John 17 Part One: Jesus' Prayer an Overview by Kathryn Kuhlman part 1 in her "John 17 Series"

I'm going to begin a series of messages on the prayer that is really the Lord's prayer. I have never done this before. Oh, sure. You have heard my series of messages on the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. Our Father, which art in heaven. But the real prayer, the prayer that Jesus prayed, is the Lord's prayer. It is found in the 17th chapter of John. I'm not going to read the entire prayer. I shall at a later time. But I pray that you shall not miss one single one of these little heart-to-heart talks. Get out your Bible, the 17th chapter of John. Now, in the fourth verse, we hear him saying, I glorified thee on the earth. Remember something, Jesus is talking to the heavenly power. This is a communion, a fellowship between Jesus and God. I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. In other words, this is what he is saying on earth. And he made it very definite that his work on earth, the plan for him on earth at that time was accomplished. Don't stop there. There was still a great work remaining for him to do. But he said, it's expedient for you that I go away, speaking to the disciples. In other words, it is necessary that I go away. My work here on earth at this time has been accomplished. But it is necessary that I leave you now. But I leave you not alone, for when I will have gone away, the Holy Spirit will come. I will send him, and he will be your strengthener. He'll be your power. His work continued, remember. In this very moment, he is in position of great high priest. He could not hold two positions at the same time. He could not remain here on earth and be the great high priest. What is the position that he holds this very moment even as I speak to you? The position of great high priest, seated at the right hand of God the Father, ever living to make intercession for you and for me. You and I have one at the right hand of God the Father, Gori, praying for us constantly night and day. That's the reason I can tell you upon the authority of God's word that no man, no woman, not one of his children need ever be defeated on a single score. Not one of us ever needs to go down and defeat. He's made provision for victory. He's made provision for abundant living. He's there interceding for us. He's there willing to make a way of escape when we stand face to face with temptation. When the enemy assails us, we do not stand alone. No man walks alone. I do not live one minute of my life alone. You do not need to live one second of your life alone. We have a great high priest who'll hear our prayer in intercession, one who's willing to forgive, one who'll give you the power to overcome. You do not have to overcome. You cannot overcome in your own power. You have one who'll give you his power to overcome. You do not need to be a weak person. He's there willing to give you his strength. That's one reason Jesus made it very clear in this prayer that he prayed, in this communion that he had with the Father, when he said, I glorify thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given to me here on earth at this time. Now you and I had the great privilege to be permitted to come into his presence as under the very shadow of the cross. This is the beautiful privilege that we have of hearing Jesus talking to the Heavenly Father. He held communion with his Father. And he did so audibly in the very presence of those disciples. I wish I might have been there. Can you think of anything more wonderful than to hear Jesus talking to the Heavenly Father? How many times he did it prior to this we do not know. It may have been many times. Sometimes I think when he withdrew from the crowd. There were hours and hours when he had beautiful communion with the Father. But this is once when he held communion with the Father and did so audibly in the presence of those disciples. Who can doubt that the uttering of this great prayer at the close, while it was strictly communion with the Father, was uttered audibly for the sake of that group of men that were round about him. They, through this, were permitted to come into the sanctity of the thinking of Jesus, his thinking in the presence of his Father, and all of this was immediately before the cross. There have been many times, as I have read the Word of God, that I have wondered what was in the mind of Jesus before he did a certain deed. I've often wondered about his thinking. I've often wondered what his thoughts were when he stood there before Caiaphas. I've often wondered what his thoughts really were when he stood there and cried, Lazarus, come forth. I've often wondered what his thoughts really were when he was disappointed with those in whom he had such trust and such confidence. Here, for just a very brief time, we are permitted to get a glimpse of his thinking immediately before the cross. But remember, just a matter of a very short time, he would stand before Caiaphas in a very short time. He'd stand before Pilate in a very short time. Now, he would be led away to go a Gorthish brow. Oh, this is beautiful. I almost feel like speaking softly because I'm getting a glimpse of something that's very private and very sacred. I do not know whether or not I want the whole world to hear my personal and private communion with my Lord. It's something