In John 17, Jesus makes his final prayers for others before he goes to the cross, so these are the most important things on Jesus’ heart for us. Jesus actually makes 3 prayers: the first for himself, the second for his disciples and the third for all believers. There is one major theme that is in all 3 prayers: the glory of God.
When we are thinking about what is priority in 2022 for our lives, look no further than the ultimate goal: to experience God’s glory.
So why is the glory of God priority?
Jesus wants to return to the glory of God himself
In his first prayer, Jesus prays for himself:
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (17:5)
So Jesus longs to glorify his Father but also to return to his Father and share his glory again that he experienced before the creation of the world. Just look at Jesus’ priorities!! These should be our priorities.
So the glory of God is Jesus’ first priority!
Jesus identifies the most important thing that he passed on to the disciples
In his second prayer, Jesus prays for the protection of the disciples:
But Jesus’ ultimate goal in protecting them is to protect the glory he has passed to them that they might glorify him and so glorify the Father (10):
“And glory has come to me through them.”
He says:
“I have given them the glory that you gave me” (22)
Jesus wants the glory of God for all believers
In his third prayer Jesus prays for all believers that the Father may protect them (as with the disciples above) so that they might one day see and experience the glory of the Son (24), just as Jesus prays for himself at the beginning (5):
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (17:24)
So the amazing thing is that Jesus wants and prays for us exactly what he has with his Father!! This is truly incredible! The Gospel is to give us what the Son has, the glory of God. Wow!!
But do we value the glory of God in our lives and value the deposit in heaven? Will we make protecting this glory already in us and seeking more of this glory our priority in 2022?