08.06 Sermon Notes
August 5, 2023

Prayer Modeled - Jesus our Intercessor Pt. 2

John 17:20-26

The Placement

Jesus is about to go to the cross and he knows the disciples will be scattered and have tribulations.

John 16:32-33 says, “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The Purpose for Jesus’ prayer is for…

  1. The church:
    • John 17:20 “…for those who will believe in me through their word.”
  2. Unity For The Church:
    • John 17:21,23 “…21that they may all be one…23I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one…”
    • Romans 12:4-5 “…one body but many members…one body in Christ…”
  3. Division in the church:
    • 1 Corinthians 13:1-6 “…you are still in the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh behaving only in a human way?…”
  4. Unity with The Father:
    • John 17:21 “…that they also may be in us…”
    • Sin in the Garden of Eden separated humanity from God. Jesus’s death on the cross and our faith in Him re-unites us with The Father.
  5. So The World Will Know:
    • John 17:20,21,23 Jesus prays “…20for those who will believe in me through their word…21so that world may believe that you have sent me…23so that the world may know that you sent me…”
    • When we are actively engaged in the unity we have with The Father, it leads us to unity with the church, which points the world to Jesus.

The Practice: Intercessory Prayer

Entygchanō - (Greek word for Intercession) - to meet with in order to converse, then to make petition, to plead.

Intercessory Prayer brings unity to the church:
1. James 5:13-16 “…the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working…”
2. Galatians 6:2 “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
3. John 13:34 “…A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…”
4. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 “…I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…”

Intercessory Prayer helps us engage in the Unity we have with The Father

“Intercessory prayer is not primarily about believing we know what someone else needs and then trying to tell God what the answer is. It is not about wrestling some result from God. Intercessory prayer is more about recognizing that we do not know how to pray for others - or ourselves for the matter - but the Holy Spirit knows. Since we understand that the Holy Spirit is already interceding for us before the throne of grace, we can bring a name or a need, express it simply and in the silence experience our own groaning and Holy Spirit’s groaning for that person.” - Ruth Haley Barton

Romans 8:26-27 “…For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning to deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit…”

Life Group Questions:

  1. What is causing disunity with others in the church for you?
  2. What is standing in the way of engaging in the unity you have with The Father?
  3. Do you find prayer in your personal life and Intercessory prayer difficult? Why or why not?