The Perfect Prayer of Jesus-Part 1

Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to the Gospel of John, chapter 17. We have been studying the Gospel of John together. And over the last several chapters, we have been looking at the last few hours that Jesus had with His disciples before His arrest. And we’ve been talking about how Jesus used this time to emphasize those things to His disciples that He wanted them to remember.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew the hour of His arrest. He knew that it would lead to His torture and death so that He could be the sacrifice that paid for the sins of the world. Jesus knew that His disciples would suffer. They would suffer confusion and fear. They would suffer great heart ache. But He also knew that He would rise again. He knew that His resurrection would open the doorway to the forgiveness of sins. Jesus knew His resurrection would bring joy, hope, and faith to His followers, but that it would also bring them more suffering in the form of persecution from a lost and dying world that loves darkness and hates the light.

Jesus knew that He would ascend into heaven. And He knew that He will come again, in a little while, to judge the living and the dead, bringing salvation and life to those sealed by His Holy Spirit and judgment and wrath on those who reject the truth.

Jesus knew all of these things because Jesus knows everything. And in these final hours, Jesus was working diligently to remind His disciples of those things that would be the most important for them to remember in the time ahead of them. But now, as we turn the page into chapter 17, Jesus is done addressing the disciples directly, and He goes to the Father in prayer. And so, as we pick back up in the text this morning, we are going to begin reading together in John 17:1, and because we wish to honor God as we read from His Word together, I invite you to stand with me, if you are able to do so.

John 17:1–5 NASB95

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Let’s pray together: Lord, Jesus, we praise You for who You are. We have gathered here together to worship You in Spirit and in truth, and to lift up Your Name in honor and glory. And as we enter into the study of Your Word together, we ask that You would send Your Holy Spirit to do His work among us. Would You guide us to understand what You desire to teach us. Would you challenge us through it, would you mold us and fashion us, that we might be changed to be more like Your Son Jesus. It is in His holy and precious Name that we pray, Amen.

Thank you, you may be seated.

As I shared with you a moment ago, the entirety of John 17 is comprised of a prayer. Jesus is just about to be arrested. He is about to enter into the work that He came to earth to accomplish. And in these final moments with His disciples, Jesus takes a moment to address God the Father in front of them because Jesus knew what was coming.

Just after Jesus got done telling the disciples that they needed to get accustomed to going to God the Father with their prayers and petitions in His Name so that the Father would grant them what they are lacking; just after Jesus warned them of their coming suffering and separation from Him and from each other, we find that Jesus turns to the Father Himself. This prayer by Jesus is often called the High Priestly prayer. And in it, I think we have a model. I think that we have a model of what effective prayer looks like, and that gets me excited.

You see, sometimes, I pray, and my prayers are ineffective. And I was recently talking with someone that has lost his faith, and while I don’t want to over-simplify things because I know that this man has lived a life where he has suffered at the hands of those that would call themselves believers, and he has suffered loss that he hasn’t come to grips with, this man said that the reason he can’t believe in God is because prayer doesn’t work.

And as I prayed for this man, and for his loss of faith, I also reflected on those times that I have prayed and found that my prayers seemed ineffective. And this doesn’t seem like it should be possible to me. Jesus told us just a few verses ago that we could ask for anything in His Name and the Father will do it. So, how could it be that I would pray and find that my prayers seem ineffective.

And what I want us to realize, friends, is that when my prayers are ineffective, the problem is with me and not God. I am the one who is missing something. And, so, it is exciting to have this beautiful example of effective prayer from Jesus in these verses. What better example of prayer could you and I hope for than one that comes from the Son of God Himself? Christ’s prayer shows us a great number of things.

In these first five verses, what we find are four things that Jesus reveals about His relationship with God the Father. And in those four things, we find some guidelines for effective prayer. Let’s look together.

John 17:1 NASB95

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,

The first thing we see revealed of the relationship between the Father and Son is this, that

The glory of God is revealed in Jesus’ death and resurrection

In this moment, before Jesus faced the most challenging part of His ministry on earth, He stops and prays. His eyes look up to heaven. His whole being is fixed on reaching out to the Father. And what is His request to God?

Glorify me, so that I can glorify you. Glorify me, so that I can glorify you. The hour had come for Christ to be crucified. Jesus was facing death, burial, and resurrection. And what Jesus says to the Father here is “glorify me so that I can glorify you.” Christ’s death and resurrection was the act of Christ that brought about the most glory both to Jesus and to the Father. And what we see in it is that the glory of God the Father is the glory of God the Son. The glory of God the Son is the glory of God the Father and God the Spirit. And Christ’s request to be glorified Himself is so that He can honor and glorify the Father. Philippians 2:5-10 tells us to be like minded to Christ in this.

Philippians 2:5–10 NASB95

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

The greatest glory of Jesus Christ comes from His moment of greatest humility, and selflessness. And I don’t want us to miss this because Philippians 2 clearly shows us that God answered this prayer. God the Father glorified God the Son so that Jesus could glorify the Father, and it leads us to the first guideline to effective prayer that we find in this passage. If you and I want to pray effectively, we need to understand that

Effective prayer selflessly seeks the glory of God

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pray for things that we need. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t ask our Father for things that we lack. But it does mean that the things that we need and the things that we lack should be things that are necessary for us to bring glory to God in what He wants us to accomplish. Pray for healing, that you might bring Him greater glory. Pray for His provision, that you can sing of His faithfulness.

