Prayer — Jesus praying
Observing Jesus at prayer.
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, John 17:1. ‘Seeing and hearing’ the Lord Jesus praying takes us into the realm of the Spirit, as Paul would describe our experience. In detail of word, expression and emotion, John shows us ‘The Master of Prayer’ in prayer.
Turn our attention away to conversation, commentary and liturgy from this passage and we a miss important insights at the hand and inspiration of the Spirit of Christ. In Rom 8:9, the apostle Paul writes: You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Praying in another realm
Jesus provides a compact, critical list of concerns that make up the heart and ministry of prayer that He, God, sees it in Matt 6. His ‘Lord’s Prayer’ may be seen as a prayer agenda, a list of ‘headings’ for prayer, but should not be taken as a ‘poem’ or ‘mantra’ to be said with mind elsewhere.
On the way ‘Lost in ‘love, wonder and praise’
Taken as a ‘prayer road map’, the Lord’s Prayer gives us a good outline of topics to visit and a structure and order in which to visit them. Starting out acknowledging and adoring our heavenly Father, it doesn’t matter if we lose consciousness of time and only progress to the third or fourth place on the map.
Using the last line of the hymn, Love Devine All Loves Excelling, Charles Wesley captures Paul’s eloquence in Rom 11:33–36: We are ‘lost in wonder, love and praise’.
Before our Father, Almighty God
As we ‘listen’ to Jesus praying, mentally, we need to quietly ‘take our shoes off’, for we are on holy ground. ‘Our bear feet’ put us in direct contact with God’s creation and it is also a symbol of how we are in God’s presence, naked.
In addition, we become witnesses to God’s glory. God’s glory is not simply a brilliant aura. It is unique to God; it emanates from His power and authority, and communicates His majesty and almightiness, for He is God, and there is no other like Him, the only living God.
We listen as ‘man’ as Jesus, as God, prays. His words have a magnificent way of expressing His relationship as a man with God: ´Father, Glorify your Son.”
Jesus’ prayer: John 17
Jesus looks up to His Father and His attention is totally on heaven. Jesus talks to God as if talking about someone else: your Son, him, Jesus Christ instead of me. He does this, possibly, because of His position as one sent by His Father and not to appear over familiar. His close relationship with His Father comes out in v.4 and 5, in which He does use ‘Me’ and refers to previously being with His Father.
Jesus talks of their cooperation, working together for the rescue of man and emphasizing that His Father took the initiative: you granted, … you sent, … you have given.
After ‘worshiping’ God in the opening of His prayer …
Jesus broadens His prayer to include His disciples and what He has achieved in them. He has done what He and His Father had agreed He should. His prayer is rather like a conversation, in which the Father listens intently and nods in agreement and with approval.
Jesus’ prayers are not vague and general. He gives details, but not irrelevant elaboration, for His Father knows it all already.
Prayer overheard and in print
The Bible gives us a record of only a few times Jesus prayed in public. It is difficult to derive lessons from most of them, partly because they are so brief. It is also difficult to develop lessons from His short comment-prayers, such as when He to restored Lazarus to life. His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane is just completely out of our league! However, He was completely happy with His disciples listening to this prayer and for the Holy Spirit to have it captured in print.
He is specific in His prayers. He also gives reasons, results and the limits on particular prayers, such as v.9, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world.”
There is much to learn from this wonderful prayer as He draws us closer to Himself and our Father. May it help us to focus on God and take our minds of ourselves and our situation. May we enthusiastically and humbly learn from our Lord Jesus how He prayed and how to pray.
Conclusion and farewell, v.25, 26
John 18:1, When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples. If this wasn’t the end of His prayer, then the Holy Spirit chose to end it here for us as a wonderful ending! Jesus brings together His Father, Himself and His disciples, who were around Him listening, and says that they all know one another. As far as He is concerned, He assures His Father, and disciples, that this is not the end. He promises them all that His presence will be with His them and His relationship with them will grow.
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
