LEADER’S GUIDE

John 17 – Thy Kingdom come...

CONTEXT & HIST ORICAL BA CKGROUND

This week we will continue working through the Lord’s prayer. We have reached, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.” This segment of the prayer reflects a type of prayer called supplication which is a fancy word for when we are making a request to God for oneself or others. When we practice praying for others in this way, we imitate .

Time and time again, we see Jesus praying for others which is why we will look to him this week to learn this way of praying. In John 17, we are invited to witness a moving prayer that reveals Jesus’ heart for this world. We see Jesus plead on behalf of himself, the disciples, and all future believers. In case you didn’t get that, Jesus prayed for US in this passage!

That last point is so exciting! But let’s slow down for a minute. Before we get to the juice of this passage, some context may be helpful. The book of John as well as the three letters found later in the (we will get to talk about those next week!) were written by Jesus’ beloved . Of course, Jesus clearly loved all of his disciples, but the phrase ‘beloved disciple’ is widely agreed to refer to John. This is split into four major sections, a prologue, a section that focuses on Jesus’ work, a section that focuses on Jesus’ return to the Father (this is where we will be this week!), and an epilogue.

John 17 marks a key point in this gospel. Jesus acknowledges his time has now come to return to the Father in heaven so that God’s name may be glorified and his love revealed to all nations. Prior to this prayer, Jesus reveals to the disciples that he will soon depart from them and send his Advocate (aka the Holy Spirit). He explains to them that they will soon experience grief that will turn into great joy as they will see him again. Jesus’ encouragement toward his disciples moves him into the profound prayer found in John 17 and it is after this prayer when Jesus is betrayed, arrested, crucified, and (lets not forget) resurrected!

RELATED P ASSAGES The Book of Jonah - In this story, we see a man who is attached to the circumstantial outcome he conjured himself rather than trusting in God’s answer.

Matthew 26:36-44 - Jesus prays for his impending suffering to be taken from him, but proclaims three times for God’s will to be done not his own.

KEY TERMS ● Glorify: Jesus’ request to be glorified was not a prideful prayer for his sole gain. In being glorified, Jesus is fulfilling his purpose on this earth. The results of this act are threefold. The first is the glory of God’s love being revealed through his death, the second is the opportunity for Jesus to return to his place with the Father in heaven following the resurrection, and the third being full glorification of God in the revelation of his character.

KEY THEMES Supplication for Ourselv es: If you do not know what supplication means, I’m sure you have practiced it without realizing what you were doing. When we ask God for anything, whether it be for ourselves or others, we are practicing supplication. I’m sure everyone in your group has prayed supplication in many instances, but there is a lot for us to learn from Jesus’ example. When Jesus asks God for something, whether it be for himself or someone else, he does it in submission to God’s greater will as well as in a posture that seeks to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth as central to his requests. Jesus begins his prayer of supplication on behalf of himself in acknowledgement of the suffering he is about to endure. Prior to this passage, Jesus told his disciples that he would soon depart from them and immediately after this prayer Jesus is arrested. Jesus was aware that his time had come. In the Gethsemane account found in Matthew 26:36-46 and Luke 22:39-46, Jesus prays for this cup of suffering to be taken away from him but also submits to God’s will. Jesus says, “F ather, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” In this prayer, we see Jesus’ vulnerability in not wanting to endure the suffering of the cross. But we also see him release the weight of potential outcomes and entrust them to the Father. By praying the Lord’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,” we are entering a prayer of releasing control and establishing that God knows best in every outcome.

