“1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed’” John 17:1-5.
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but in these few verses above this may be the only time Jesus ever prayed for Himself. There are at least 38 times Jesus prayed in the Gospels, and yet I would say that Jesus probably came closer to never stop praying than anyone who ever lived on this planet.
(Lk 3:21-22) At His Baptism.
(Mk 1:35-36) In the morning before heading to Galilee.
(Lk 5:16) After healing people.
(Lk 6:12-13) Praying all night before choosing His 12 disciples.
(Mt 11:25-26) While speaking to the Jewish leaders.
(Mk 7:31-37) While healing a deaf and mute man.
(Lk 9:18) Before Peter called Jesus “the Christ.”
(Lk 9:28-29) At the Transfiguration.
(Lk 10:21) At the return of the seventy.
(Lk 11:1) Before teaching His disciples the Lord’s Prayer.
(Jn 11:41-42) Before raising Lazarus from the dead.
(Mt 19:13-15) Laying hands on and praying for little children.(Also see: Mk 10:13-16, Lk 18:15-17)
(Jn 12:27-28) Asking the Father to glorify His name.
(Mt 26:26) At the Lord’s Supper.(Also see: Mk 14:22-23, Lk 22:19)
(Lk 22:31-32) Prayed for Peter’s faith when Satan asked to “sift” him.
(Jn 17:1-26) Prayed for Himself, His disciples, and all believers just before heading to Gethsemane.
(Mt 26:36-46) In Gethsemane before His betrayal. (He prayed 3 separate prayers.)
Try to pray this way in the coming year!(Also see: Lk 22:39-46, Mk 14:32-42)
(Lk 23:34) Right after being nailed to the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
(Mt 27:46) While dying on the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”(Also see: Mk 15:34)
(Lk 23:46) In His dying breath, Jesus prayed, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
(Lk 24:30) Prayed a blessing on the bread before He ate with others after His resurrection.
(Lk 24:50-53) He blessed the disciples before His Ascension.
Despite all of these examples when Jesus prayed, the one time He prays for himself it is a prayer to his father that He glorify his Son, Jesus, on the cross so that his father may be glorified. So it is the most selfless prayer ever uttered. Without a doubt. Jesus prays that He may glorify His father by completing the work of His father here on earth! When Jesus prays that he may be glorified, it is that He would be glorified in the presence of His Father whose glory He has shared in the presence of his Father before the world existed - for eternity, in other words.
So even Jesus’ prayer forHimself, on this one occasion, is a prayer to give his father all the glory.
I am embarrassed to say that so many times I have prayed for myself. Yet here is Jesus who prays only that the will and glory of His Father may be fulfilled. In the end, Jesus’ prayer is never about Himself but only about the fulfillment of the will and glory of His Father. This comes as no surprise, does it not, when we consider the Lord’s Prayer, when Jesus taught us to pray. His opening instruction are words we should consider whenever we pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth at it is in heaven!”
So, dear friends, consider this when you pray today.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Forgive me for not praying as You pray.
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