Sunday we will conclude John 17, Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. In the closing verses of this prayer Jesus prays for all who will ever believe in Him throughout the existence of the church: Jesus Prays for You! I hope you will approach this passage with a healthy sense of curiosity to see what in fact Jesus is praying for you. What Jesus prays is ultimately what we all need to be praying for ourselves as well as other believers.

Generally, the prayers we offer for ourselves revolve around things in this material world. First and foremost, would be our health, followed closely by our perceived needs from the material world for our comfort. Not that there’s anything wrong praying about those things, (I pray about them myself), but they are not the highest level of prayers Jesus would have us offer. I say that because those are not the things Jesus prays for us. Jesus prays that we as Christians would live together in complete unity. From our text we will see the necessity for Christians to commit to growing together, through the good and the bad, that will result in the unity of the church. It is no great revelation that the church throughout the last 2000 years has not done a very good job of staying unified. That however does not give us an excuse to stop striving for the unity Jesus is praying for. Have there been people in the church you have found hard to love? Hard to serve with? Difficult to share fellowship with? We all do. Have you ever thought that God has put those “difficult” people in your life to help you grow? As we learn how God wants us to have relationships, the end result is a unity the world can’t understand but finds irresistible and is drawn to. Join me this Sunday as we hear Jesus’ prayer for us.