THE POWER OF PRAYER IN A TROUBLED WORLD
We have seen disturbing images
coming from Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the country last week. The
gut-wrenching photos from Haiti's 7.2 magnitude earthquake are still fresh in
our minds. We are living in a troubled world—some experience more troubles than
others. We can complain and point fingers at people and governments for our
problems. That doesn't change the situation, but what can change, and who can
deliver us from our troubles?
A few nights this past week, I was
awakened from my sleep with an overwhelming sense of urgency and burden to pray
for Afghanistan and Haiti's situation. The Lord brought the high-priestly
prayer of Jesus to my mind to help me pray and cope with my troubled heart. As
we look into Jesus's Prayer, we will understand how the Power of Prayer
sustains us in a troubled world.
Before we delve into Jesus' prayer,
let me share the context in which he offered his prayer. Jesus was nearing the
end of his mission on the earth. In a way, he knew what troubles were awaiting
Him. Yet, he was peaceful and persistent in accomplishing his mission. Right
after this prayer, Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples to be beaten up
and crucified.
Similarly, when we face all kinds of
troubles, it should be no surprise because Jesus told us so. John 16:33, "I
have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you
will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the
world."
After warning them that they will
have many troubles in this world, he did not want them to focus on the problems
overly, neither did he go on to fix the world's problems. Instead, he prayed
and drew their attention to Himself, where they can find peace and courage.
By now, we might know that there will be very
difficult times in the last days. Global
warming, pandemics, unrest, earthquakes, famine, wars, etc., all point to the
end times. When we face such calamities, trials, and sorrows of all kinds, who
do we turn to for solutions? How do we navigate in this troubled world? Jesus
gives the church a three-pronged strategy to stay afloat.
I.
JESUS PRAYED FOR HIS GLORY TO BE RESTORED (Vs. 1-5)
Is it wrong to pray for ourselves? Some people think I don't want to burden God
with my problems, while others struggle with more issues than I do. It is a
good thought, but it is not wrong to pray for yourself and others. It is not
selfish. Praying for ourselves is encouraged in the scriptures, and our Lord
and the disciples have modeled it. When we pray for ourselves, we express our
dependency on God and cultivate an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.
In verses 1-5, Jesus' prayed for his
glory to be restored. He addressed God as "Father," which occurs 122
times in John's Gospel, which tells us about Jesus' intimate relationship with
His Father. He said, "Father, the hour has come." Glorify your Son,
referring to the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection, which is the pathway
to glory. What is the Glory of God?
The meaning of the word glory is "heavy
in weight." It is the "weighty importance and shining majesty that
accompany God's presence." The verb glorify means "to give weight to"
or "to honor." Thus, to glorify God is to recognize God for who He is
and to respond appropriately. Have you
ever been in the presence of influential people? They can emanate such an aura
of power and authority. People honor them and even tremble in their presence.
In India, I once had the opportunity to meet the governor of our state. It was
an incredible experience.
As I walked in, I could feel the
Charisma in his eyes and his power surrounded by bodyguards with machine guns.
If human leaders display such glory, how about the God of the universe? One
day, that majestic and glorious God came down to the earth in the form of Jesus
Christ. Jesus began his ministry with 40 days of prayer and fasting.
Throughout his life, he earnestly
prayed and taught his disciples how to pray. In his longest prayer in verse
five, we hear him pray, "Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared
before the world began." What kind of glory did Jesus share with the
Father?
It is interesting to see how people
perceive Jesus. Many people of that time saw Jesus only as of the Son of a Jewish
carpenter. Some saw him as a good
teacher and revolutionary. Others saw him as a drunkard, glutton,
demon-possessed, and mentally challenged. Yet, a small band of them saw Him as
the Son of the living God and the Messiah and remained loyal to Him.
