Day Thirty Three: The High Priestly Prayer
This chapter has historically been called the High Priestly Prayer. In it, Christ prays powerfully over His Church, displaying his heart and his for us to understand His desires for who we are to be and what He aims to form in us. When the Christian meditates on John 17, it is as if they are a child with their ear pressed against the door of the den, listening to Christ in the next room praying fervently for them.
We notice first in this prayer how Christ’s glory is center. “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me (John 17:24).”
The human soul was made to behold God’s glory. His glory is the sun underneath which the Christian longs to bask, and the shade underneath which the Christian takes shelter. This is the great trajectory of the life that has submitted unto God, to increasingly desire His glory over and through our lives. We must pray for the faith to pray with joyful hearts, “Oh God, may you get the glory through my career, through my marriage, through my singleness, through my suffering, through my Church, through my conversations, through my thoughts.” Through the filling of the Holy Spirit, the simplest of Christians is empowered to behold His glory, even in the mundane exercises of life (1 Corinthians 3:18).
Yet, how we ought to lament the lackluster effort so many make to keep the glory of Christ as the centerpiece of their day-to-day lives. We are so easily consumed by godless dispositions. We often, like Moses, ascend the mountain in prayer and behold the glory of God, only to exit our prayers and fail to see God in the rest of our moments. We must train ourselves for godliness. We must discipline ourselves to keep the glory of Christ at the forefront of our minds. As it will be in heaven, we must labor by faith to experience now.
Intricately connected to Christ’s glory is the Church’s unity.
Jesus prayed, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:22-23).
When the true Church is divided among themselves, we fail to showcase the glory of God among us. A divided Church is likened to Joshua’s first battle against the forces of Ai, where Israel was forced to flee, which caused God’s enemies to gloat and God’s people to fear (Joshua 7:4).
The cause of Israel’s defeat was not a weak God, but sin in the camp: divided hearts among God’s people. The rot needed to be expunged. Unity needed to be restored before victory was secured. The true Church of Christ must strive for brotherly love and unity. If our unity showcases Christ’s glory, then may a humble quest for unity be ever before us, as a driving factor in every Christian relationship.
We notice first in this prayer how Christ’s glory is center. “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me (John 17:24).”
The human soul was made to behold God’s glory. His glory is the sun underneath which the Christian longs to bask, and the shade underneath which the Christian takes shelter. This is the great trajectory of the life that has submitted unto God, to increasingly desire His glory over and through our lives. We must pray for the faith to pray with joyful hearts, “Oh God, may you get the glory through my career, through my marriage, through my singleness, through my suffering, through my Church, through my conversations, through my thoughts.” Through the filling of the Holy Spirit, the simplest of Christians is empowered to behold His glory, even in the mundane exercises of life (1 Corinthians 3:18).
Yet, how we ought to lament the lackluster effort so many make to keep the glory of Christ as the centerpiece of their day-to-day lives. We are so easily consumed by godless dispositions. We often, like Moses, ascend the mountain in prayer and behold the glory of God, only to exit our prayers and fail to see God in the rest of our moments. We must train ourselves for godliness. We must discipline ourselves to keep the glory of Christ at the forefront of our minds. As it will be in heaven, we must labor by faith to experience now.
Intricately connected to Christ’s glory is the Church’s unity.
Jesus prayed, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:22-23).
When the true Church is divided among themselves, we fail to showcase the glory of God among us. A divided Church is likened to Joshua’s first battle against the forces of Ai, where Israel was forced to flee, which caused God’s enemies to gloat and God’s people to fear (Joshua 7:4).
The cause of Israel’s defeat was not a weak God, but sin in the camp: divided hearts among God’s people. The rot needed to be expunged. Unity needed to be restored before victory was secured. The true Church of Christ must strive for brotherly love and unity. If our unity showcases Christ’s glory, then may a humble quest for unity be ever before us, as a driving factor in every Christian relationship.
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