Did you know that your body naturally follows the direction of your eyes? If you’re walking, running, riding a bike or driving a car, it’s important that you keep your eyes in front of you. If you don’t you can easily get off track and you can get yourself into trouble by running into something. We can say that prayer is like the eyes of the heart. The directions of our prayers show the direction of our hearts. That is why it’s important that we learn to fix our prayers on the Heavenly Father, to look up and see him. When we do this it ensures that we are going the right direction spiritually.
Today we will look at the first part of Jesus’ greatest prayer in John 17. What I want you and I to get out of this more than anything is see clearly the direction of Jesus’ heart and to make that the direction of our heart.
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
In this prayer we not only see the direction of Jesus’ eyes as he looks up to heaven, but he also reveals to us the direction of his heart. We can summarize this direction in 4 ways.
These four things show us the direction of Jesus’ life. As we take a deep look at them we must analyze and ask ourselves about the direction of our prayers. In what direction are our prayers pointing? In what direction are our souls moving?
Context
Before John shares with us the prayer of Jesus he says “after Jesus said this.” We shouldn’t skip over this important phrase so let’s go back just a bit. What did Jesus just say? If we go back we find that Jesus just spent his last hours in the upper room with his disciples. From chapter 13 all the way through chapter 16 we see Jesus giving his final instructions to his disciples. These instructions are full of words of encouragement, hope, and exhortation. John begins this previous section with the words,
“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1b
Jesus ends his words of comfort with, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
It is at this point that Jesus turns his attention to God the Father in prayer and rightly so. He had just spent several hours ministering to his disciples, telling them of the difficulties to come and comforting them. To walk away from the disciples now would be to leave a task unfinished. Jesus knew that more than anything the disciples needed prayer, they also needed a good example of prayer. Yes, Jesus had taught them to pray early on in his ministry but now they would see a different kind of prayer. An intimate personal conversation between the Son and the Father.
We could say that the “Lord’s Prayer” was in a way a classroom prayer. It was a model given in the non threatening confines of a classroom setting. There’s nothing wrong with that, it was important for the disciples to have this framework as a foundation for how to pray. However, every good teacher knows that lessons must be reviewed and that lessons are most powerful in difficult times of need. We can be sure that Jesus’ prayer here powerfully impacted the disciples. So, it really served two purposes. First, it was a needed prayer at a difficult time. Second, it was a means to drive home the teaching Jesus had given his disciples earlier about prayer.
As we think about the timing of Jesus’ prayer here, let’s reflect upon our own prayer habits. Have you ever thought about how your prayers can affect others? I mean not only how praying for someone else might change them but praying for them in their presence. To tell someone that you will pray for them is one thing but to actually, sit down with them and pray with them and for them, that is another thing. Jesus presents us with a needed example here. When you give a word of encouragement to someone, don’t just stop there, pray with them also. When was the last time you asked someone if you could pray for them? Imagine what comfort you can give to another person by simply praying with them. I don’t believe I have ever found a person who rejected my offer to pray for them. Even people from other faiths are often willing to allow me to pray with them.
Why should we pray with and for others?
About this prayer
What I love about this prayer is that in it we can clearly see the heart of Jesus. If you want to know the state of a person’s heart, if you want to see his sincere desires, if you want to understand what a person is experiencing, what he is afraid of, what and whom he loves, what values and desires he has, you need to do one thing: to hear his private prayers, if he has any!
Of course, we cannot do this because they are personal. But God gave us an amazing opportunity to hear the heart to heart conversation of the Son and the Father!
In this we can also see an example for ourselves. We ought to pray for our own spiritual well being. When we come to the Father we need to come in humility, knowing that there is always a need for growth, always a need for the Father’s help and guidance, always a need to strengthen our own faith.
If you have ever flown on an airplane then you have heard the instructions on what to do when the oxygen masks come down. You should always affix your own mask before helping others. A suffocating person can’t do much good in helping others. So a person who lacks personal prayer for his own spiritual life can’t very well pray for another.
May we take hold of the oxygen mask of prayer in our daily walk with God. He and he alone can breathe into us the much needed spiritual energy and life that we need for each day.
After we have taken care of our own spirit we must direct our prayers towards those closest to us. For Jesus this was his twelve disciples. For most of us, this is our family, our close friends and those people that we regularly come in contact with nearly every day.
Jesus told his disciples earlier that he would pray for them and now here he is praying for them.
Jhn 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever —
Jesus also prayed for many millions who were far from him. He looked beyond his immediate contacts because he had a “Kingdom” perspective. We also should pray for those who are far from us. Let us pray for Christians who are persecuted in other countries. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who are in difficult circumstances all over the world. They need our prayers and we need to pray for them.
