John 17:20-26
May 27, 2001

An Answered Prayer

Prayer

Almighty and ever living Father in heaven, we give you thanks for the great love you have shown your Church by unifying us with you and one another through your Son, Jesus; who promised that we would never be without your grace and consolation. Bless us this day so that empowered by your Holy Spirit we may be witnesses of your love and mercy to the world as we work for the glory of your holy name. All this we ask through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

Introduction

      Many of you here this morning have a wonderful or perhaps even deeply personal story of one or another of your prayers being answered. Take a moment and call to mind a time when beyond any shadow of a doubt that God through his grace and/or mercy answered your pray—heard your cry, gave ear to your plea.

I remember that just before I went off to seminary in Pittsburgh I prayed that God would make me more dependent upon him.  So after I arrived I became acquainted with what I and other students affectionately called the mailbox prayer. The prayer of desperation one utters as the fear sets in at realization you only have seven dollars in the bank, no job and your 2000+ miles from my home. God and I had a lot of talks in and around my mailbox while I was there and while it was harrowing at times it was also a time of tremendous growth for we as well. I realized that God had heard my prayers not only to provide for me but also my earlier prayer to be dependent upon him.  It was in experiencing dependence and giving up control that I realized that God truly wanted to and would bless me.  God had heard me and literally made me dependent upon him.

Prayer is a staple of the Christian life.  It feeds and sustains us even as we are plagued by doubts, fears, circumstances that are beyond our control and inadequacies real and imagined. 

Body

Today’s reading from the Gospel of John reminds us that prayer is not only the heart of Christian life but also the very soul of the Church. As such I would like to focus on two things from today’s reading. First the significance of Jesus’ prayer and second its implication for us.

Today’s lesson is a portion of a prayer that Jesus offers following the Last Supper and washing his disciples feet. Actually, the entire 17^th Chapter of John’s Gospel is one large prayer. It is an essential part of Jesus’ final discourse with his friends prior to his arrest and crucifixion.  The chapter begins with Jesus raising his eyes to heaven and praying, first for himself [i], next his disciples [ii] and finally it ends with his petition for all believers, which we heard in today’s reading [iii]. It is during this moment that Jesus says, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word”. [iv] 

Thus the church itself is the object of and an answer to prayer. In fact, Jesus’ prayer is for the whole church, not just the historic church but also for the present and future church and it includes each of us here today. It is a universal prayer, a petition for all believers in all times and in all places. So we realize that God not only hears our prayers but answers them as well, and we, the assembled body of Christ, are an answer to Christ’s own prayer. 

So Jesus’ prayer is significant for two reasons; first, it is a prayer that he uttered himself with his own lips for us. His petition was offered on our behalf. I don’t know how that makes you feel but me, I am blown away but the idea of Jesus praying for me. This is so incredibly profound. God cares so much for you and me that in his great love he not only hears our prayers but also he in his mercy actually prays for us, as well.  Jesus prays that we, all believers, might be one. That is we might enter and enjoy fellowship and identity with him as he does with God the Father. Jesus is asking the Father to bless us with his presence –to allow us to have communion with him. Moreover, his prayer is an invitation for us to have an unimpaired relationship with him and the Father. It is an invitation to be to be cleansed from our sin, recreated, and made whole. It is a summons to enter and share the joy that surpasses all things and is found only with God. My friends, this is truly staggering. And this is GRACE, the love, the riches and blessing he lavishly showers upon us. ... We believe because Saints like the Apostle Paul, Patrick of Ireland and Dunstan and countless believed this and shared it with still others until the faith came to down us. We’re an answered prayer

Second, God grants us the privilege of being his tools in answering prayer. God not only answers prayer but he might well use us for the outworking and answer to a specific prayer. In truth you are intrinsically an answer to Jesus’ prayer by virtue of being here and being a Christian. Your presence and belief demonstrates this reality. Have you ever thought of yourself this way? Has anyone ever told you that you were an answer to prayer? Or have you ever considered yourself God’s instrument? Have you in some way, big or small, been an answer to prayer or the solution to a problem for someone? This too is an incredible truth. God not only blesses us but he uses us to bless others – to be the answer to prayer.

