The following is one of the many lessons to be taken away from the Gospel of John. Here Jesus is praying to the Lord Father for his disciples, in doing so He teaches us, as believers, how to pray for each other.
In this Jesus specifically says He is “not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” This is not meant to be taken that He does not pray for or care about the world at large, rather it teaches us how to specifically pray for those in our lives for whom we have feelings of love, intimacy, confidence, faith, dependence, and joy; all of the feelings that bound the disciples together with Jesus and their devotion to Him and the Father.
This prayer is not without the realization that because the disciples received the word of God “the world has hated them.” However, Jesus’ message is that we go into the world protected and sanctified to continue His mission. Jesus in this reading is acknowledging His death for us, His followers, He is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
This prayer serves to teach us not only how to pray for one another but, also how we may remember the true presence of God. Even in time nearing His death, Jesus was praying for His followers, may we always remember, honor and praise His holy name now and forever. Amen.
Ezekiel 39: 21-29
Psalm 42
Psalm 43
Philippians 4:10-20
John 17:20-26