When I look back on the times in my life that my prayers were ineffective, it is because my prayers were centered on me. My will, my desires, my plan, and what I felt I deserved or wanted.

Jesus deserved to be glorified on His own. Jesus is worthy of glory on His own. And yet, Jesus asked for glory from God the Father so that He could bring even more glory to the Father. You and I must do the same. This should motivate us, beloved, in our prayer life. The question is not what you are praying for. The question is, what is the object of your prayers? Who is the ultimate benefactor of your prayer? Don’t let your prayers be focused on your own selfish gain. When you pray, let your motive be the glory of God and your prayer life will be effective because God will glorify Himself.

Let’s continue. Verse 2

John 17:2–3 NASB95

even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Friends, the second thing that is revealed to us about the Father and the Son in this passage is this:

The authority of God is revealed in Christ as eternal life is given through His death and resurrection

There is something to be said about the proof of authority. The proof of authority lies in the capacity to deliver on decisions and promises. An ambassador carries the authority of the nation that sent them. But how much more authority is there when the King Himself comes. In Jesus, the King has come Himself.

Many times over throughout the Gospel, Jesus has spoken that a persons sins were forgiven. And the Pharisees questioned how could this be? Who but God can forgive sin? But Jesus came in the power of God because Jesus is God the Son. In John 14:6-7 Jesus said:

John 14:6–7 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

In our passage, what did Jesus say is eternal life? knowing the Father! And how do we know the Father? We know Jesus. We have seen Him throughout this Gospel, as He moved throughout His ministry in the power of God. Have we not read how He made blind men see and dead men walk? Did we not hear of His walking on water and His feeding of more than 5000 with a few loaves and fish?

And this is the thing, my friends: why is it that the power of God the Father was constantly on display through the Son? Why is it that we can have confidence in the eternal life that is promised to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Is it not because everything that the Son did was centered and focused on the purposes of the Father? Even as Jesus Himself told us in John 5:30

John 5:30 NASB95

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

In Jesus Christ, you and I who believe have eternal life. In Jesus Christ, we have the promise of an eternity of knowing God the Father, guaranteed to us by the power and authority displayed in Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purposes of our heavenly Father. And, friends, this is the key piece.

We can trust in the authority of Christ because His authority is that of God the Father. Christ prayed that God would keep us, and we can rely on the effectiveness of His prayer because God the Son is centered on the purposes of God the Father. And, if you and I wish to be effective in our own prayer life, if we want to pray with power and to see the power of God in movement through our prayers, we need to understand what Christ demonstrates here, that:

Effective prayer centers on the purposes of God

God the Father wanted you and I to have eternal life through God the Son, and so He moved everything to bring that about. And God the Father gave all authority in heaven and earth to the Son to accomplish this task because the Son is centered on the purposes of His Father.

Do you want to see God’s power move mightily in your prayers? Pray in accordance with His will. Pray in accordance with those things that God cares about, that God is jealous for, that God is working and moving in. Praying in God’s purposes will always be successful. Do you know why? It’s because God always accomplishes what He sets out to do. His will is perfect and so is His plan. God will do whatever it is that He purposes. He will bring glory to His Name in you and me. He will reach lost souls with the Gospel of salvation, bringing them from life into death. He will grow mature disciples, men and women of God serving in His holy church to bring about His glory until He comes again.

Pray in God’s purposes, and your prayers will be answered. Pray against injustice. Pray for the salvation of the lost. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel. Pray to be used in making disciples. Pray that all of the nations on earth would be reached and ask Him for the opportunity to be the one that goes. Pray prayers that are centered on the purposes of God, I promise, friend, you will not be disappointed.

Moving forward in our passage, let’s look at verse 4

John 17:4 NASB95

“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

Beloved, the fourth thing this prayer of our Savior reveals about His relationship with God the Father is this:

The glorifying obedience to God is exemplified in Christ’s obedience

Truly verse 4 is a prayer I would love to pray to my Father in heaven, that “I have glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work which You have given me to do.” Jesus came to earth with a purpose. He came to glorify God the Father by paying the debt of death that we owed for our sins and rising from the dead, destroying death forever. He came to live a perfect life in obedience and to restore the relationship between God and man.

