What Would Jesus Pray?

I expect that we are all familiar with the acronym, WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?

But What Would Jesus Pray?

We discover the answer to that question in John 17 which is in the first chapter in our five chapter focus for this week. Some refer to this as "The High Priestly Prayer" because Jesus intercedes for his disciples - and not just for the original Twelve. In 17:20 Jesus says,

I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.

You and I are included in that extension! In John 17, we encounter a prayer that Jesus prayed for us!

And what did He pray? What as the focus of that prayer? What was it's aim?

Jesus is very clear:

. . .keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. (John 17:11)

And again

. . .that they may all be one; even 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 sent Me. (John 17:21)

Unity.

Not uniformity. We are not all alike. But we are all united. One God. One Lord. One Savior, Jesus. We are drawn together in him. We are drawn into one fellowship with the Triune God and with each other. We are joined together with one love, one source of joy, one hope of eternity. Though we may come from vastly different places and have widely diverse life experiences, still there is only One in whom we find salvation.

What would Jesus pray?

He would, he did, and he does pray for our unity in His name. Our witness is tied up with our unity.

This is not an optional piece of our religious response to the grace of God. This is an essential and non-negotiable part of what God is doing among us in Christ.

And in a world that is so divided, in a nation that is so divided, the unity of believers will certainly stand out.

This is what Jesus wants from us. This is what Jesus prays for us. That we may be one in him.