The Prayer of Jesus (27 of 31)
Series: The Gospel Of John
Tim Badal
John 17:6-19
Turn in your Bibles to John 17 this morning. I want to welcome those of you in the room and also on line. We’re in the last moments of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and moments away from His arrest. We’re also hours away from His crucifixion. Jesus dedicated this time to praying to His Father in heaven.
In His prayer, we learn some truths about praying. Earlier in his Gospel John tells us about the miracles and the messages of Jesus, as well as His methods of loving the world. But here we see Jesus, in the most important time of His earthly ministry, dedicating these minutes to a conversation with His Father.
As we hear Jesus’ words and realize He was praying specifically for us, we’re reminded of the importance of prayer in our lives as well. If Jesus, who was all powerful and all knowing, considered it right to pray, then surely we who are finite and broken should pray all the more.
E.M. Bounds says this about prayer: “Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed.” Do you enjoy the opportunity you have to pray? Is it something you see as a duty or a drudgery, or is it something you have the privilege of doing? Bounds says prayer is “a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
In John 17 we have what I like to call “the real Lord’s Prayer.” In it we not only discover the importance of prayer, but it also gives us insight into what our prayers should contain. For example, we don’t see much about Jesus’ health issues or His other circumstances. Rather, He prayed that His people would fulfill the mission God has for them. If you’re like me, if we didn’t have this example, we might think our prayer lives are okay.
But when we compare them to His prayers, it can seem like our prayers are much more self-centered than they should be. Jesus’ prayer is clearly selfless. We know He had ...
Series: The Gospel Of John
Tim Badal
John 17:6-19
Turn in your Bibles to John 17 this morning. I want to welcome those of you in the room and also on line. We’re in the last moments of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and moments away from His arrest. We’re also hours away from His crucifixion. Jesus dedicated this time to praying to His Father in heaven.
In His prayer, we learn some truths about praying. Earlier in his Gospel John tells us about the miracles and the messages of Jesus, as well as His methods of loving the world. But here we see Jesus, in the most important time of His earthly ministry, dedicating these minutes to a conversation with His Father.
As we hear Jesus’ words and realize He was praying specifically for us, we’re reminded of the importance of prayer in our lives as well. If Jesus, who was all powerful and all knowing, considered it right to pray, then surely we who are finite and broken should pray all the more.
E.M. Bounds says this about prayer: “Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed.” Do you enjoy the opportunity you have to pray? Is it something you see as a duty or a drudgery, or is it something you have the privilege of doing? Bounds says prayer is “a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
In John 17 we have what I like to call “the real Lord’s Prayer.” In it we not only discover the importance of prayer, but it also gives us insight into what our prayers should contain. For example, we don’t see much about Jesus’ health issues or His other circumstances. Rather, He prayed that His people would fulfill the mission God has for them. If you’re like me, if we didn’t have this example, we might think our prayer lives are okay.
But when we compare them to His prayers, it can seem like our prayers are much more self-centered than they should be. Jesus’ prayer is clearly selfless. We know He had ...
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