according so since there’s going to be this betrayal, were gonna have to punt.

No, this is something that was planned out before the foundations of the world. Before me and you ever were, Christ had already given himself to be the sacrificial lamb. Long before me and you were ever thought of.

And so he's saying, he's praying to the Father, Father, I want to glorify you because of the promised result.

He could look forward into the future because he's omnipotent. He knows everything. He knows the beginning from the end. He's the first and the last. He's Alpha and Omega.

And so he could look and say there's a promised result, but Father, I pray you help me to glorify you when my hour comes. for the pressing matter, for the promised result. This plan was going to result in eternal life being available to every man.

Eternal life would be offered to all.

This plan existed before the foundation of the world.

C. The Perfect Testimony (v. 4)

Notice the perfect testimony in verse number four. Look at verse number four of chapter number 17. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

I've done up until this point everything that needs to be done. And I've done it perfectly, Father. I have glorified your name by my perfect testimony.

But he didn't do that just to prove his perfection. He did it to glorify the Father. That they could look at him and say, if he's perfect, his Father must be perfect.

Jesus completed the work given to Him.

His perfect obedience glorified the Father.

D. The Pictured Reminder (v. 5)

So we see the pressing matter, we see the promised result, we see the perfect testimony. In verse number five, we see a pictured reminder, or a picture reminded.

In verse number five, the Bible says, and now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Allow the glory we share with each other to be on display for all to see. So we see the first part of his prayer in this most crucial part of his life was his desire to glorify the father. It's amazing throughout his entire ministry, he never lost that connection with his father until on Calvary, where he cried, my God, my God, the first time he ever did not reference him as my father, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?

Even on the cross, up until that moment, he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. His entire ministry was not only just to produce salvation, eternal life, but was to bring glory to God the Father. So we see his desire to glorify the Father.

Request to be glorified with the Father as before the world existed.

2. His Desire for His Present Followers (vv. 6–19)

A. That They Would Hear His Message (vv. 6–8)

John 17:6–8 KJV 1900

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

When they figure that out, last chapter, They just got that thing figured out. How many of you feel like, man, am I a Christian? I'm striving, and I'm trying my best, and I feel like I just got to kindergarten.

Don't feel bad. The guys that turned the world upside down finally figured out who he was right before he died.

But notice this tonight. He said, my desire for my present followers is to hear my message.

He said, my desire was that they would hear his message. Now, he wasn't just speaking of an audible understanding or an audible attentiveness. He didn't want them just to hear it.

Because there's a lot of things that I have heard in my life that I did not apply to my life. I just listened to them and I just heard them. But Jesus would say, I don't want them just to hear my message, but I wanted to hear them in the fact that they take it and apply it.

See, that's the difference in hearing the gospel and being saved by the grace of God. There's been a lot of people who have heard the gospel, but until you apply, you're not saved because you heard the gospel, you're saved because you applied what you heard. You took God at his word and by faith you trusted what you heard.

But until I get from just hearing and observing what's going on to actually applying it, ain't nothing going to change in my life.

Nothing's going to change at all until we heed, until we apply what we hear. What he had told them was life changing, but only if they applied it.

They received His words and believed He was sent from God.

Emphasis on applying what they heard.

B. That They Would Follow His Example (vv. 9–12)

John 17:9–12 KJV 1900

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Now, look at verse number 9 again.

Does anything strike you odd out of this? I pray for them, I pray not for the world. Why would Jesus not pray for the world?

As I was studying, I said, man, that don't make sense. But then I began to realize He didn't come just to pray for the world. He came to die for the world.

He was praying for those men that would take that Gospel message and literally spread it across the known world. You know why you have a Gospel? Why you understand we have a Bible and we have the truth of the Word of God?

Because those 12 men took what they heard, applied it, and shared it. Jesus wasn't expecting the world to get the message out. He was expecting His men to get the message out. and their families, and those that were saved by the grace of God to get the message out.

His life was for the world, but his prayers were for his disciples, that they would follow his example in glorifying his Father.

But now, see, when he was alive, if they got out of line, he literally could just grab them. Peter, come back here. Peter, hush. I bet he said that more times than it's just recorded in the scripture. Peter, just be quiet. Yes, Thomas, I can do that. Quit doubting. Poor Thomas doubted one time, and that's all he's known for.

He wanted him to follow his example. And at this point, he's been there to correct them. He's been there to catch them and to pull them back and say, hey, you're getting a little bit out there. But he's about to leave. He said, when I leave, my prayer is that they follow the example that I've lived before.

