Jesus’ Prayer for Us

By Sandra Higley

Recently, I prayed for someone along the lines of John 17:15–21: for protection from the schemes of the evil one, for sanctification, and for “accountable unity” with other believers. I’ve been praying for this person since the early ‘90s, and together we have seen God’s hand move in powerful, miraculous ways.

You can understand, then, how surprised I was when—for the first time in more than two decades—my intercession was rejected. When I asked what this person would like me to pray for instead, the suggestion was money to pay the mortgage.

That got me thinking. How often do I refuse godly intercession with a preference for earthlier or more tangible requests? I can’t recall having refused spiritually focused prayers outright, but what about subconsciously? In our Lord’s most desperate, final hours, He could have prayed for anything—health, funds for further ministry, or the removal of serious negative situations for His disciples. But He didn’t.  Instead, He interceded for His followers with a specific Kingdom mindset.

I might not refuse such intercession outright, but when I ask for requests of a more temporal nature, am I not, in effect, rejecting the things He thought important?

It stands to reason that studying Jesus’ prayer for us is crucial—a first step to employing intercessory prayer as God intended.

Discussion Questions

Lisa Crump uses Christ’s personal battle with the enemy as an example of why He included protection from the enemy among His intercessory requests for us. What enemy activity or tactics do you see in the following Scriptures that may explain why Jesus took this so seriously? 1 Chronicles 21:1–7; Daniel 10:1–14; Zechariah 3:1–2; Luke 22:31–32; John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 2:10–11; 11:14; Ephesians 6:10–18; Revelation 12:10.__________________________________________________________________________________

Crump cites two of the enemy’s most effective strategies to create mistrust, suspicion, and division: First, Satan wants to divide us from God Himself. Then he wants to divide God’s people and destroy our unity with one another. Read the following Scriptures and discuss why Satan may focus on those two areas specifically: Genesis 2:17, 3:4–5; Psalm 133:1–3; Matthew 16:21–23; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:25–26; James 3:14–16.____________________________________________________________________________________

Kevin Senapatiratne directs our attention to Jesus’ prayer for our sanctification. He defines sanctification as being “set apart, wholly (completely) and holy to God.” Sanctification isn’t a word we use very often. What are some synonyms for sanctify that we might be more familiar with? (Hint: if you get stuck, use an online thesaurus for ideas.) _____________________________________________________________________________________

Explain more about the sanctification process from the following verses (remember, these verses may use synonyms rather than the word sanctify itself): Joshua 3:5; 2 Corinthians 7:1–3; Ephesians 5:25–27; 1 Thessalonians 5:22–24; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:19–26; James 4:8; 2 Peter 3:10–12; 1 John 1:9. ____________________________________________________________________________________

In his look at Jesus’ prayer for unity among believers, Tom White emphasizes the connection between unity and world evangelization. As a group, read John 17:20–23 aloud in unison. Then, based on what the following verses teach about unity, discuss some ways unity can become an evangelistic tool: Matthew 24:10–14; Romans 15:5–13; 1 Corinthians 12:11–13; Ephesians 1:9–12, 4:3, 12–13; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:13–15.__________________________________________________________________________________

Action Steps

Kevin Senapatiratne says that he finds “a lot of Christians going through the motions. They believe in Jesus, but their faith is rather boring. If we begin praying Jesus’ John 17 prayer for our lives, we will find ourselves in a stronger faith relationship with Him. Jesus prayed to His Father, ‘As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world’ (v. 18). That means there is an awe-inspiring, life-changing, heart-pounding adventure in store for each of us who is willing to be sanctified in the truth! Are you daring enough to pray along with Jesus, ‘Sanctify me’?”

Spend some time with God, meditating on that statement. Are you “going through the motions”? Does your faith seem boring?

The sanctification process may begin with Tom White’s three steps toward increasing John 17 unity:

• Ask the Spirit to convict you of any attitude that hinders unity in the Body (criticism, envy, jealousy, theological pride). Confess them and receive cleansing.
• Identify a “sandpaper person” in your world, a fellow believer who “rubs you wrong” in some way (irritation, annoyance, or anger). Confess your negative response, and ask the Holy Spirit to increase your love for this person.
• Learn the practice of blessing others. Use Numbers 6:24–26 as a pattern of priestly blessing. Memorize and pray some of Paul’s apostolic prayers for fellow saints (Rom. 15:5, 13; 2 Thess. 2:16–17; 3:16).

Using this three-point process as a starting point, write a letter to God asking Him to sanctify you, or, alternatively, write to Him about what is holding you back:___________________________________________________________________________________

SANDRA HIGLEY lives in Colorado Springs, CO, and is part of the editorial team at David C Cook, a multi-faceted ministry group designed to equip and encourage believers.