Message #9 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
"Praying John 17"

by Kaye Johns

If we are Jesus’s disciples, His prayer should give us the same joy and comfort He intended it to give His disciples then. He had deliberately prayed aloud within their hearing, a prayer that is recorded for us as well, to give us comfort, joy and assurance in knowing what He asked.

Jesus had just asked the Father to protect His disciples, as He had protected them when He was with them. He then prayed, "[Father,] I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them." [John 17:13]

As we pray for ourselves and others who are seeking to live the Spirit-filled life as Jesus’s disciples, we can pray this prayer with Jesus, verse by verse, in our own words. We might pray this verse this way: "Father, it gives us tremendous joy and reassurance to know that Jesus is with You now, and that You have heard and will surely answer His prayer for those who are His disciples. Help us, Father, to experience the full measure of Jesus’s joy, to keep our eyes on You and our lives centered on Him no matter what circumstance we face."

Each time we pray through this prayer, God’s Spirit may lead us a bit differently, but in essence, we ask for the same things Jesus requested--and our prayers are strengthened.

Pray with me now -- Father, teach us to pray with Jesus, for we ask in His name. Amen.

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