Day 10: Power of Prayer - Importance of Unity

Day 10: Power of Prayer – Importance of Unity

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ²For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

⁶“I have revealed you^[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹I 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^[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³“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. ¹⁴I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷Sanctify them by^[d] the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

²⁰“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

²⁵“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶I have made you^[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

John 17:1-26

Listen

What is God saying to you through the Scriptures today?

Reflect

Unity is so important. Why else would Jesus pray so adamantly for it? It is a part of God’s very nature. Yes, God is three, but he is also one. And that oneness is meant to offer us, and those around us a picture of how life was intended to be. When we live in a vibrant, loving community, we reflect the beauty and the glory of the Three-in-One God. We participate in his Divine nature. We testify to his goodness and his righteousness and invite the world around us to taste it for themselves. “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) Thus, life in community is an invitation to enter into the joy and the gladness of the life that God has within himself. What an invitation!

“What might it mean to live fully and freely in the life of the Trinity, knowing and loving God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as they know and love each other? asked R. Thomas Ashbrook.

Pray

Pray for unity and oneness today. Pray for deep, rich, loving, genuine community. Pray that our relationships with each other would be a testimony to those around us about what God is really like. Ask God to show you if there is anyone you are not in harmony with at the moment. Ask him what it might look like to seek reconciliation or forgiveness.

Empathy and understanding is crucial to pursuing peace and reconciliation. Who is one person or group you need to seek better understanding and gain a different perspective? Ask God and take a step.

Day 10: Power of Prayer – Importance of Unity

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