Jesus prays specifically for His disciples, not the world.

They would be responsible for spreading the gospel.

C. That They Would Experience His Joy (v. 13)

John 17:13 KJV 1900

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

He said, my prayer for those men that have been walking with me is that they would experience the joy that I have in my heart.

What is joy in the light of Calvary? Where do you find joy in a man dying on a cross? Where do you find joy in a man who's been beaten and beat up and bruised, had his beard plucked out from him? Crown of thorns planted on his head, he's bleeding and he's dying.

Where's joy in that? And why would he want his disciples to experience joy like that?

I'm trying to say the joy that Jesus was talking about wasn't the suffering that he was going to experience, but it was the result of the suffering.

Hebrews 12:2 KJV 1900

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He went through Calvary. Calvary was not a joyous experience. I've never had my hands nailed through, but I guarantee if somebody did, I would not be singing yippee and woohoo, do it again.

That's not the joy, but he said the result of that him dying and paying the price, resurrecting the third day and those that would come and believe the gospel was the joy he was talking about. And he said, I want my disciples that are currently walking with me to know that joy. The joy that comes out of great suffering.

And those men would know what suffering is. Go look at those disciples and look at the deaths that they died.

But none of them died recanting the faith. A lot of them went to their deaths with joy in their heart because they had got to suffer and go through the things like Christ did.

And they knew them at a greater level than most of us have ever probably experienced in our life. But his prayer for his disciples were to experience this joy.

Joy connected to the results of His suffering, not the suffering itself.

D. That They Would Depend on His Word (vv. 14–17)

John 17:14–17 KJV 1900

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Essentially He said, Father, I pray that those men that I'm currently walking with me will learn to depend on my word and depend on the word that you've given us. Not to depend on their feelings, not to depend on others' opinions, but for strength to endure and strength to prevent this escapism.

In verse number 15, he said, I pray that you don't take them out of the world. I pray that you let them stay in and through that, my word and the word that you've given me, they will trust and they will follow and you will use and do great things out of life.

So many us live with that escapism mentality. If I could just get out of this, if this could just go away, if everything was just fine and dandy, then I could finally serve God. I'm sorry, but life don't work that way.

If you're waiting for an unclouded day, you have to wait till heaven. I don't care where you are. There's a cloud in the sky somewhere, even if you can't see it. But this evening, we can't just wait for our lives to be absolutely perfect to serve God.

We've got to learn to serve Him in the midst of tragedy, in the midst of heartache, in the midst...

Well, how do you do that, preacher, by depending on His Word?

You can't just depend on your feelings, because you'll get up some days and not feel like reading your Bible, not feel like praying, not feel like doing anything for God, but I know that I should because the Word of God tells me to, instructs me to.

His prayer was that they would depend on his word.

The world hates them.

Prayer for protection, not removal from the world.

Sanctification through the truth.

E. That They Would Emulate His Purpose (vv. 18–19)

John 17:18–19 KJV 1900

18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

His prayer was that they would emulate his purpose. And we're to emulate.

Jesus' prayer was for his disciples to emulate or to identify and to be identical in their purpose like he was.

Just like, Father, You sent me and You commanded and You gave me the orders to go and to present myself as sacrifice for all of man's sin, I too desire that my disciples would go out into the world and follow Your commandments and do as You command them to do, to emulate the purpose.

They would be sent out to preach the gospel.

That they would seek and to save those that are lost, just like Jesus when he said to himself, I have come to seek and to save that which is lost.

Now, we know the disciples didn't save anybody, but it was their job to go to a lost and dying world and to preach the gospel.

And that was Jesus' prayer that they would do that and to sanctify themselves, just like Christ sanctified. He set himself apart for the purpose of God.

As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends them.

To preach the gospel and live sanctified lives.

3. His Desire for Future Believers (vv. 20–26)

He didn't leave me and you out of this. You know, Jesus prayed for you. He didn't just pray that you'd get saved. He'd pray that you'd get saved and go on for the glory of God and to serve a purpose.

Aren't you glad?

Peter might have went back to fishing, but I'm sure I'm glad he got back

to preaching.

Because he was faithful to preach, somebody got saved under his ministry, began to preach and somebody else got saved and somebody else got saved and somebody else got saved.

Fast forward, I don't know how many generations, but we can literally trace it back if we had the time and the resources that we could trace it back and find out who preached and eventually led to us getting saved.

