Praying for You

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

June 1, 2025

John 17:20-26

 “Praying for You”

Today’s Gospel lesson comes from a larger unit in John’s Gospel, all in chapter seventeen, known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. It is unique to John, and not found in any of the other Gospels. In John’s account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, this comes just before Jesus’ betrayal by Judas and his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1ff.). Before this happens, though, Jesus prayed, and what he prayed for was you and for me. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed for all who would believe in him across the ages, and that includes us today. The opening words of today’s Gospel lesson make this clear with Jesus’ own words, which are today’s Scripture memory verse: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (John 17:20). That is enormously comforting, to know that our crucified, risen and ascended Savior has prayed to the Father – and in fact, continues to pray as our great High Priest – for all of his beloved children of every time and place. Based on Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel, the message for today is entitled, “Praying for You.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

This past Thursday, we celebrated the Ascension of Our Lord. Forty days after he rose from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11) where he now is seated at the Father’s right hand, and from which he will come again to judge the living and the dead. This may sound like a teaching that’s more concerned with the future than the present. But there is a here-and-now relevance of Jesus’ ascension for our lives in this present moment. In the midst of a world that seems to be spinning out of control; where fear, oppression, and exploitation rule the day; where greed, corruption, and violence always seem to have the upper hand, we affirm the truth that Jesus reigns. From our perspective, it may look like the world is falling apart, but from the Lord’s perspective, it may well be that it is falling into place, all according to God’s gracious and all-knowing plan. Even when it appears otherwise and everything around points to the contrary, Jesus reigns. This is the only hope we have in the midst of a world that is falling apart. And all the while, Jesus, our great High Priest, continues to pray for us. He is continually making intercession for his children before the Father’s throne.

All the while our risen and ascended Savior is praying for us, he calls us to pray for one another, and we do that gladly and willingly. Our congregation’s Prayer Team faithfully meets each Thursday evening to lift up literally pages of prayer needs. These include people not only from our own congregation, but many others – friends, family, co-workers. Prayer requests come in from a secure portal of our church’s website, with some coming literally from around the world. Until that day when Jesus our Great High Priest returns in power and glory, we are to be praying for one another. For more than ten years, our congregation has been learning and growing in the five mission practices through Joining Jesus on His Mission, by Greg Finke. One of the growth areas of this is ministering through prayer. When someone we know shares a need or a situation in life, we might say, “I’ll be praying for you,” and then we quickly forget about it. It’s easy to do. Better to ask, “How can I pray for you? Would you like to pray now?” For many of us, that’s when we freeze. Yes, we want to pray for this need, but not in front of others. What if we just stutter and stammer? What if we say the wrong thing and mess it up? Lots of what-if’s. To use the military acronym here, BLUF, Bottom Line Up Front: all we are doing is bringing this need to Jesus. We are inviting Jesus into the situation with his mercy and grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It’s not about having a lot of words, or even having the right words. Prayer is all about the living and loving relationship that God has established with us through our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6:1ff.). When it comes to prayer, as with so many things in life, simple is good. Ask the person if they would like you to pray with them. Get their permission. You can do this by phone just as well as in person. If they say no, that’s okay. You can still pray for them and their need. If they say yes, find a quiet place wherever you are. Come before our risen and ascended Savior with that need and ask for his help. Over the years, I have seen that prayer is a powerful tool to point people to Jesus. Everyone has needs and almost everyone is open to having someone pray with them or for them about those needs. As we pray with one another and for one another, our Great High Priest, our risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ, is praying for us. What an incredible blessing!

Back to Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in today’s Gospel lesson: remember that Jesus is praying all of this just before he is betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1ff.). On the very night of his betrayal, Jesus is praying for his disciples, and not just those first disciples, but for his disciples in all places and at all times. We are those who believe in Jesus through the Word received from Jesus and passed down through those first disciples. That Word was not their own, and neither is it our own. The Word has power to create and sustain faith at all times. That Word is Jesus, the Word who became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14). That Word is Jesus who lived and served; who healed and saved; who suffered, died and rose again that we “might be his own and live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness” (Luther’s Explanation of the Second Article of the Creed).

As we wait and watch for Jesus’ promised coming again, it is our privilege to pray for one another, remembering that Jesus, our risen, reigning and returning Lord, is praying for us. Amen.