#1489. Jesus’ Last Words...On Prayer (7/4/26)
- Matt Beaney
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional. As we approach Easter, we are reflecting on some of Jesus’ final words from the Last Supper and the Upper Room Discourse in John’s Gospel.
From John 17 - Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer - His final prayer before His arrest, let's learn about how to pray.
To watch this devotional, please select the link below:
Jesus' prayer unfolds in three movements:
i. Jesus Prays for Himself (John 17:1–5)
ii. Jesus Prays for His Disciples (John 17:6–19)
iii. Jesus Prays for New And All Believers (John 17:20–26)
This gives us a pattern for prayer: begin with God’s glory, move to believers, and then to those yet to be saved.
1. Jesus Prays for Himself (John 17:1–5)
‘After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1)
‘“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”’ (John 17:5)
Firstly, it is both striking and important to note that Jesus begins this prayer by praying for Himself. He prays to be glorified! This reveals a vital principle: in our prayers, we are first to worship and glorify God, and to seek His glory above all.
Secondly, when He says, “The hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you,” He is praying that through the cross both the Father and the Son will be glorified.
How does the cross bring glory to both the Father and the Son? The Son’s perfect obedience in death reveals His perfection. The cross demonstrates God’s hatred of sin. Jesus’ humility in suffering such an unjust death brings Him glory by displaying extraordinary mercy toward sinners. His resurrection, ascension, the salvation of multitudes (who will come to worship God), and the restoration of creation all bring God glory - and all are contained within the glory of the cross.
2. Jesus Prays for His Disciples (John 17:6–19)
Jesus then turns His attention to His followers, who are about to face a harrowing, spiritual assault. He asks for two specific things:
i. Protection
‘“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”’ (John 17:11)
As they approach the harrowing experience of His suffering and death, and the spiritual assault of demonic powers, He prays for their protection.
‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.’ (John 17:15)
This protection has a particular focus on loving unity - the devil wants to divide, but Jesus prays that we may be one.
ii. Sanctification
‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.’ (John 17:16-18)
To be sanctified (hagiázō) means to make holy - to live for the glory of God.
Jesus tells us that the source and power of our sanctification is His sanctification:‘For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.’ (John 17:19)
This means that Jesus perfect, holy life, given for us on the cross, is the source and power of our sanctification; we can hope to grow and change because Jesus has died for our sin to free us from sin.
Our sanctification has massive implications for how we do mission. We are, like Christ, sent into the world. We are sent to share the gospel and show His character and values - we do this through our sanctified character.
3. Jesus Prays For New And All Believers (John 17:20–26)
Finally, Jesus prays for new believers:
‘“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”’ (John 17:20-21)
He prays a number of things:
i. Our Mission (17:20)
Jesus prays beyond the church to those who are yet to believe. It is deeply encouraging to know that we are Christians today partly because Jesus prayed for us 2,000 years ago! It’s also encouraging in that we can be confident that we will see people come to faith as a result of Jesus’ prayers.
Jesus’ prayer shows that people will come to believe through ‘their message’; it is Jesus’ will that the church is actively involved in mission. Jesus’ prayer also challenges us to ensure that we are regularly praying for our personal and church mission.
Through our ‘sanctified’ life and message, people will become Christians
ii. Our Unity (17:21-23)
Jesus prays that those who become Christians will be united with the existing church. Coming into a church community as an unbeliever or new Christian is daunting emotionally, challenging intellectually, unusual culturally… Let’s pray and do all that we can to show hospitality to new people.
ii. Our Destiny (17:24)
‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.’ (John 17:24)
Jesus prays that all who become Christians will be in heaven and see His glory. If you are a Christian you cannot be lost. Jesus’ will, that you be in eternal glory, will be fulfilled. We will see the majesty as splendour of God forever. This is the certain hope of all who have believed on Christ - and Jesus has prayed it for us!
Response: The Three-Movement Pattern
The flow of John 17 is a perfect roadmap for our own quiet times. Try this today:
The Throne: Start with worship. Focus on God's glory and the finished work of the cross.
The Church: Pray for your brothers and sisters. Ask for their protection, unity, and growth in holiness.
The World: Name those you long to see come to faith. Pray for the mission of your local church.
May we be a people who pray like Jesus, encouraged by the fact that He is even now interceding for us.
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