Jesus' Prayer Life

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” John 17:1

The chapter of John 17 might more appropriately be called “The Lord’s Prayer” rather than Matthew 6:9-13. The prayer contains a threefold petition from Jesus:

• Petition #1: That He may be glorified (John 17:1-5). Jesus says, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” The prayer of Jesus for Himself is not for a selfish motive. His desire was to glorify the Father. To glorify God is to make Him known. Jesus knew that He would soon be manifested as the Savior of the world through His atoning death on Calvary’s cross. Believers in Him would know God and thus possess eternal life.In everything that you do, you should have this same mind—to pray that God may be glorified through your daily life.

• Petition #2: That His disciples may be sanctified (17:6-19). Although Jesus does not pray that His immediate disciples be removed from the world, He does pray that they would be kept from the world’s evil through the Father’s name. He also prays that they might be sanctified, that is, set apart for the ministry of truth. Billy Graham once said, “God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the same.” God desires an ongoing transformation of your heart, mind and attitude. Pray that you will be changed daily from glory to glory into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).

• Petition #3: That the church may be unified (John 17:20-26). In the final portion of His prayer, Jesus prays for the unity of all believers in subsequent generations. The oneness He requests is not an organizational unity, but a spiritual one. He prays that this unity will be visibly manifested in the life of the Church and will bear witness to the divine mission of Christ. Knowing Jesus’ heart in this matter, you must commit yourself to bring about the unity of the Church. Pray for the unity of your local congregation and the interchurch relationships in your nation.