John 17:20-26 Prayer for All Believers
“I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”
“I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” Jesus has prayed for himself and for his disciples, but now he’s doing something incredible. Jesus is praying for all those who will believe in him through the message of the disciples. Even though Jesus knows that he is about to be arrested, interrogated, mocked, tortured, and murdered, he is covering believers for all time in prayer. This means that the night Jesus is betrayed, he is praying for us!
“I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.” Sometimes we look at ourselves or at fellow believers and we can’t imagine that God’s glory is resting on us. We are all too aware of our shortcomings and the shortcomings of others, and that awareness of failures present big barriers to unity of any kind, let alone perfect unity. But Jesus has loved each one of us, just as his Heavenly Father has loved him.
One problem believers have is that we are all too prone to judge one another. We believe rumors and listen to gossip. We are more than willing to think the worst of one another rather than the best. Love gets lost in the process of self-promotion. But such thoughts and actions are completely antagonistic to Jesus’ desires for his followers.
“Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”
We have choices: we can choose to love or we can refuse to love. But if we want to have eternal life and to be with Jesus forever, we have no choice except to love and refuse to judge.
Unity in the body of Christ-even though this is the ideal, so many times we lose sight of Jesus’ call to unity. We want to judge, to criticize, to withhold love…even though we claim to be Jesus followers. Several years ago, we had an unfortunate experience with one mission sending agency. When we consulted a friend serving as a counselor at a missionary training center, he informed us that in his thirty-five years of experience with missions, he had never found a mission, church, or para-church group that functioned along truly Christian lines. Our friend continued that without exception, all of these groups functioned along the same lines as conventional businesses.
If we are serious as believers, we must follow Jesus’ commands and not those of conventional organizations. May God help us, so that we will do those things that fulfill Jesus’ prayers for us!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to love as You have loved and to pursue unity with other believers. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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