Jesus often prayed. He prayed in the morning. He prayed in the evening. He prayed in the afternoon. He prayed in the late hours of the night. It is the late-night prayer that we are going to be looking at in this post. As I have said throughout this series, Jesus is in His final hours here. These final teachings are arguably the best Jesus did. Not that all the others were bad, but these are His final ones and Jesus knows it. He has taught about prayer and He has been seen praying. But there are good things we can see from this late-night prayer of Jesus. With this prayer of Jesus, we get to see the heart of Jesus
[1] You can check that series out here - in either the blog form or the podcast form. https://www.thepointoffocus.com
[2] “Talking to Jesus” - Elevation Worship
[3] “Genuine prayer often reveals a person’s innermost being. John 17 is an unique opportunity to see the nature and heart of Jesus.” - Enduring Word - https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-17/amp/
[4] Where some of the verses are posted and other verses are summarized.
[5] “This indicates the physical posture of Jesus as He prayed. This is a posture that we don’t usually associate with deep prayer. In the prayer customs of the western world, we often bow our head and close our eyes. Jesus prayed with the customs of prayer common in His own day (John 11:41, Mark 7:34, Psalm 123:1). The words lifted up His eyes to heaven also indicate that Jesus looked up in a hopeful sense and was not gloomy or downcast in this prayer. This is actually a prayer of faith and confidence, even victory – all the while acknowledging the reality of the conflict. ‘We so often understand this prayer as though it were rather gloomy. It is not. It is uttered by One who has just affirmed that He has overcome the world (John 16:33), and it starts from this conviction.’ (Morris)” - Enduring Word - https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-17/amp/
[6] Matthew 1:21, Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 4:15
[7] “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.” - John 17:1 NLT
[8] Jesus prayed first for Himself, but His petition was not selfish. His concern for Himself was actually a concern for the glory of the Father. The Son can only glorify the Father if the Father first answers the prayer of the Son, “Glorify Your Son.”
[9] Having taught and encouraged the disciples as much as He could on the eve of their despair, Jesus now did the great thing: He committed them to the Father in prayer. - Enduring Word - https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-17/amp/
[10] Jesus prayed this entire prayer with His soon departure in mind. He realized that He would no longer remain in the world, but His disciples would. They therefore needed special prayer.
· They needed prayer because the unique three years of discipleship during His earthly ministry would be over.
· They needed prayer because of the circumstances surrounding the departure of Jesus; His betrayal, arrest, trial, beatings, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
· They needed prayer because Jesus would not be there in His bodily presence to help them.
· They needed prayer because of the necessary role of the Holy Spirit; both for the sending of the Spirit and their constant reliance upon Him.
Enduring Word - https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-17/amp/