A. That They Would Have Common Unity (vv. 20–22)

John 17:20–22 KJV 1900

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

His prayer for me and you that night as he was getting ready to head to Calvary was that when we'd get saved, that we would be in unity. We'd be in unity.

And there's one thing that's missing from most churches is unity. We can agree on this one fact.

We're gonna disagree. We're gonna disagree.

Now, tonight, you're trying to say, Brother Ryan, do we all have to have the same opinion? Do we have to all be the same persuasion?

Listen to that, there's gonna be some things that we're not gonna agree on. But they should not impact or affect our unity.

Brother Matt and Brother Doug, you like Ole Miss. They’re not my team and I know several others here support MSU and how good that is that I’m not outnumbered in that! But that should never come in between me and you as Christian brothers. In our agreement to serve the Lord together.

Suppose we ever get around to renovate and to paint, all that kind of stuff. I guarantee there's gonna be somebody that doesn't like the color.

I don't know who it is. And that's all right. You have your opinion. I have mine. But the color of the wall should not hinder us in serving the Lord.

The color of the carpet or whatever we decide to put down in here and out there ought not to hinder us from serving the Lord. Because if it does, we just showed how weak our faith really is and how weak our unity really is.

I want you all to think about this now. It might be one day before too long, we get ready to build the FLC you have been working and giving hard to do, I’ve heard of major churches having major falling outs during building projects. Don’t let that sort of thing break your unity in Christ.

Unity like that between the Father and the Son.

Unity not hindered by disagreements.

B. That They Would Be Willing to Be Perfected (v. 23)

John 17:23 KJV 1900

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Now he's talking about being made perfect.

He wasn't talking about me and you one day are going to be sinlessly perfect in this life. None of us are gonna be sinlessly perfect in this life. None of us will arrive.

Now, we do have the hope and the promise of sinless perfection in heaven. I'm looking forward to that day. where my sin and my inabilities don't hinder me no more. But he said, my prayer is that me and you would make ourselves available to the perfecting or sanctification to allow God to work on us and to grow us and to build us and to help us be formed into his image, his likeness.

And his prayer was that they'd be willing to be perfected, that me and you'd be willing to allow the process of sanctification to take place in our life.

Not sinless perfection, but sanctification.

Becoming more like Christ.

C. That They Would Anticipate a Reunion (v. 24)

John 17:24 KJV 1900

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

He said, I'd hope and my prayers for those that will eventually get saved, me and you, that will be saved by the grace of God in the future.

He was talking about here, his desire was that we'd anticipate a reunion, that one day We will get to see him face to face.

One day we will get to lay eyes on the one that died for us.

And most people, most people, to be completely honest, most people aren't concerned.

They don't live with that mentality that one day we'll stand before Christ and give an account for what we've done in our body with the grace of God and the gospel, what we've done with the things that God's given us.

Most of us don't get up in the morning and think about today could be the day that I stand before Christ, not about whether I'm saved or lost or whether I'm going to go to heaven or hell.

I've got that settled. I know where I'm going because of what Christ did for me and the fact that I trusted in him and he saved me by his grace. But this evening, we will stand before Christ and have to give an account for what we've done.

But most people don't even live with that concern in our mind.

Jesus prayed that we would.

Desire for believers to be with Him and behold His glory.

Anticipation should motivate faithful service.

D. That They Would Reveal God Through Love (vv. 25–26)

John 17:25–26 KJV 1900

25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

That we would reveal God to others through love. Not only that we'd be recipients of this great love, but that we would allow this great love to be on display for others.

When's the last time somebody's seen the love of God in your life? In your daily walk? You didn't just win, don't try to win them over with just the truth. But you try to express Christ like love to them to go with truth to compliment truth, grace and truth.

They go great together. They really do. And love and mercy. You can throw those in there too.

That's what our life ought to exhibit to those that are that are around us, whose desire for us was that we reveal God to others through.

His prayer revealed his heart, not only about his desire to glorify the father, his desire for the men that were currently walking with them, but for his desire for me and you, those of us that would eventually be saved by the grace of God after Calvary.

Displaying God’s love to others.

Love and truth working together.

IV. Closing Observations

Jesus spends only a small portion of the prayer on Himself.

Majority of the prayer focuses on others.

His joy was anchored in the promise of what His suffering would accomplish.

Believers should pray specifically for others, not generically.

Christ’s prayer life serves as the model for believers.