When we last met, we concluded our discussions by saying that The Model Prayer found in Matthew 6 was about reconciliation. In truth, this is the heart of prayer, that we come to see the world as God sees it. With that as our foundation, we turn to The Lord's Prayer found in John 17.
Many scholars and commentators would agree that this prayer logically divides into three categories: Jesus prays for Himself (1-5), then for His immediate disciples (6-19), then for the disciples that would follow after (20-26). We will look briefly into each of these three parts.
In the first portion, Jesus prays for Himself. The remarkable thing about this section is that in it He does not pray for His own peace or perseverance. Instead, He focuses on the completion of the work which the Father has given to Him. In doing so, He emphasizes relationship and its effect on life: as Tenney says, He "defines the nature of eternal life. It is not described in chronological terms but by relationship" (162).
Transitioning into the second part of the prayer, Jesus continues to develop this theme of relationship.
"I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to me, and they have kept Thy word. Now they have come to know that everything Thou hast given Me is from Thee; for the words which Thou gavest Me I have given to them; and they received them, and truly understood that I came forth from Thee, and they believed that Thou didst send me." (John 17:6-8)
Christ here and in the following verses acknowledges that the disciples have a new identity because of Him. Because Christ came from the Father, they are now able to have relationship with the Father. And it is for the continuation and development of this relationship He prays: "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as we are" (John 17:11b). With the verses following, Christ shows how this relationship with the Father will change their relationship with each other and with the world.
In verse 20, Christ changes His focus from His immediate disciples to all the ones "who believe in Me through their word." Even with this, the emphasis remains the same: that these disciples would have a relationship with the Father, an that they may be unified through Christ just as the Father and the Son are unified.
Honestly, I fear that I often miss out on the relational nature of prayer. I believe that this is something that comes natural to us as we continue to wrestle with our own selfishness and vanity. However, as Christ has modeled, prayer is not primarily about us. Instead, it is about our relationship: first to God, and then to the ones around us. This is an incredible thought. Imagine with me, just for a moment, the difference it would make if we approached prayer from this perspective. What would God do through such a mindset? How would He lead us to impact the world around us? How would He change our understanding of those situations in our lives? I do not know the answer to these questions. However, I am eager to find out, and invite you to join with me this week to pray with these things in mind.
Bibliography
New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.
Tenney, Merril C., and Richard N. Logenecker. John and Acts. Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein. Vol. 9. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981. Print. The Expositor's Bible Commentary.
