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The Gospel of John
Northwest London Christian Church
Series

Background to John’s Gospel – Chapter 17

John Chapter 17
What is the most amazing prayer you have ever heard? What comes to your mind when you think of
powerful prayer? In 1984 I was searching for a meaningful relationship with God. I went to a series of
church meetings in Notting Hill. The thing that impressed me most at those meetings were the prayers
of one particular man. At each service he was called forward to pray. He was a tall barrel-chested man
with a deep, booming voice. He didn’t rush, but neither did he pause or hesitate. It seemed to me that
he was certain God was listening to him. He gave the impression that God was very real to him. I
never got to know that man personally, but the experience remains vivid for me. I left those meetings
impressed but depressed. I was glad the barrel-man was that sure God heard him, but I was more
certain than ever that God would not listen to my faltering prayers.
I wonder how many of us today measure our prayers against an artificial standard? I believe that we
need to learn how to pray. After all, Jesus had to teach his own disciples (Lk 11.1-12, 18.1-8, 9-14) and
they were people who had grown up in a religion and society that regarded prayer as ‘normal’ (quite
different from the experience of most of us). So we need to learn how to pray – but do we have the right
model in our mind? I fear that I and too many of us have pictures in our heads that have more to do
with forms of prayer affected by tradition and experience than Jesus himself.
A key theme of the New Testament is the transformation of Christ-followers into his likeness. Any
follower of Jesus today hopes, prays and desires that what he or she does as a disciple brings glory to
Jesus. As we are transformed into ever-increasing Christ-likeness by the power of the Holy Spirit, we
bring great glory to God (2 Cor 3.17-18). Not only that, but we experience the joy and peace that only
Christ gives (Jn 16.24, 33). In studying the Gospel of John we see many different aspects of Jesus’
character and heart - his courage when facing opposition, compassion for the needy & spiritually lost,
determination to be obedient to his Father, the wisdom and impact of his teaching and much, much
more …
Jesus is about to go to the cross, the greatest test he will face. John knows that unless we ‘hear’ Jesus
pray, we will miss something vital. If we focus exclusively on what Jesus did, we run the risk of missing
why he did it and who he did it for. If we are going to imitate anything in Jesus (and indeed, we
should), then surely we must imitate how and why he prayed. If we miss this we miss the heart of
Jesus! Are you learning how to pray from Jesus? Have you read, studied, thought about, reflected
upon his prayers? By looking at this prayer of Jesus in John 17 we can learn so much. My hope and
prayer is that we will be inspired to learn more from the person who walked this earth that had the most
powerful prayers ever – Jesus.
If we can learn this, then we will be well-equipped for the work God has for us to do here on this earth
(Eph 2.10). We do not need to worry, or get stressed out. Jesus had peace despite the fact that he
had such a momentous task. This was due to his prayerful dependence on God. Someone said, “We
may wonder why our Lord’s ministry was so short, why it could not have lasted another five or ten
years, why so many wretched sufferers were left in their misery. Scripture gives no answer to these
questions, and we leave them in the mystery of God’s purposes. But we do know that Jesus’ prayerful
waiting for God’s instructions freed him from the tyranny of the urgent. It gave him a sense of direction,
set a steady pace, and enabled him to do every task God assigned. And on the last night he could say,
‘I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.’”1
I believe we can all have a ‘powerful’ prayer-life. Let us learn from Jesus.
Malcolm Cox

1 Charles E Hummel, Tyranny of the Urgent, IVP, 1967, pp6-9.