In John 17, Jesus prays in acceptance of God’s will prior to his suffering knowing that it will lead to the heavenly Kingdom coming to earth. Jesus may at first seem to be praying for his own glory. Although Jesus is more than deserving of glorification for his sacrifice, his prayer seeks to bring the glory of God’s love to this world and to reveal God’s character. Through Jesus’ example we see that when we give over control in prayer, we are establishing trust in God’s goodness. By doing so, we are released from the weight of our own expectations. Fervently praying for our own outcomes ignores God’s all-knowing nature. God has a much greater understanding of what is good than our finite minds can create. Therefore, it is important for us to submit to his will that is inevitably greater than our own and trust in his goodness even when we disagree. Our acceptance of God’s will inevitably allows more of God’s kingdom to come to earth. We often are not satisfied with what God is doing because we are either tied to our own desire or we cannot see the full picture God is working with. Although this does not mean that God does not hear and respond to our prayers. There are many instances where God alters his plan in response to the prayers of his people out of his deep love for them. God wants to hear the desires of our hearts. Whether or not we see him respond in the way we expect, we can still trust ‘thy will be done’ and that it is good.

Supplication for Others: In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he selected twelve disciples to live in close relationship with him. It was these individuals (among others) that he shared his life with and passed his ministry on to. Jesus prays for protection and unity amongst these disciples. Since Jesus was departing from the world, he knew that the enemy would direct his focus on those who lived most closely to Jesus. Jesus said in Mark 18:20, “F or where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” That truth is a threat to the enemy and is why he seeks to disunify God’s community. Combating such separation can be done through praying for one another. This includes your core group, your closest friends, and your family. When we find ourselves in disagreement or angry at others, praying blessings on their behalf is a great way to fight against the disunity that the enemy is working to create within the Church. Pr aying for one another also brings us into a deeper relationship with Jesus and one another. If we are not praying for the people in our lives, then we are not fully opening ourselves to one another.

Supplication for the W orld: Although Jesus had never met us, he prayed for us. He prayed for us, his future believers, to be unified with one another and for the world to believe because of our relationship with Jesus. He desires for us to be in relationship with him and to experience his glory. Just as Jesus prayed for all future believers to be in relationship with him and for the world to experience God’s love, we too are called to intercede on behalf of those we do not know. Jesus’ heart is for every nation and tongue to hear the Gospel, for thy kingdom to come. As we walk in relationship with God, our heart aligns with his. Christians around the world, and increasingly in our own country, are persecuted for their faith, and yet, they are still spreading the Gospel to all who will hear. In Jesus’ prayer, we see his desire to be unified with one another which can be done by uniting in prayer for not just the American Church but the Global Church.

Side Note: This last point is not the central point of the curriculum this week and we do not want it to take over your whole group time. However, some students may have questions about this and it is healthy to equip you to address it. Someone in your group may ask something like, “If we are supposed to pray in accordance to God’s will, do my prayers even change anything? What is the point of praying?” The simple answer is yes, our prayers do matter and God does respond to them! One of many examples of this occurring in scripture is in Exodus 32. The quick version of the story is after God brought Moses and the people of Israel out of Egypt, Moses went up to meet with God on Mt Sinai to receive the ten commandments. The Israelites were impatient with Moses’ return. After all God had just done for them (for instance, splitting the red sea), his people created and worshiped a golden calf. Yet again, God was cast aside by his own people after all he had done for them. God had every right to be angry with his people, however in response to Moses’ plea, God changed his mind and reacted in mercy. Stories like this show that God is not just a man sitting in the sky commanding event after event to occur. God listens to us. Like a Father, he wants our desires to be fulfilled.

Someone also may ask, “If God responds to our prayers, why does he respond to some and not others?” This question leads to a more complicated answer. Many people ask this question while carrying a lot of pain due to an unanswered request in the past. It is so important to be delicate and compassionate when we answer questions like these. Again, we can look to Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane to help. Jesus prays for his cup of suffering to be taken away, but ends his prayer with “y et not my will, but yours be done.” Although it is difficult for us to understand, God’s will is often different from ours and is always better. We will likely see death, disease, or tragedy in our lives or in the lives of those we love and think that we do not see God responding. However, it is important for us to understand that God isn’t not responding in those situations. He may just not be responding in the way we think he should. God’s understanding and knowledge is much greater than our own. He is immensely better at creating good in this world. To build upon the answer above, God wants our desires to be fulfilled but sometimes our desires are not in line with or committed to his will. We may have seemingly innocent requests, but God has much greater answers. Although it is hard, we must learn to trust God’s will is good and that his kingdom will come while also acknowledging that we may never see that good will come to fruition.

