Departing Prayer : John 17:11 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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Departing Prayer - John 17:11

"Now I am coming to you. I will not stay in the world now. But these men are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe. Keep them safe by the power of your name (the name you gave me), so that they will be one, the same as you and I are one." (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

Jesus' departing prayer was for his disciples. He wants God to keep them and care for them. He wants them to find God's peace among themselves. He wants them to be unified -- as closely "in sync" as he and his Father are one. I can't imagine any other prayer that has been more ignored than Jesus' prayer for his followers' unity. Let's make a commitment to be more united -- in our personal relationships, in our congregations, and in our contact with other people of God all over the world.

Today's Prayer

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Father, forgive us for our selfishness, pigheadedness, and arrogance. But please, dear God, don't just forgive us, but use your Spirit to change us and unite us. Bring us to truth by using us to minister to the lost world. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

After Jesus said these things he looked toward heaven. Jesus prayed, "Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. You gave the Son power over all people so that the Son could give eternal life to all those people you have given to him. And this is eternal life: that people can know you, the only true God, and that people can know Jesus Christ, the One you sent. I finished the work you gave me to do. I brought you glory on earth. And now, Father, give me glory with you. Give me the glory I had with you before the world was made. "You gave me some men from the world. I have shown them what you are like. Those men belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your teaching. Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. I gave these men the teachings that you gave me. They accepted those teachings. They know that I truly came from you. And they believed that you sent me. I pray for them now. I am not praying for the people in the world. But I am praying for these men you gave me, because they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is seen in these men. Now I am coming to you. I will not stay in the world now. But these men are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe. Keep them safe by the power of your name (the name you gave me), so that they will be one, the same as you and I are one. While I was with them, I kept them safe. I kept them safe by the power of your name--the name you gave me. I protected them. And only one of them was lost--the man (Judas) that chose to be lost. He was lost so that what was said in the Scriptures would happen.

— John 17:1-12 (ERV)

Comments on "Departing Prayer":

I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. And God chose you to be his people. I tell you now to live the way God's people should live. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. You are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue together in this way. Let peace hold you together. There is one body and one Spirit. And God called you to have one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything. He is everywhere and in everything.
Ephesians 4:1-6 (ERV)

Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. You were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful.
Colossians 3:15 (ERV)

And that same Christ gave gifts to people--he made some people to be apostles, some people to be prophets, some people to go and tell the Good News, and some people to have the work of caring for and teaching God's people. Christ gave those gifts to prepare God's holy people for the work of serving. He gave those gifts to make the body of Christ stronger. {This work must continue} until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge about the Son of God. We must become like a mature (perfect) person--we must grow until we become like Christ and have all his perfection. Then we will not still be babies. We will not be people who change like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced (changed) by every new teaching we hear from people who try to fool us. Those people make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong way. No! We will speak the truth with love. We will grow to be like Christ in every way. Christ is the head {and we are the body}. The whole body depends on Christ. And all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part of the body does its own work. And this makes the whole body grow and be strong with love.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (ERV)

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