John 17:6-19 · Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Blast From The Past
John 17:1-19
Sermon
by Billy D. Strayhorn
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Have you ever been prayed for? Of course you have. But have you ever been prayed for without knowing about it? I was at a meeting over at St. Barnabas United Methodist Church in Arlington a couple of weeks ago and out of the clear blue, a member whom I'm only slightly acquainted with, came up to me and asked me how my mother is doing. She had heard in their prayer time that Mom needed our prayers. She didn't know what it was all about, but lifted Mom and me in prayer.

It was kind of an incredible feeling. I told Mom about it and she felt the same way. People we didn't even know were praying for Mom.

There is someone else that has prayed for us without our requesting it and without us even knowing about it. He prayed for us before we were ever born and before the church was ever formed. I…

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., From the Pulpit, by Billy D. Strayhorn