Pray Like Jesus By Pastor Mark DriscollParaugs

The High Priestly Prayer Part 2: Pray for Christians 

After praying for Himself, Jesus proceeds to pray for His followers who would come to believe in Him as God and would subsequently bring the good news of His person and work to the world. 

Jesus prays for our keeping: 

In our relationship with God, the wonderful news is that “if we are faithless, he remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). Our God is rock steady in His love, devotion, and character. When we wander, He waits for us to return and never closes His heart toward us as Christians. Our Father loves us and is completely committed to “keeping” us. We maintain our relationship with God because God keeps us.

If you have a painful history with a ministry leader who completely abandoned the faith, the story of Judas is meant to provide clarity for you. If you have a loved one who has strayed from the Lord but you believe they are genuinely saved, the story of the prodigal son is meant to provide comfort for you. 

Jesus prays for godly unity over demonic division: 

God works through unity, and Satan works through division. There was no division until Satan chose to become independent, rebel, and cause division by recruiting angels to become demons in a coup attempt. On earth, Satan continues to recruit human beings to join the demons in their division against God. 

However, unity does not mean uniformity. Like any family, God’s family has a lot of diversity. Different Christians can have different methods for how they live their lives while maintaining unity on the principles behind them. In the church family, this unity is to be theological (what we believe), relational (how we love), missional (what we do), and organizational (how we coexist). The church is a big family, and like any big family, unity has to be the priority and comes at a cost.

Jesus prays for our joy:

Jesus’ next words in this portion of the prayer are about joy. Simply put, the life of a Christian, like the life of Jesus, is not always marked by great comfort, wealth, health, ease, or simplicity. Nevertheless, it is filled with the presence of God and the purpose of God so that all we have, do, and endure can and will be used to glorify God and benefit others as it was with Jesus when He went to the cross.

Our joy is not found, then, by our current state in the world (that place of sin and rebellion against God), but rather by the presence and power of God in us even while we are in the world. For this, we rejoice because, for the Christian, this world is as close to hell as we will ever get, and we are almost home to heaven.

Jesus prays for our protection:

The world is marked with the life-damaging effects of sin and pain and death. One of the devil’s most powerful lies is telling us joy is out there in the world. When you become a Christian, what was tempting in the world now strikes you as tragic. What you used to enjoy you are now ashamed of. What you used to brag about you now mourn. What you used to attend parades for, you now have funerals for. When God changed you, your relationship with the world changed, and He doesn’t want it to change back.

Jesus prays for our mission: 

Jesus helps us figure out how to be good missionaries with His words on being in the world but not of it. Every area of the world needs missionaries, and all Christians need to be missionaries. Jesus loves the lost people who cross our paths, and He sent us to take His love to them. 

For this reason, every Christian must love people, serve people, and engage people. Part of our mission in all corners of the world and its contexts means listening to people, empathizing, reading the literature, pounding the cultural pavement, even understanding the entertainment. We want to understand people because we are then best able to help them.

It is amazing to consider that on one of Jesus’ darkest and most difficult days, He stopped to pray for you and the rest of us who are Christians. Even more amazing, Jesus continues to pray for us and is doing so right now. Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them,” because, “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34). 

Right now, Jesus is aware of what you are going through, including the hopes you have, burdens you bear, and fears you face. Right now, Jesus is talking to the Father and Spirit along with angels and other divine beings about you as He intercedes for you. The High Priestly prayer continues every moment of every day and should be an incredible encouragement that you are loved, prayed for, and Someone is staying up all night concerned for you and interceding for you!

Reflection:

1. Do you currently pray for Christians? How can you improve in this practice?

2. Are you living in a way that is unified with fellow believers? How?

3. Are you a good missionary? What can you learn from Jesus about living on mission wherever God has put you?