that's so sacred. I feel as though we're on holy ground when we begin talking about this prayer, this communion that Jesus had with the Heavenly Father. Three times he said these two words, I pray, but I believe that the true meaning is I desire. And it's true with us when we come into the presence of the Heavenly Father, when we come into the presence of Jesus, our great High Priest. Instead of saying I pray, what we really mean is I desire. And I believe that this is strictly a spiritual interpretation. He was not really asking favors of the Father, not really. He was talking with the Father. But in communion, expressing the things upon which his heart was set, the thing that he desired. And this communion, as you and I break it down, is threefold. His express desires at the very beginning concerned himself. Just analyze it. I dare say that before you and I all through that little heart-to-heart talks regarding the prayer that Jesus prayed, his communion with the Father, will be amazed at the depth. He expressed concern regarding himself. You'll find it so in the first five verses. And then from verse 6 to 19, he prayed for those who were with him, those who were present. And then at verse 20, we come to the final movement. He said, Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word. From there to the end, he was praying for his whole church, for the bride of Christ, for all who are Christians, all members of the church, including you and including me. And the amazing thing is that at the call to this prayer, he did not forget one single one of his children. He did not only pray for those who would be members of his church during the times of the Gentiles, but he went further than that. He also prayed for those who would be saved during the Great Tribulation. And when we get to that part, I'll explain it a little further to you. Why? I know. Because you see, during the Great Tribulation, the Holy Spirit will not be here. They'll not be the convicting part of the Holy Spirit. During the Great Tribulation, there will be literally thousands and thousands who will accept the Christ of their Savior, who will be born again, who will be converted. But they'll be converted through the word of their testimony. And at the end of his prayer, at the end of his communion to the Father, he was praying that only for his whole church, but for all of those who would be saved by the word of their testimony. Oh, to me that's thrilling. It's thrilling. And so our blessed Lord is here talking to his Father about himself, about that group around about him, who are hearing him talking to the Father audibly. And through them looking on down the years that have muck-applied into the decades and centuries, and now nearly two millenniums, all the hosts who believed in him, thinking of them into the circle of his thinking, of his great passion, of his desire, all his church to the consummation. They all passed before him as he prayed. He forgot not one. Not one. And the plane of this prayer was that of expressing in communion his desires and his determination, the subjects of prayer, himself, his first messengers, and then all who should believe on him through their word. In the first five verses, which concerned himself, there were two expressed desires. In verses 6 to 9 King, concerning the men around him, there were three expressed desires. In verses 20 to 26, there were two expressed desires. Follow me, if you will, please, very closely. In the first five verses, the two desires that were expressed, what were they? He begins, Father, and I love it. You and I coming before the Father's throne in the prayer that he taught us to pray, he taught us to pray in exactly the same way. Our Father, which art in heaven. And when Jesus himself came before the Father's throne and remembered something, as he prayed this prayer, he was still as much man as though he were not God because he had not yet died on the cross. Father, the hour is come. All through John we found references to that hour. He talked about it very freely. It began way back when talking to his mother. Remember what Jesus said to his mother? Mine hour is not yet come. Now he said to the Father, Father, the hour, the hour that I knew would come, the hour that I knew a way back there in my youth, the hour that I'd been looking forward to, the end of redemption's plan, that hour is come. And to this hour he'd been looking forward from the very beginning. He'd been preparing all of his teaching, in all of his doing. It was this hour which had constituted the underlying passion, the urge of his life. And now, Father, that hour, the hour is come. In the presence of that consciousness he expressed two desires for himself. The first is contained in the early verses. Glorify thy son, that the son may glorify thee, even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that whatsoever thou hast given him, to them he should give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they should know thee, the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. I glorify thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. Do you want to see something? And this is amazing, in speaking of himself. He refers to himself as glorify thy son, that thy son may glorify thee, and then he answers by saying, I glorify thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do.