Let's be honest. There are some people you just want to hear their prayers. Their prayers disciple you, they help you grow, they shape you. I want to hear Jesus pray. In the Gospels, we are told that Jesus does pray and that Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray, but we don't get too many glimpses of Jesus' prayer. John 17 is a precious example of how Jesus prays. And His prayer shapes me.
It starts with the humble and the personal. Jesus prays for Jesus. That's not necessarily a prayer to imitate, but to enjoy. This is like listening in on a parent-child talk. Do you remember those? I remember several moments where I talked to my dad and it got serious for a couple moments. I could never predict them, but cherish all of them. I just sit and enjoy this talk. Part of the prayer is for completing the work, but the other part just screams to me "I can't wait to be home again." There is a prayer to enjoy.
Then there is the prayer for the disciples. This is a prayer to learn from. Jesus prays for the disciples and their continued growth. Jesus does not pray that the world would get easier for them, but that the disciples would grow in their capacity to handle it. It's similar to when I burst into the gym at the Leelanau School and announce "I do not ask that the weight would get lighter, I ask that my strength would become greater!" (Done in my best "preacher voice," much to the annoyance of the students) Jesus prays that I would grow. Cool.
Then Jesus prays for everyone. And Jesus prays that we would know what it's like to be united. Jesus essentially prays for us that we would know what it's like to be Jesus- united to God and to one another.
And that's what Jesus prays about. I wonder how we can find ourselves shaped by Jesus' prayer life today.
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