The faucet of our prayers need never be turned off

By Dean Collins

How long have you been walking, living, and enjoying eternal life? This isn’t a trick question but rather a reminder of what we already possess and often forget. We are currently in the first phase of our eternal life with God and with each other! Now I know some of us are likely excited about the improved version of our bodies in heaven, but we will have to wait for that transformation while we live the early days of our eternal lives now.

 In chapter 17, we find a long and significant prayer Jesus prayed as he wrapped up his last teaching with the disciples. We can speculate on exactly where Jesus was when he prayed this prayer and who may have overheard, but we can’t be sure because it isn’t revealed. He was likely still walking or sitting somewhere along the pathway between the upper room and the garden of Gethsemane. We know from John 18 that he had not yet arrived.

 It dawned on me while reading this prayer that Jesus is praying over the disciples the very things he had been talking to them about the last several minutes. The themes of dwelling or abiding in Christ, glorification, eternal life, distinction from the world and its ways are all covered throughout the life of Jesus, in this discourse, and now in this final prayer.

 As frequent Bible readers, we know of the many times Jesus went off to pray by himself, and he will do that in the garden of Gethsemane one more time before his death. So, we find here an important example for our lives. Pray often, pray ahead of the things you are to do at work, at home, in service. Do your work, and then pray again over all you have finished. The faucet of our prayers need never be turned off.

 In the first paragraph of today’s devotional, I referenced the yet and not yet reality of our eternal lives. They have begun, but they are yet to be fully realized until we see Jesus again. Glorification works in a similar way. When Jesus opens his prayer, he asks the Father to glorify his Son that the Son may glorify the Father. He later prayed that his disciples be glorified in the same way.

 Jesus left his glorified state in heaven and took on flesh here on earth. He bore our sins through his death. He then experienced resurrection. He was recognizable to people on earth but now possessed a glorified body, just as we will one day (see 1 Corinthians 15). 

 I want to suggest that when Jesus prayed that God glorify him in John 17 that God immediately answered his prayer, but neither he nor the disciples saw and experienced his glorified body until after the resurrection. There is a yet and not yet aspect to this process. We must remember the thin line between heaven and earth and that our loving Father’s time and how we quantify time are not the same. 

 This is important to consider as we read the prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples and for us. Consider this paragraph of the prayer of Jesus:

 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 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.”

 There is no possibility of unity in the body of Christ except that we are both abiding in Christ and that we are glorified by God. Only transformed minds and hearts can truly come together as one.

 I don’t know about other regions of the country, but in the South we have a few football fans who sing, “Glory, glory to ole _____.” I’m not condemning those who do, but I simply want to make a point. We heap praise on our favorite team as if there is some spiritual plateau achievable in a sport. Teams that win championships are due their recognition; however, have you ever noticed the fights and the words expressed between individuals because of this elevated status? No human system will ever achieve unity on this side of eternity.  We can try, but we will fail.

 When God transforms us by the power of his resurrected Son and fills us with his Spirit, we begin eternal life and our sanctification/glorification process. Every time we wander from our abiding in Christ, we will likely find ourselves living in tension with other believers.

 Jesus prayed for us, for our eternal lives, for our unity, for our glorification, and for our witness to the world. God is answering his prayer even in this moment. When we come into alignment with God by the power of his Spirit, we will experience the unity that draws all people to Jesus.

 Father, forgive us for the many times we stray away from you, from your word, and from each other. Holy Spirit, cleanse us and use us that Jesus might be lifted high and that all people might come to know him and experience eternal life today.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

  Your Time with God’s Word
John 17:1-26; Philippians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:20-21; Psalm 133:1 ESV

Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash
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