If you or anyone in your group is struggling with these responses (they are more complicated than just two paragraphs of attempted response!), please check out these resources: https://www.cslewis.com/why-do-we-pray/ http://www.cslewis.org/blog/c-s-lewiss-how-to-pray-pass-the-salt-determinism-and-pray er/

QUOTES & ST ORIES

We ha ve all seen F rozen, right? F rozen is a story about two sisters whose parents tragically die in a boat wreck within the first couple minutes of the movie. I’m already crying! The youngest daughter, Anna (Ah-na), after being stuck in the castle for basically her whole childhood, decides that her life will be complete after marrying a handsome man. She even sings a song about how she is going to meet the man of her dreams at the party that will follow her sister’s coronation. Anna attends the party, meets Hans, falls madly in love, sings a song with him, and is engaged to him by the end of the night. By doing so, she fulfills the expectations she laid before her going into the night. Then, many songs later (*insert Let It Go*), we find out Hans is the bad guy. Why did we all see it coming?

Anna’s mistake was that she set an expectation for her life and had blinders to all the other potential possibilities (especially to the clearly better, sweet Kristoff) as well as to the signs that Hans isn’t that great of a guy. But even outside of romantic love, Anna was blind to the understanding that she would not be satisfied by a romantic relationship. It was her loving friendship with her own sister that saved her from having her heart freezing (you will have to watch it to understand that part).

What we can learn from this story is that there are many more possibilities for our lives that our finite minds cannot conceive. God is infinite in wisdom and is ever present. His ability to create good in our lives far exceeds our own. When we get tied to our own expectations, we fail to release control to God and the goodness He desires to impart in our lives.

“If we can’t say “thy will be done” from the bottom of our hearts, we will never know any peace. We will feel compelled to try to control people and control our environment and make things the way we believe they ought to be.” ― Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

“In short, God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knew.” ― Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

THREE M AIN POIN TS 1. Jesus displays trust in God’s will to be done. Prayer is not just asking God to do what we want, but to trust that his way is better than our own. 2. The enemy is seeking to create disunity among believers. We can combat this by praying for one another, especially when we disagree or are angry with one another. 3. Jesus prays for all future believers to be united and be a witness of his love and glory to this world. We are called to unite with one another in prayer and intercede for the world.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ● How have you responded to a no from God in the past? How can we move forward in those moments? ● Are you praying to change God’s mind? Or are you praying to receive peace no matter the answer? ● Again, Jesus prayed for YOU! What does that mean to you? How does the knowledge that someone is praying for you change how you perceive that relationship? ● Do you pray for the people in your life? How does it impact your relationship with them? ● Jesus’ prayer for us was unity. Are there close friends or family in your life that you feel angry and disunified with? How can you actively combat disunity in these relationships? ● The disciples were present for Jesus’ prayer for them. Are you comfortable with praying for others while they are present? How can you grow in this form of prayer? ● Do our prayers sway God? Will he change his mind in response to our prayers? Can you think of any examples in scripture where God changed his mind?

ADDITIONAL APPLICA TION & PRA CTICE We also see fasting as a discipline exemplified in scripture utilized in supplication prayer. Another way your group can practice the lesson this week is by fasting together this week. This could be over something that someone shares today that they are in deep prayer over or for a persecuted nation on someone’s heart. Pick a meal this week to fast through together and unitedly pray over a situation.

GOING DEEPER

Podcast: “ Consider This: Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?” by The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/consider-this-does-prayer-change-gods-mind/i d757953988?i=1000485657371

Book: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller