Spirit Led Prayers (John 17)

Intro

• Jesus was about to go through the greatest trial any human being has ever gone through and what did He do, He prayed!
• He had been preparing the disciples as we see last week in John 16 for this trial by helping them see that joy is going to come from this sorrow.
• The only way we can see good in the midst of the bad is through prayer.  We must gain the higher ground during a battle or we will be defeated.  We see this with the example of Moses Exodus 17:11 “As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.”
• Prayer prepares us to face our problems rather than run or ignore them which only makes matters worse.  Once we receive direction from God we can confidently move forward despite what opposition we face.  Through this time of prayer in John 17, Jesus was able to respond in John 18:4 “'Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.’
• The key to effective prayer is to be led by the Spirit on what to pray rather than just pray from our own limited perspective.
• Let’s now look at John 17 an entire chapter where we see Jesus praying to the Father and ask the Spirit of God to take us into a deeper place in our prayer life.
• Prayers that Glorify the Father (vs. 1)
  1. Selfless (vs. 2)
  2. Eternal. (vs. 3)
  3. Missional (vs. 4-5)
• Praying for our Inner Circle (vs. 6)
  1. That they that the words I have shared are not my own but the Lord’s.  (vs. 7-8)
  2. That everything that they own is not their own but the Lord’s.  (vs. 9-10)
  3. That as they are sent into the world the Father would protect them. (vs. 11-16)
  4. That they would continue to be sanctified by the Truth.  (vs. 17-19)
• Praying for all Believers (vs. 20)
  1. United together so that the world may believe.  (vs. 21-23)
  2. With Christ where He is.  (vs. 24)
  3. That the love of God would be known and made known to others. (vs. 25-26)
• Closing

The theme of the prayer of John 17 on the hour that Jesus was going to be betrayed and shortly crucified was ONENESS. This is the heart of the Father, this is the message of intimacy, to be ONE. Prayer is the force behind oneness with God and oneness with His body, the church. The hope of this world is the church! The only way the church can advance forward is as we choose to lay down our self-centeredness and choose to become one with God, the Father, and God the Son through the work of the Holy Spirit.


LET US MAKE ROOM FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT THROUGH PRAYER!