John 17 | What's happening (and who's involved)?
Scripture often alludes to how Jesus would get alone in the place of prayer. Some of His disciples would actually get frustrated with Him sneaking off to be with the Father because people were in need of Him. But that never stopped Jesus from developing a robust prayer life. We see the evidence of that in this section here.
This is one of the last prayers Jesus prays as He anticipates going to the cross. He knows what is yet to come, and this is what He prays. Now I don't know about you, perhaps I am a bit morbid, but I think the last words people say when they know they are going to die is extremely revelatory of what abides deeply within them. The section in front of us is extremely telling of the character of Jesus. There are 4 1/2 verses out of 26 where Jesus is recorded praying for Himself here. His concern in His final moments is for His disciples and the believers who will yet believe.
When it comes to the section Jesus prays for Himself, you see the security of the dynamic between Him and the Father. The section is very matter of fact and very confirming. He doesn't spend a lot of time on Himself because He doesn't need to. He knows the Father and the Father knows Him. Again, His concern is for His disciples.
As He prays for His disciples, He recognizes that while He is departing from the world, they are not. They are still in it, while not being of it. He prays for their sanctification and their joy. But then He prays for those who will believe through them. That now includes all of us. For those that believe, He prays for unity among believers and the believers cumulatively with the Trinity. That unity serves as a testimony to the world that Jesus has been sent by the Father. And finally, Jesus expresses His desire for the believer to be with Him where He is, that we may behold His glory. Jesus knows the Father and prepares Himself to be with the Father. Jesus desires for the love that the Father loved Him with would be in us, alongside Jesus.
There are a lot of awesome things to get into this week as we dive into Jesus' prayer. What observations are you making in this passage?
This is one of the last prayers Jesus prays as He anticipates going to the cross. He knows what is yet to come, and this is what He prays. Now I don't know about you, perhaps I am a bit morbid, but I think the last words people say when they know they are going to die is extremely revelatory of what abides deeply within them. The section in front of us is extremely telling of the character of Jesus. There are 4 1/2 verses out of 26 where Jesus is recorded praying for Himself here. His concern in His final moments is for His disciples and the believers who will yet believe.
When it comes to the section Jesus prays for Himself, you see the security of the dynamic between Him and the Father. The section is very matter of fact and very confirming. He doesn't spend a lot of time on Himself because He doesn't need to. He knows the Father and the Father knows Him. Again, His concern is for His disciples.
As He prays for His disciples, He recognizes that while He is departing from the world, they are not. They are still in it, while not being of it. He prays for their sanctification and their joy. But then He prays for those who will believe through them. That now includes all of us. For those that believe, He prays for unity among believers and the believers cumulatively with the Trinity. That unity serves as a testimony to the world that Jesus has been sent by the Father. And finally, Jesus expresses His desire for the believer to be with Him where He is, that we may behold His glory. Jesus knows the Father and prepares Himself to be with the Father. Jesus desires for the love that the Father loved Him with would be in us, alongside Jesus.
There are a lot of awesome things to get into this week as we dive into Jesus' prayer. What observations are you making in this passage?
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Archive
2026
January
John 14:22-31 | What's the lesson for me today?John 14:22-31 | What am I going to do about it?John 14:22-31 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:1-11John 15:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:1-11 | What's the connection?John 15:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:12-27John 15:12-27 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:12-27 | What's the connection?John 15:12-27 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:12-27 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:12-27 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:12-27 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:1-15John 16:1-15 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:1-15 | What's the connection?John 16:1-15 | What’s a lesson for the original audience?John 16:1-15 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:1-15 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:1-15 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:16-33John 16:16-33 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:16-33 | What's the connection?John 16:16-33 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 16:16-33 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:16-33 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:16-33 | Prayer Prompts
February
Passage of the Week: John 17John 17 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 17 | What's the connection?John 17 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 17 | What's the lesson for me today?John 17 | What am I going to do about it?John 17 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:1-11John 18:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:1-11 | What's the connection?John 18:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:12-40John 18:12-40 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:12-40 | What's the connection?John 18:12-40 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:12-40 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:12-40 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:12-40 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 19John 19 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 19 | What's the connection?John 19 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 19 | What's the lesson for me today?John 19 | What am I going to do about it?John 19 | Prayer Prompts
March
Passage of the Week: John 20John 20 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 20 | What's the connection?John 20 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 20 | What's the lesson for me today?John 20 | What am I going to do about it?John 20 | Prayer PromptsJohn 21 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 21John 21 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 21 | What's the connection?John 21 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 21 | What's the lesson for me today?John 21 | What am I going to do about it?Passage of the Week: Hebrews 1:1-4Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What is a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 1:5-14Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:5-14 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:1-4Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the connection?
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