Powerful Prayer: Prayers for the Church

Welcome/Prayer/Intro

Good Morning Church! How is everyone doing this morning? I am excited and sad to finish our series on prayer. I am excited to continue this series, but Ill be honest I am discouraged because I feel like my prayer life still needs work. But the good news is that just because the series on prayer is over does not mean we stop praying amen? Lets pray!

Prayer: God we come before you this morning, with many different feelings, emotions, and burdens. We come before your throne of Grace and simply rest in your presence. We ask Lord that you would meet us where we are at and transform us from the inside out.

Intro: Robert McCheyne once said this: “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” If you have had the experience of someone praying with you – of having someone right next to you, sitting beside you, bringing your concerns and needs before God, I invite you now to imagine Jesus doing exactly that. I want you to close your eyes and to picture yourself sitting with Jesus. I want to you picture him praying for you. As you picture Jesus praying for you, eyes closed, I’m going to read our Scripture passage. Listen to Jesus, as he prays these words.

Read John 17 from your NIV.

Walking Through the Text: Jesus’ prayers for the Church

Jesus Prays for His/The Father’s Glory

Jesus talks about his relationship with Father and how they glorify each other.

Talks about how Jesus has been sent to bring eternal life to those who know God and Jesus.

Then prays for the disciples. I want to talk about the prayers that Jesus prays for the disciples and in extention us. I think these prayers are powerful and relavant for the church today.

Jesus’ Prayers for the Church.

First thing that Jesus prays for is protection! Jesus says to protect them by the power of your name.

Jesus gave the disciples God’s word so that we can have the full measure of Joy in us.

But in the very next line, but the world hated them.

There is something thats going on here. The gospel of John is written to a community of believers that have experienced hatred in the world. The Jews in the Johannine communities have been rejected and thrown out of synagoges

This is also a reality that millions of Christians face today all over the world. They face persecution, hatred, even death. I am incredibly thankful this morning that we are in a safe place but we would be remiss to fail to acknowledge that others are not.

Think of places like the Ukraine right now. Under the violence and destruction of War, Yet Jesus is praying for them.

Jesus isnt praying for escape. Jesus doesnt say, protect them by sweeping them away to heavan. look at verse 15. Jesus specifically says, My prayer is not that you would take them out of the world but that you would protect them from the Evil one.

Jesus is praying that for us right now church, How can we be joining him and praying that the father would protect His people in places like Ukraine. How can we expand our prayer and creativity,

Pray for tanks to miraculously run out of Gas

For planes to not be able to fly

For bombs to disapear out of thin air.

The Second thing that Jesus prays for is that the disciples would be sanctified by the truth.

In a way this is also a prayer for protection that the disciples in carring out their mission would remain Holy while remaining in the world.

Jesus is focusing on the disciples location spiritually. I think this is quite profound that Jesus is praying for my spiritual Growth. That I would grow in my walk with Jesus.

Yet, this isnt something Jesus is praying for but working towards. Its at this point in Jesus’ life where he will set into motion the ultimate plan for humanity to know God like never before

To see God’s love displayed through sacrifice

To destroy the barrier of sin and the finality of the grave!

To bring about God’s Spirit not living in a temple or a box, but poured out on all flesh.

Before we move onto the third prayer for the church I want to pause on verse 20 (Slide)

Here Jesus prays for the believers that come to know HIm through the message of the disciples. Church that is us. We are part of that group. We are here because the message at some point reached us.

This is something that really hit me as I was studying this. I felt God ask, what message are people hearing from you Joe?

What Message is our community hearing from our Church Family?

What message does the newville community here from the the churches in our area?

People need to hear the message if they are ever going to know Jesus Amen!

What messages can we share this week?

Jesus’ Third Prayer is for Unity. This is the last prayer for the church, but not the least by any means. Actually, I think this is most important for the Johannie community that John is written to, but also to our church today!

Jesus prays for Unity for the disciples. Think about the disciples for a second.

They were a group of 12 men given a mission to spread the good news.

Now men, if 12 men get together and are told to do something are we going to have complete unity?

The disciples were from different places, held different jobs (fisherman - tax man), had different political views (simion the zealot), if you read between the lines, there are probably very few things they were unified in.

Jesus prays for a world changing kind of unity. He says that the unity will be the catalyst in the world knowing Jesus. Think about this, unity- not outreach programs or events or church size but unity!

But what makes this unity so powerful? Love. This is what Jesus says earlier in John 13:35 (slide). Love one another. that is the power in the unity. Our unity comes from our love for one another.

Reality Check time Church: I feel like the last few years have destroyed the churches unity. Between elections, covid, vaccines, and now world conflict we have lost our sense of unity.

I wonder if our opinion on subject A, B or C, really outweighs our love for that person?

Which are we more commited to:

Politics or love for one another

opinions or love for one another

being “right” or love for one another.

This is not a unity we can achieve by our own efforts. Our unity emerges as a result of our remaining in Jesus – by being focused on him. A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God asks “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow

Think about our role as a church family like a box of crayons (Slide)

different colors and shades but all in the same box and together create something beautiful!

We all have a role to play in coloring God’s Kingdom amen!

I want to share a story from WWII.

In Germany, when Hitler rose to power the churches were told to follow the Nazi’s ideas and plans.

About 50% of the Churches went along and the other half did not.

those who did not, faced harsh persecution. In almost every family of those who resisted, someone died in a concentration camp.When the war was over, feelings of bitterness ran deep between the groups and there was much tension.

AFter the war, there were seveal churches that decided it was time to heal so leaders from each group went on a retreat. They were so mad at each other they couldnt even speak to each other instead they prayed. After several days they developed a miraculous sense of unity.

As they confessed their hostility and bitterness to God and yielded to His control, the Holy Spirit created a spirit of unity among them. Love filled their hearts and dissolved their hatred. When love prevails among Christians, especially in times of strong disagreement, its how the world will know we are christians, by our love for one another.

Summary and Charge:

Jesus prayed for Protection the Church

Jesus prayed for Santification in the Church.

Jesus Prayed for Unity for the Church

Jesus didnt Just pray for this once but he is praying for this now!

Remember, Jesus prayed for water to turn into wine, Jesus prayed for bread and fish to become a feast, Jesus prayed that when Lazurus was thought to be dead, for him to come to live. When Jesus prays the world changes. Jesus is praying church, How will we respond? How will we show the world Jesus

Lets sing together as we go into our week and show the world the God who prays for us!