John 17

The entire 17th chapter of John is a prayer by Jesus:

1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:

Father, it's time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.

6-12 I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I'm not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world;
They'll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a night watch.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).

13-19 Now I'm returning to you.
I'm saying these things in the world's hearing
So my people can experience
My joy completed in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn't join the world's ways,
Just as I didn't join the world's ways.
I'm not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.
Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
I give them a mission in the world.
I'm consecrating myself for their sakes
So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.

20-23 I'm praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they'll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you've sent me and loved them
In the same way you've loved me.

24-26 Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.

Oh wow; as I read this I am so humbled. Here Jesus is about to go to the cross and His desire and earnest plea is for His followers. I can read here that God has such good things for me and I know I'm so undeserving!

Oh Father, I thank You that You're heart is for me and that You want my good. Thank You so much Jesus that You dies on the cross for me; that You make it now so that God sees me as clean and acceptable. I thank You Father that You chose me to be Yours; I don't understand all that this means but I am just grateful before You now. Thank You Jesus. Praise You and Thank You.

There is a persistent theme here about love. It's like Jesus can't stay away from it. He obviously wants so much for His followers to love one another. He even says that this is what gives evidence/testimony/validity to the world that we're His followers and that He is real.

Of Father, I don't want to mess this up. There's some of Your followers that I can think of that I don't much like. I am shy and reserved and find it so hard to get close to people; for some reason I find it even more difficult here in this local church. But Father I recognize that it's not all about me. Please change my sinful mind and help me allow You to pour out Your love into my heart. Show me the ways to practically love people in my life today and each day to come. Thank You Father.

Kind of side note; but theologically this scripture shows that Jesus was with God before the world was created. Jesus says " And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world."

I like that phrase "truth-consecrated in their mission". I think of it in a few ways. Truth because Jesus is truth; His righteousness over us is real and true, His character is truth. Truth in that what we are about it Truth. We aren't here to tell stories or lies or give an image, but to be real and deal in truth. Truth in that we are to honest because there is a power in simple honesty.

Oh Father, it's so hard to be real and genuine. Please help me to speak the truth and be a real person. Even when it's inconvenient. Please put a guard over me and help me remember that your ways and honest and true and help me to walk only in Your ways.