No. 504 “Jesus Prays for Us” 2026 10 18

No. 504 “Jesus Prays for Us” 2026 10 18 A familiar song reminds us that there are times when our hearts are too weary to pray and we feel completely alone. Even then, knowing that someone is praying for us can give us strength. How much greater, then, is the comfort of knowing that the Son of God prays for us? We have titled our new series on John 17, JESUS PRAYS FOR US. The focus of this chapter is not how skillfully we pray. Its focus is what Jesus prayed for His own people as He faced the cross. His prayer unfolds through five memorable G-verbs: GLORIFY—glorify the Son (John 17:1–5); GUARD—keep His people in the Father’s name (17:6–16); GO—sanctify them in the truth and send them into the world (17:17–19); GATHER—make them one (17:20–23); and GAZE—bring them to be with Jesus and behold His glory (17:24–26). In one sentence, Jesus is glorified through the cross, guards His people in the world, sanctifies and sends them by the truth, gathers them as one in love, and will finally bring them to be with Him and behold His eternal glory. This prayer gives us the larger picture of the gospel and the church. Like the Lord’s Prayer, it concerns the Father’s name and will and asks for protection from evil (Matthew 6:9–13; John 17:6, 11, 15). The love commanded in the Great Commandment becomes visible in the unity of Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 22:37–40; John 17:21–23). The Great Commission is anticipated when Jesus says, “I have sent them into the world” (Matthew 28:18–20; John 17:18). Those who receive and believe in Jesus become God’s children and receive eternal life (John 1:12; 3:16). John 17 shows how Jesus guards, forms, and sends those children so that they may make disciples. Saving souls is not the end of the mission; it is the beginning of a disciple-making life. Our starting point, therefore, is not greater determination. It is the grace of Jesus, who prayed for us and accomplished our salvation on the cross. Through this series, may we experience the power of prayer, recover our first love, and devote ourselves to God’s desire to save people and form them as disciples. Until Thanksgiving, let us read all of John 17 each week and meditate on these five verbs. Our greatest reason for gratitude is not that every circumstance has improved. It is that Jesus continues to guard and send us today and will finally bring us to be with Him in glory.