What higher example could we aspire to than that of our Lord, Jesus. Just like Jesus, you and I were put her on this earth for a purpose. Our life, our purpose on earth is clearly given to us in Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 NASB95

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Jesus called this the foremost and greatest commandment, adding that the second is that we should love our neighbor as ourselves. And so, we were created to know God and to make Him known, and we need to fulfill our purpose. Do you know how we demonstrate our love to God? Scripture actually tells us. In 1 John, 5:3, it says

1 John 5:3 NASB95

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

The way that we show our love to God is obedience. And here’s the thing: you and I are incapable of true obedience on our own. God will always call us to harder things than what we can handle on our own. That old saying that God will never give you more than you can handle is just plain old heresy. It isn’t true. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, you and I can live lives of obedience. And as we strive more and more to do so, our desire to be obedient should drive us to our knees. And this is what Christ’s example in obedience should show us that

Effective prayer is born out of obedience to God

When we seek to obey, our lack of ability to do it on our own will draw us to dependence on the Father, and God will help us in these things because He desires our obedience more than gold and sacrifice. And the more and more that we learn to follow and obey the perfect will of the Father, the more our thoughts and desires will be centered and focused on God’s desires and purposes. And, just as we have already discussed, God will always move to accomplish His purposes and will.

And this should tell us, beloved, that when we are living and moving in obedience, that our prayers will become more and more effective because our prayers will be aligned with the things of God. In a lot of ways obedience is the key to everything for us. Obedience will draw us into God’s purposes, obedience will glorify God, and so obedience will bring about more effective prayer in our lives.

Do you want to be effective in your prayer life? Do you want to find yourself selflessly seeking the glory of the Father in pursuing His purposes? Then seek His face in helping you to be obedient to the things that He has called you to.

Finally, and we’re almost done here this morning, my friends, let’s look at verse 5:

John 17:5 NASB95

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

The last thing that revealed about the Father and Son in these verses is this:

The glory of Christ is revealed in His ascension to the Father

In this last verse, Jesus asks God to restore Him to the seat of glory that He occupied in the heavenlies since before time began. His view in this verse has turned to the end of His earthly mission, and to His return to the Father, and this end goal of being with the Father is what strengthens Him for the road ahead.

Jesus is saying here, Father, do what must be done to bring me to Yourself. And you know what, God answered His prayer.

Acts 1:9–11 NASB95

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Now, I want you to listen here, because this is important. God answered the prayer of Jesus. The Father glorified Jesus. His name is above every other name. He is seated at the right hand of the Father until He comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

But between this prayer we’ve read this morning and the moment of His ascension, Jesus endured greater suffering than any other man ever has. His pain was incredible, no doubt. The word excruciating literally means out of the cross. But what made it worse was that in bearing our Sins God the Father was separated from God the Father for the only time in all of eternity, as God’s Son became what God Himself cannot look upon.

And I share that with you because sometimes, in our walk with Christ, sometimes in our journey to be obedient, you and I are going to be called on to suffer. We are going to suffer for following Jesus. We’re watching it unfold in our culture before our eyes. The children of today will see persecution in this place that you and I never dreamed was possible. And if we have a chance of standing in it, we have to be like Jesus. We have got to be a people on our knees. We have got to be a people of prayer, crying out to the Father, Lord do a work in me. Do a work in me and through me, and Lord do what must be done to draw me to yourself. And what I’m trying to say here, what we can learn from the prayer of Jesus is this:

Effective prayer is in view of the end

Jesus prayed about the end result. Jesus asked the Father to bring it about. And the journey to it wasn’t pleasant, but His glory was worth it. And I love that passage from Acts we just read, how the Angels as “why are you standing around-Jesus is coming back just as He left.” And I want you to hear what I’m saying here, friends, because what those angels were saying is this-

You better get busy! You need to pray with the view of the end. You need to live with the view of the end because Jesus is coming. Don’t pray like you’ve got a tomorrow. Pray like today is all you have! Pray like you expect God is coming! Pray like your life depends on it, because the hour of our trial is coming and the night will be quickly upon us. Some would argue that it is dusk, and the night is already here. But I can tell you, friends, that however long this night may be, the morning is coming. And to be standing in the light of the morning, we have got to weather the night.

Are you praying in view of the end? Whatever you are called to let go of, to walk away from, to be stripped of, or to suffer will be worth it, but the only way you’ll do it is if you’re praying in view of the end. Are your prayers born out of obedience? Is your heart’s desire to seek the Lord’s will and to do it? Are you centered and fixated on pursuing His will? Is His glory your greatest desire and obsession? These are the keys we’ve been given this morning to a prayer life that is effective. And the only question remaining is how badly you want it.

I’m going to pray for us, friends. I’m going to lead us in prayer, and then we’re going to sing a song of reflection and invitation. And this morning, the altar is open for those who are ready to go deeper, for those who are longing for the glory of God to be evident in their lives as they live with reckless abandon in seeking to obey Him as He leads them to His purposes. God desires to give you an effective life of prayer as You grow in your relationship with Him. This morning, we have seen our example in Jesus. Let today be the day that you follow Him into it.

Would you pray with me? Lord, Jesus, forgive me. My heart, and my desires, my wants and my pursuits have been focused on me as the center of everything. And if I’m honest with You, God, I know that You have called me to more than that. I want to glorify you in my life. In how I pray, in how I live, in the things that I talk about, I want your glory to shine through me. I desire to walk in obedience, and to only pursue those things that are in line with your perfect will. And I know that I am unable to do that on my own. Would You help me, Lord? Would You guide my by the power of Your Holy Spirit? Would you move and work in me to help me want these things. Would You reshape me so that I would bring You the glory that I was made to bring You by fulfilling the plan that You made for me. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

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