This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Stephen’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 1 June 2025. The Bible reading was John 17:20-26.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.

Introduction

It has often been said that you can learn a lot about a person when you hear them pray – that’s so true, isn’t it? One of the joys of small group / Zoom prayers is that we have the opportunity to hear other people pray and express something of their heart for the things of God and his church/ world. Have you experienced something that? It’s so uplifting and such a blessing. I’m always blessed when people lead intercessions.

There are many references in the Gospels to Jesus praying. He prayed all night before he chose his disciples and shows us the importance of praying before making a big decision. When the disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he gave them the model of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. Jesus prayed in the wilderness before he began his public ministry; in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested and crucified. No doubt he prayed privately at home or in the Galilean and Judean hills, as well as publicly in the synagogue and temple.

We certainly learn about the heart of Jesus from this prayer in John 17 – the only account of a ‘long’ prayer by Jesus in NT. This prayer is the conclusion of Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse in which He gives His final teachings to His disciples just prior to His arrest, trial and crucifixion. However, knowing all that was about to take place, Jesus didn’t start a big campaign. He didn’t try to change any laws. He didn’t even try to do any ‘last minute’ public ministry. He spent his time praying.

This prayer is often referred to as the ‘high priestly prayer’ because in the OT the high priest would go once a year into the Holiest of Holies and pray for the people before he offered a sacrifice for their sins. Jesus prays, before he lays down his own life as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole w`orld. And in this prayer, we catch a glimpse of the unique and intimate relationship that Jesus had with his heavenly Father; we also learn something of the deep concerns of his heart for his disciples and the prayer divides neatly into three sections: Jesus Prayed for Himself, vs1-5; Jesus Prayed for his Disciples, vs6-19; Jesus Prayed for the Church, vs20-26.

  1. Jesus Prays For Unity

In vs20-26 when Jesus prays for the church, he prays for oneness/unity in fellowship amongst the disciples vs23: ‘May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’ His disciples are to display unity together in a common purpose, in a common belief, in a common mission. Why is unity so important? Because a world of unbelievers is watching.

Jesus says that our unity will testify to the world that He was sent by the Father. Which is why worshipping together with other churches such as WDOP and Choral Evensong is so important. I wish we could do more. Why? Because our unity affects people’s perception of Jesus and this why I have tried to make friends with local church leaders and it’s why, whenever I lead prayers, I always pray for the unity, mission and ministry of all churches in the Paphos region. It’s also included in the WNS. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer, I see three aspects of the unity he prays for:

2. Unity In Truth

We believe the same truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour the Son of God and that he is the only one who can offer us salvation and restore our relationship with God. We believe these core truths – even though we may have some minor doctrinal differences. I started out in the Independent Methodist Church, then belonged to a House Church, then a Calvary Chapel church plant in Sunderland, then a Baptist church in Ealing (when I worked at Wormwood Scrubs) and then in FIEC churches (Fellowship Independent Evangelical Churches) before joining the CofE. I’ve often said that my theology hasn’t changed that much over the years – though my practise has!

The Evangelist E. Stanley Jones once said, “Talk about WHAT you believe and you have disunity. Talk about WHO you believe and you have unity.” Our Christian unity is grounded in Jesus Christ. There’s no doubt that we have more in common with our fellow Christians here in Paphos than that which separates us, and this should encourage us to love one another, and promote unity that Jesus prays for and not view each other with suspicion.

3. Unity in Mission

‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you’ (vs20-21).

Jesus’ followers are sent into the world to bear witness, to carry the good news of Jesus to every generation, so that they too may believe. Billy Graham, who, I think, knows a bit about evangelism, said this:

The evangelistic harvest is always urgent.  The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided.  Every generation is strategic.  We are not responsible for the past generation, and we can-not bear the responsibility for the next one, but we do have our generation.  God will hold us responsible as to how well we fulfil our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities.

Fundamentally, the prayer of Jesus in John 17 has been answered and goes on being answered as people come to know him and as he reveals himself to them.

4. Unity In Experience 

Look at vs26: ‘I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and that I myself may be in them.’ Just as he had revealed God to the disciples gathered around him, he will, by his Spirit, reveal himself to those who will believe in him through the message preached down the centuries. And notice he will go on revealing himself.

It will not be limited to our conversion when we were brought into the family of God, but Jesus, through his Spirit from his Word, will continue to reveal more about God to his faithful disciples. Oneness in an experience of Jesus is an ongoing and growing experience of God and his Son.

A few weeks ago, a former Detective Superintendent of Lancashire Police, who is a Facebook friend, was in Paphos on holiday and visited Saint Luke’s when I was there. This is what Claire said to me at the time and wrote on her FB page: “How lovely to feel Jesus across the world and to find fellowship is the same everywhere. What an amazing faith we have!!!” I’m sure that is your experience when visiting other churches.

5. So That …!

As an aside … on the Lent Course session on Prayer, I spoke about the ‘So That’ principle of prayer. Jesus used this way of praying in 21b: May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

We may ask God to ‘bless’ someone or to ‘strengthen’ someone, but we have no end view. When you add ‘so that” to your petitions, it forces you to ask yourself, “What do I really want God to do in this person’s life?”  For example: ‘Lord we pray for ??? so that he/she may know your peace and comfort at this time.’ You get the idea. It’s interesting how many times the Apostle Paul prayed ‘so that’ in his prayers:

  • So that you may overflow with hope (Romans 15:13).
  • So that you may know him better (Ephesians 1:17).
  • So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17).
  • So that you may be able to discern what is best (Philippians 1:10).
  • So that you may have great endurance and patience (Colossians 1:11).
  • So that you will be blameless and holy (1 Thessalonians 3:13).
  • So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you (2 Thessalonians 1:12).

The ‘so that’ principle is a tonic for a boring prayer life.

 Conclusion

Ephesians 4 mentions two unities: ‘unity in the Spirit’ (vs3) which we are to keep, and ‘unity in the faith’ which we are to reach (vs13). In other words, we are to grow in our understanding of the truth and become more unified in our commitment to God’s revelation of himself in Jesus, while making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.

The unity that bonds real believers together and has been given to us in answer to Jesus’ high priestly prayer, is a unity that is to be observed in a lost world. It requires hard work for it to be maintained, safeguarded and deepened and brought to perfection.

St. Teresa of Avila reminds us:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ is to look out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.

We are the body of Christ. May Jesus’ prayer for Christian unity be fulfilled in us, so that the world may believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.