About six years ago I had an experience that really drove home this reality for me—that I had the privilege of literally being answer to prayer. One morning, following graduate seminar, I left San Diego State and headed east on highway 8 to my home to El Cajon. As I was driving a thought popped into my mind that I should swing by St. Andrew’s La Mesa and see Fr. Alan MacKillop. I reflected on this for a minute and realized that I didn’t really have any reason to see Fr. Alan, as I had just seen him the day before. So, my thoughts once again turned to negotiating the freeway and my drive home. Again a thought came to me to go see Fr. Alan and again I said “no”. My eyes focused on the sign that announced, “Jackson Drive 1 mile”, as I adamantly threw the thought from my mind. Once more it came, this plaguing thought and impulse. Only this time it came as a directive, an urgent order, “Go now and see Alan!” And as this echoed in my head my car, as if by instinct, moved itself from the extremely left lane across four lanes of city traffic just in time to exit. As I exited the freeway, I spoke aloud to myself saying, “I guess I’ll go see Alan”. I’m sure any other drivers who might have witness this little interchange must have thought I was schizophrenic and in desperate need of medication. 

I pulled in the Church parking lot and entered the office whereupon I spoke to the secretary, Susan, inquiring if Fr. Alan was around. I then added, “I think I need to see Alan”. She gave me a slightly puzzled look and replied, “you know, he’s in the chapel praying and I think would be very happy to see you.” “Really”, I replied. She went on to inform me that he was engaged in healing prayer with a rather disturbed individual and was that he was alone—surely he would welcome the help. It was customary for members of the Prayer Ministry, including Fr. MacKillop, to pray in teams of two or more whenever possible. This policy was used as a check against potential problems and was recognition that God gives different individuals various spiritual gifts. Likewise it was our belief that having two Prayer Ministers aided in discernment of prayer. I went into the church and made my way back to the chapel which I entered the quietly. I saw Fr. Alan with his head down and eyes closed in intense prayer. After a moment he lifted his head and opened his eyes. When he saw me he looked as if he had been struck by lightning. His face shone with surprise as he motioned me forward and asked me to join him in praying.

After the session ended Fr. Alan invited me into his office. We sat down and I said, “I hope that I wasn’t intruding”. He smiled, laughed and told me that he was not upset with my appearance but rather relieved. He then said, “I had just prayed for God to send me help and as soon as I opened my eyes you were standing in the doorway”. “Imagine my fright, it was just as if you appeared out of thin air”.  In the discussion that followed we both realized that God had not only heard his prayer but had begun to answer it even before he finished asking. I also learned a powerful lesson that at any given moment anyone of us could be the answer to a prayer.

Some might say, “Yeah, well it was just a coincidence”. Well my response is this Christians don’t believe in coincidence but rather providence. Coincidence implies that two random events are juxtaposed at just the proper moment to have a beneficial effect. Whereas providence implies that neither the events nor the outcome are random but rather they are the intentional outworking of God’s grace (a.k.a. miracles). The same is true for us sitting here in response to Jesus’ prayer this is not a random occurrence. Instead it is the fruit of answered prayer.

Conclusion/Application

Jesus’ prayer is not just a lovely sentiment but also a powerful and purposeful command that is relevant to all believers true believers in all times.  There are four key elements that we should garner from his petition.

1.                  Christ desires that his followers are one. That is that all who believe are not only united with one another but are also united with him. [v] Again, unity here is considered to be a spiritual union that is characterized by intimate familial relationship more than complete conformity of thought.

2.                  Jesus said, “The glory that you have given me I have given them” ^[vi] Consequently Jesus blesses us by sharing his glory with us.

3.                  It is Christ’s desire that all people know him and thereby know the Father and the love of God. [vii]

4.                  We share in Christ’s calling to make God the Father known and too glorify him. So that the world knows and believes that God did send the Son. [viii] 

So what does this mean to you and me—how does the rubber hit the road? The simple answer is that this prayer becomes for us a template for our lives and how we should live them. And as our lives conform to this prayer we begin to realize that we too have been called to share in this prayer. We too like those before us are charged with bringing it to its fullest competition by sharing in Christ’s work. That is we are to be conscientious witness, share the reality of God in our lives with others. Everything we do demonstrates something to someone the question is what are we witnessing. Likewise, we join this prayer every time we recount and give thanks for the blessings we receive and this requires that we be thankful. Finally, we join this prayer when we share the love and blessing of God with others. Not just those who we know or deserve it but also the stranger and our enemies. Today Jesus is asking you to join him in this prayer. Will your prayer be Amen, so be it? Mine is. Amen! 

The Rev. Russell E. J. Martin,
© 5/27/01, all rights reserved

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