“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” (John 17:6 – 8)
I like to believe that the epistles in the New Testament were written with the intention of being shared for the teaching and guidance they contain. I know in an exegetical sense that the letters were written for a particular group for a particular reason. So if something in the letters does not “translate” well to our time, I gently set it aside. The gospels were written more specifically for telling the story of Jesus on earth; but again, if the gospel writers talking points do not translate well, I gently set them aside after considering the wisdom and teaching. But here, in Jesus’ open prayer to the Divine, I very much like to think that it applies to all of us – all of humanity that Jesus came to redeem. What in these verses could not pertain to us?
“I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” (Verses 9 – 11)
It is true this is a very personal prayer from Jesus to the One who sent Him. It is not meant to be for everyone; not everyone in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. And not to the whole world now. But for those who glorify Jesus and the Divine, it is a petition of protection that has spread out. If we want to be one with Jesus and the Divine, as Jesus and the Divine are one, then this covers us. The interesting thing is that I am not sure we can sustain that oneness. There are lapses and gaps; that does not mean the protection and care is off and on like a light switch. We have to do our part in reconnecting as often as needed. We need to connect to the Light!
“While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” (Verses 12 – 14)
At some point in our lives, we made the decision to place ourselves under the Lordship of Christ, and within communion with the Divine. While we may not have known what that decision would mean, we have come to know the implications of it. We live in a world that often does not understand or respect that communion. Fortunately there are enough times and fellow believers that we can make our way. And remind each other of the protection and obligation of that communion.
“I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (Verses 15 – 19)
We pray for one another; that is the way, actually, I started my call to ministry by praying for church members. Those prayers expanded to others that the Divine brought to my attention. And the need to be filled in order to pray lead me to seminary. And from there things just grew, bringing me to this point in my life. Jesus, in this prayer, starts the disciples/apostles on their faith & spiritual road & journey. It is before the coming of the Holy Presence; but it is the starting point and the start of preparation. Prayer is a mighty thing, beloved reader; mighty because of who prays it, and who is prayed over.
It is also an example of a very personal prayer between the One praying and the One prayed to. Like the Lord’s Prayer, it sets down a template for praying to the Divine in all the Aspects of the Divine. If we, beloved reader, remember our place in communion with Divine, we can be mighty prayers as well! Shalom & Selah!
A Simple Desire 
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