Message #7 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
"Praying John 17"

by Kaye Johns

We’re praying through John 17, Jesus’s powerful prayer for His disciples. Jesus began His prayer with verses 6-10, including several affirmations, which we have turned into prayers: that we and others might live in the assurance that we belong to Him; that we know He came from--and was sent by--the heavenly Father; that we receive, accept and obey His Word; and that we bring glory to Him by the way we choose to live.

Jesus also made direct requests of His Father for His disciples, beginning in verse 11: "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]

Jesus’s first request for His disciples is for protection from the world, which is under the control of Satan. That is an easy request for us to make as well. But Jesus didn’t stop there; He asked for protection in order that His disciples would be one as He and the Father are one. Does He still want His disciples today to be that close? One in the Spirit--but also, one in spirit? Are we willing to ask for it, as Jesus did?

Pray with me now -- Father, protect us from the influence of the world and Satan’s control. But don’t stop there; fill us with the desire to be one with others in the body of Christ. In His name, amen.

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