In this post-Christian era, many
have a low opinion of who Jesus is. Some argue Jesus is black, others say he is
white, yet others say he is neither black nor white but brown. Some Christians are
very casual when it comes to relating to him. They say he is my best friend
forever, buddy, and a companion. Yet a lot of genuine Christians call him Lord
and Savior.
When Jesus came into this world for
the first time, He left all His glory behind and took up the form of a slave. When
he comes back for the second time, He will be different. God restored his
former glory. Do you have any clue of what that glorified Jesus would look
like? John,
the evangelist, gives us a glimpse of the glorified Jesus in heaven. Rev
1:12-18, "When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold
lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the
Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His
head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow.
And his eyes were like flames of
fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice
thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a
sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all
its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead.
But he laid his right hand on me and
said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last." That is the majestic
Jesus whom we will encounter when we all get to heaven. Our fitting response to
this glorified Jesus would be that we bow down and worship Him with reverence
and awe. After praying for Himself, he showed his love and concern by praying
for his disciples.
II
JESUS PRAYED FOR HIS FOLLOWERS. (Vs. 6-19)
Jesus' prayer for his disciples
contains several assertions, assurances and ends with pleading for their
protection. The first assertion, Vs. 6, is about how he revealed God to his
followers, to who they belonged from the beginning, and how they obeyed God's
word.
The second assertion, Vs.7-8, is
about his follower's acceptance and genuine faith. They accepted and believed
as the fact that Jesus came from God, and God had given him everything as a
gift, including the very message he passed on to them. The third assertion, Vs.
9-10 is about how all those who belonged to God and Jesus will bring glory to
Him in the end.
The third assertion, Vs. 11-12 is
about how he protected them by the power of God's name, his eventual departure,
and the disciple's continual survival in a hostile world. In this section,
Jesus pleads for God's protection to unite the disciples as he was united with
the Father.
In verses 13-19, Jesus's focus has
turned to the disciples and all his follower's status to something of
"being in the world yet not belonging to the world. "Consider this
for a moment. Jesus said that they did not belong to the world any more than he
did. What did he mean?
Jesus gave his disciples hope to
look beyond their current troubles in the world and look towards their heavenly
inheritance, which He had promised them in John 14. What does that mean for us
today? When we see our lives from that divine perspective, everything changes.
Our difficulties, troubles, and
challenges become manageable because they won't last forever. Also, we won't
waste our energy and time on this world that is quickly passing away. Instead,
we endeavor to know and do God's will. How can we do God's will in our lives?
In John 14, he assured us that He
would not leave us as orphans but send His Holy Spirit to lead us into all the
truth. In his prayer, Jesus assured his disciples of His word. God's word is
the anchor of our souls. After praying for himself, and his disciples, Jesus
prayed for the world.
III
THE POWER OF PRAYER IN THIS TROUBLED WORLD (Vs. 20-26)
Vs. 20-21, "I am praying not
only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through
their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as
you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be
in us so that the world will believe you sent me." Jesus prayed for
himself, his disciples, and all who would believe through their preaching of
the gospel. As a result of this prayer, I got to believe in Jesus and became
His follower.
This prayer has been so effective
and powerful. It has changed the world more than what Christ has done while he
was on the earth. As a result of this prayer, millions of people came to the
saving faith in the Son of God. If you got saved, it was because of this
prayer. If you haven't yet given your heart to Jesus, open up your heart today and
let Him come in and change you.
This prayer of Jesus is still changing lives; many Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, people from all religions, and even atheists have come to know Christ and will come to know Him in the future. Jesus prayed that, "And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me." Imagine the scenario where the whole world will believe that Jesus was sent from God.
Whenever we pray for the salvation of people, we are praying the will of God as He doesn't want anyone to perish but all to come to know Him. You and I cannot fix the problems of the world, but Jesus can. There is Power in Prayer. When we pray to the all-powerful God, he will get to work to change situations and lives. So, by faith, let's keep praying for our unsaved family, friends, and colleagues that one day they will come to know Jesus as their savior. Amen!
