What did Jesus pray?

Read John 17 and give close attention to these verses 15-21:

John 17:15  I don't ask you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. 16  They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17  Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth—your word is truth. 18  Just as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19  On their behalf I am setting myself apart for holiness, so that they too may be set apart for holiness by means of the truth. 20  "I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in me because of their word, 21  that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you, I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

What Jesus prays, Jesus gets. Father never denies His only begotten Son. How could He deny Him? That would cause the Trinity to be divided. It's impossible to disunite God!

I remember reading verse 20 years ago and realizing it meant Jesus prayed for you and me. In this prayer, He prayed for everyone who would come by grace through faith to put their trust in Him as the Messiah, our Savior and Lord. Since He returned to heaven, He's been praying constantly for us, the Body of Christ and all who will believe on Him, because of what we tell them and show them about Jesus.

The verses that I have become very aware of recently are verses 20-21. "that they may all be one. Just as You, Father are united with Me." And He goes on to ask for the ones who are united with one another to be united with God.

It has always been God's desire to have a people who are one with Him and each other. Not that we become God, but that we fully represent Him just as Jesus did when He was on the earth. This is what we are predestined for, to be fully conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus.

Romans 8:28  Furthermore, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance with his purpose; 29 because those whom he knew in advance, he also determined in advance would be conformed to the pattern of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers; 30 and those whom he thus determined in advance, he also called; and those whom he called, he also caused to be considered righteous; and those whom he caused to be considered righteous he also glorified!

We have not seen the fulfillment of these verses yet. Be confident in this. God is working to bring His will to pass on the earth. He will have a people who are one with each other and who are willing to become one with Him. He has predestined those who come to trust in Jesus as Messiah and Lord to become like Him. The first time the word Christian was used was in Antioch (42-44 AD) referring to believers in Christ as "little Christs". People who did and said the same things Jesus did and said. (Acts 11:26.)

The Journey of Becoming One with God -has already started! We are Alive in Christ!

Colossians 2:6  Therefore, just as you received the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, keep living your life united with him. 7 Remain deeply rooted in him; continue being built up in him and confirmed in your trust, the way you were taught, so that you overflow in thanksgiving. 

8 Watch out, so that no one will take you captive by means of philosophy and empty deceit, following human tradition which accords with the elemental spirits of the world but does not accord [line up and be in agreement] with the Messiah. 9  For in him, bodily, lives the fullness of all that God is. 10  And it is in union with him that you have been made full—he is the head of every rule and authority. 

11  Also it was in union with him that you were circumcised with a circumcision not done by human hands [that can be seen], but accomplished by [hands that cannot be seen] stripping away the old nature's control over the body. In this circumcision done by the Messiah, 12  you were buried along with him by being immersed; and in union with him, you were also raised up along with him by God's faithfulness that worked when he raised Yeshua from the dead. 

13  You were dead because of your sins, that is, because of your "foreskin," your old nature. But God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins. 

14  He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the execution-stake (cross). 

15  Stripping the rulers and authorities of their power, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by means of the stake.

Believers in Jesus are no longer subject to the 'god of this world' and the fallen human nature that resulted in the first sin. When you believed in your heart and said with your voice, "Jesus is Lord", God created a new spirit in you that is the same Spirit that was in Jesus. We are joined together in Christ and one with Him. (1 Cor 6:17)

The old nature that was 'without God' was cut away in baptism by hands that were not seen (v.11) This is all by the heavenly empowerment (grace) of God that activated the measure of faith He gave each of us resulting in our ability to believe and trust in Jesus as Messiah.

Without Him, we can do nothing. (Jn 15:5b) And in Him, we can do all things! (Phil 4:13)

When our King intends to act with, or for, us we need to invite Him to do so. Jesus is Lord and He's coming back to establish His Kingdom and rule over this earth. This has not happened yet. Until this happens, Jesus taught a pattern of prayer (asking for His will) that He used.

We are in a journey of becoming like Him. In this journey, our will, thoughts, opinions, beliefs and the way we make decisions is being conformed to His. We are coming into alignment with His desires and with His will. What did Jesus pray?

