Jesus Prayer For Us

John 17
 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. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For 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. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I 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. 12 While 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. 14 I 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. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

  Jesus is talking to His heavenly Father about the disciples in vs. 6-19. 

He refers to the disciples as "those whom you gave me" and clarifies that they were God's property to give. Christ reminds his heavenly Father that He followed instructions by giving them the words God gave Christ and that not only did they accept what was told them but they also recognized who Christ was.  Christ shows concern for His friends in the reality that persecution would definately befall them after His departure from this world.  He asks the heavenly Father to protect them by the power of His name.  My heart is warmed by this request.  Even though Christ and His Father are one, he is compassionate and humble enough to request protection and to acknowledge the absolute divinity held by God the Father.  A place that only God can hold and whom only God can be.  How amazing an example and how humble a prayer.  So reverent, so godly. 

 He states that the GLORY came to Christ from the disciples.  (glory has come to me through them.)  What an honor - a truly humble honor for them to have.  Christ states that He protected the disciples while here with them and notes that He did not lose even one of them to persecution.  The only individual who suffered any type of destruction was Satan while Christ was here on earth.  This section is only talking about the disciples and not the world or entire body of believers.  Christ references similarities between himself and the disciples as well when He says .."They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."  These men were chosen men of God and to me it is amazing to see how their dedication to Christ allowed them the passage of santification, the honor of being able to provide Christ glory and an equality with the Saviour.  Christ sanctifies himself so that the disciples may be sanctified.  So for the sole purpose of wanting them to be "set apart" He set Himself apart.  Another example of His selflessness etched in the permanence of God's Word. Christ was looking out for His followers and wanted them to not only be sanctified but TRULY sanctified.