Finally, I wanted to note the content of this prayer. When we look closely we see something amazing, this prayer has all the main themes of the gospel of John.
Let’s now take a close look at the first section of Jesus’ prayer.
1. Jesus looked up
1a. After these words, Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven
It is no coincidence that John gives us the opportunity to not only hear Jesus’ prayer but also to see how Jesus prayed! The position of his body tells us a lot about Jesus and this prayer.
Remember that the statement, “After these words” refers to the conversation Jesus had with his disciples in the previous 3 chapters. Undoubtedly, when Jesus spoke to them he looked at them. Eye contact is an important part of our conversations. Through eye contact we convey meaning, intent, and it helps us understand each other.
When I want to say something important to my children and they are not looking at me, I tell them, “I want to see your eyes” I want to make sure that they really hear me and pay attention to my words. It’s difficult for me to determine whether or not they are listening if they don’t look at me when I’m speaking to them. I also want to convey to them the seriousness of what I am saying. I can do this more effectively when I am looking at them and they are looking at me.
When Jesus raised his eyes it also conveyed meaning.
Jesus wanted the disciples to see his relationship with the Father. I also sometimes talk with my father in front of my children so that they see my attitude and respect for their father. It seems that this was something Jesus had practiced occasionally. Jesus also did this before resurrecting Lazarus.
Joh 11:41 So they took away the stone [from the cave] where the deceased was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said: Father! thank you that you heard me.
There were many people looking at him. Through this movement, he showed them that he does nothing alone, that he is closely connected with the Father, that his power to resurrect emanates not only from him, but also from Heavenly Father.
After his final lesson with his disciples before his crucifixion, Jesus wanted to emphasize that all he told them was the will of the Father and came with the power and authority of God the Father.
I believe that Jesus also wanted his disciples to raise their eyes and their hearts to the Heavenly Father in prayer. He gave them an example and he knew that this example would serve them in future difficult situations.
Certainly this is not the only place that we see a picture of lifting the eyes to God.
Psa 120: 1–2 ^^ Song of the Ascent. ^^ I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come. 2 My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psa 122: 1 ^^ The song of the ascent. ^^ To Thee I lift up my eyes, Who lives in heaven!
This past summer I took our kids along with some of their cousins to the mountains. We hiked along a mountain trail for a few kilometers until we came around a bend and were greeted by an awesome view of Mount Rainier. Now let me ask you, do you think we just kept looking at the dirty old trail when we got to that viewpoint? Of course not! We lifted our eyes, to see the majesty and the beauty of Mt. Rainier. We lifted our eyes and could hardly stop looking at it. It was beautiful, breathtaking, awe-inspiring. It filled our hearts with the glory of God’s creation.
When we got home we all had to clean our shoes, because the trail was dirty and dusty. But you see that dirt and dust didn’t bother us so much because we were too busy looking up! We were looking up at God’s glorious creation.
I want to ask you now, are you looking only at the dusty trail in your life or are you taking time to look up! Our problem is that we are so caught up in our earthly affairs that we never look up, we never pause to talk to the Father, our minds are distracted by rubbish that fills our soul and pulls us down our head.
Lift the eyes of your heart to Him and you will find His glory!
2. Jesus looked for God’s glory
Father! the hour has come, glorify your Son, that your Son will glorify you.
Here is another direction we see in Jesus’ prayer. Jesus was focused on and greatly concerned with God’s glory! How far many of us are from even thinking about God’s glory in our daily lives, not to speak of making his glory the greatest purpose in our lives. Often we are caught up with our own glory, with the glory of our own image, the glory of our successes, the glory of our aspirations, the glory of our own experiences. However, a heart that seeks God must also seek his glory.
In order to understand Jesus’ prayer here, we must understand what God’s glory really is.
There are two words that are translated “glory” in the Bible: Δόξα, כָּבוד
They literally mean: to shine, to radiant, or brightness also heaviness. They figurative refer to God’s honor, majesty, and praise worthiness. God’s glory is the manifestation of this good, holy, and almighty nature
What this means is that anything that points to God’s goodness, his holiness, his power brings him glory. We give glory to God directly in our worship, but we must also give him glory in our life, in our work, in our education, in our families, etc…
God introduces us to his glory in the book of Exodus. God’s presence shone in the cloud at day and in the pillar of fire by night.
[Exo 16:10 NIV] 10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
God’s glory was central to his plan for Israel.
Ironically, the Israelites themselves feared God’s glory. Only Moses asked to see the glory of God.
Exo 33:18–19 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” 19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.
Moses could not see the full glory of God, it was like looking at the sun. The sun, which warms us, gives us energy, light to see, and with which we measure our day. The sun gives life to everything earthly, and yet looking directly at it without protection will quickly damage your eyesight.
