“I’m not praying only for them but also for those who believe in me because of their word. I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me." John 17:20-21 CEB
Throughout the Gospels we read multiple accounts of Jesus in prayer. He was constantly in prayer to his Father. Yet in the Gospel of John, we see a greater insight into the reach of his prayer life. Starting with the 15th chapter, the Gospel of John recounts the words of Jesus as he travels with the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was taking up on the cross. There is much more detail of this event in this Gospel than in the other three Gospels. It is his last words to the disciples in his earthly journey with them. And in the 17th chapter, Jesus begins to pray.
So, what is he praying for? What are his petitions to his Father?
What is remarkable is that Jesus is praying for us. Yes, for you and me! In verse 20, Jesus is praying for all of those who believe in him because of the words of the disciples. The words that have been passed down to us through Scripture. That includes those who are the faithful in the present. And what does he pray for us? He prays that we will be unified. To be as one. That we would all be as one in the same way that the Father and the Son are one. And that because of our example, the world will believe the message of Christ that was sent by God.
Isn’t it astonishing that Jesus prayed for us? You and me. This shows the depth of Jesus’ love and care for each of us. How will we respond?
Click to watch the video below on Jesus' prayer that we may be as one.