Matthew 6:5  "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 "And when you pray, don't babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot. 8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 

9 You, therefore, pray like this:

Begin with Honor and Worship Our Father in heaven, holy is Your name

As we come into worship to begin this

way of praying, we are not limited to

these words alone. Trust the Holy Spirit

to bring forth praise and worship or our

Father who is worthy, glorious, kind,

faithful...there is no set time for this part

of the prayer, just be sure to do this first.

Petition One May Your Kingdom come [on earth as in

heaven] His Kingdom is righteousness,

peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(Rom 14:17) Jesus taught it is our Father's

pleasure to give us His Kingdom, so ask

Father to make it a reality in your life and

the lives of all who follow Jesus in the

world.

Petition Two May Your will be done on earth as in heaven

God's will is good, satisfying and able to succeed and believers only come

to know and understand and agree with

God's will by allowing the Holy Spirit and

the Word of God to transform the way we

think, perceive, make decisions, believe

and trust in Jesus. Spend some time with

Him, asking Him to remove anything from

your heart that is contrary to His will.

Petition Three Give us the food (bread) we need today.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. This petition is

asking for all the nutrition, spirit, soul and

body that we must have in order to face

what we will face for the day. With Him, in

Him, for Him and by Him, we can do all

things. We can continue in this journey!

Petition Four Forgive us what we have done wrong, as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.

This is huge! Don't be in a hurry when you get to this one. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you who He wants you to forgive, putting the past behind you and press on toward the high calling of Christ in Jesus. Jesus said if you don't forgive, you won't be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14-15) When we forgive, we honor the blood of Jesus that was shed for the sins of all humanity, that includes you and the people who have sinned against you. If you hold someone's sin against them in your heart, then the sin of unforgiveness will be held against you. God is love and love "keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Cor 13:5) We forgive everyone because we are being made like our Savior. When He was on the cross suffering the greatest physical pain any man can know, He asked Father to forgive us all. If you need help to forgive someone, make an appointment to get a Sozo. (See below.)

Petition Five And do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.

It is probably true the Jesus was speaking Aramaic. I am not a familiar with that language, so I often check many translations of this verse. Not so I can find one I can agree with, but to find one as close to the original meaning as it was intended for us. James tells us that God is not the author of temptation. The translation I'm using is the CJB, Complete Jewish Version.

It's not perfect, but it's better than the common "lead us not into temptation" translation we find in most English versions. As if God is the one who leads us into temptation. If you have a good commentary on this, please share it in the comments below. When I get to this place in prayer, I pray words to this effect: Lord, you know my weaknesses and unsanctified desires. Please transform my mind, will and emotions to be in alignment with Yours. Please take out of my heart anything that gives the enemy a foothold in my life. Show me any lie about You, about myself or about others that I'm believing that I may renounce the lies and receive the Truth You have for me. Remove from my heart anything that does not put You first. Help me set my mind on the things that are above. If I fall in any way, deliver me quickly in Jesus' name. Amen.

Worship, start and end before For Kingship, power and glory are Yours

moving on in your day forever.

(In Your Name, Jesus, may it be so.) Most Christians will end any prayer with "In the name of Jesus, AMEN" or a statement that is similar. We are not using Jesus' name as a magic word like abracadabra. We recognize that everything that belongs to our Father belongs to Jesus. Jesus promised to give us what He has. He also said it is our Fathers good pleasure to give us His Kingdom. When we "pray in Jesus' name" we are trusting Him to hear us and answer our prayers.

Instead of saying the "Lords Prayer" out of habit, merely repeating the words, why not give this a try? Let me know how it goes?

*** If you are new in your relationship with Jesus and want to learn about having a conversation with members of the Godhead, we would like help. Please consider setting up a Sozo session. You can go to our website and click on Book a Sozo - or click here to be redirected to our booking calendar.

It is our honor to serve Jesus, and you, in facilitating a meeting between you and the Creator who made you. Keep your eyes on Jesus and remain steadfast in the journey!

Pastor Bill Kline

Executive Leader of Jesus Freedom Journey Ministries

Rocky Mountain States Regional Facilitator for Sozo