His glory is too great for us to immediately perceive it directly, so God protected Moses from the full revelation of God’s glory.
The amazing thing is that God’s glory changed Moses, he became a different person when he came down from this mountain, seeing only a fraction of God’s glory. His face was shining, and it shone in such a way that people did not want to look at him.
[Exo 34:29 NIV] 29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
God’s glory changes us and that is why true prayer changes us.
You Can’t Pray Sincerely Without Touching God’s Glory
Unfortunately, there is much fake glory in church services today. There is much of what people call glory but it’s not really glory. Fake glory is a surface of worked up emotions which hide a heart that is callused to God’s real glory. Fake glory can be turned on or off in a minute, fake glory shows up when needed then disappears, fake glory is for others to see, fake glory doesn’t change us but rather hardens us to the Holy Spirit’s work.
However, we will find God’s glory when we begin to engage in real, sincere personal prayer. Prayer by nature brings us into contact with God’s glory. Yes, we have prayer in the church, and that is good but what about individual prayers? Do they exist in your life? God’s glory will be in the church when God’s glory is in the secret prayer of each of its members!
God’s glory will be in the church when it is in our apartments, in our bedrooms, in our houses, in our kitchens, and in our hidden places.
If you want to touch God’s glory, pray sincerely. In prayer you are in the presence of the glorious God
It is impossible to touch God’s glory without passing it on to others
Jesus was the mirror of God’s glory. When we come to God often in prayer we begin to mirror his glory to others. We also become reflectors of God’s glory when we begin to spend time in prayer, in the presence of God.
2Co 3:18 But with our open face, as in a mirror, beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Spirit of the Lord.
Jesus’ Glory Was His Sacrifice on the Cross
In today’s world we usually associate glory with fame, strength, power, greatness, and victory. Certainly, those are some aspects of God’s glory but they don’t always manifest here on earth in the way we might imagine. You see Jesus found glory in humiliation, pain, anguish, loneliness, and death on a cross. The miracle of Christianity is that God has worked in such a way that we can give him glory in even the most difficult aspects of our life. It is in these difficulties that we are often more likely to come to God in prayer and it is then that his glory shines through us.
[2Co 4:6–7 NIV] 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are clay, we are weak, we are not capable! This is so that when God does His great deeds through us, no one would say: “Here you are, Caleb, well done!”, but on the contrary, so that they say: “Glory to God!”
3. Jesus looked towards eternal life
[Jhn 17:2–3 NIV] 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
In his prayer here we see Jesus summarizing God’s great plan of salvation. Jesus knew that God will never receive more glory than through his great miraculous plan for our salvation!
As we think of our prayers, we must remember that God’s plan of salvation should be central in our prayers. Eternal life, forgiveness, a relationship with God. These are not just theological concepts for us, they are in fact the reason we can even come to God in prayer. Let us never forget that prayer is the unique privilege of those who have repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and God.
Jesus kept the concept of the gospel central in his life and in his prayers. This was the driving force of his life, this was the reason he came to earth, this was the purpose of his teachings, this was the reason he would allow himself to be crucified on the cross. May we never allow the central role of the Gospel to move away from view in our prayers! Our prayers ought to reflect God’s goodness to us through Jesus Christ. It is right for us to remind ourselves in prayer of God’s love, forgiveness, and salvation!
4. Jesus looked forward to goal of God’s presence
[Jhn 17:4–5 NIV] 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Here we see one simple way to bring God glory and that is simply by doing the work he has called each of us to do. What glory we give God by simple obedience to his commands, by simply following his lead in our lives, but simply living pure and holy lives by faith. These are simple, yet sometimes difficult means of giving God glory. But don’t underestimate these means. A life lived quietly but wholly for God has more potential to give God glory than a loud public life that only promotes God’s glory on the surface.
Here we also see Jesus’ great desire to be once again in the presence and glory of God the Father as he had been in eternity past. This is the ultimate finish, it is the goal of our faith. Remember that this is what Jesus promised his disciples back in John 14:1–3
[Jhn 14:3 NIV] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Many of you are away from your parents and from your family. You long to see them. What a great reunion it will be when you see them again! How much more our reunion with God the Father will be wonderful. Sadly many of us don’t think about this much. We don’t long for this much. We need to return to looking up at our Heavenly Father. It is then and only then that these righteous desires will be reignited in our hearts. Look up today in your private prayers. Look up and give him glory. Look up and share with him your struggles, Look up and anticipate his loving and kind hand. Look up and thank him for his salvation. Look up now, because your father is good, holy, kind, and caring. His glory is there, we just need to look up!
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