Jesus Is Praying For You.

John 17:14-26

Jesus Christ is praying for you. (Heb 7:25; Jn 17:26)

· “If I could hear Christ praying for me, I would not fear a million enemies” R. McCheyne

· That I myself may be in them… Jesus’ deepest desire is to be one with you. (Jn 17:26)

o It is His consuming desire to reincarnate Himself in His disciples.

· To be a true Christian means to have received the H Spirit who is forming Christ in you… Christ filling your life in ever-increasing measure until we have no life apart from Him.

o Your victory in spiritual warfare is totally dependent on Christ being formed in you.

· Christ’s prayer was also for those who will believe in Christ thru disciple’s message. (v.20)

The Holy Spirit has come to teach & empower us to pray. (Rom 8:26-27)

· In addition to forming Christ in you, H Spirit intercedes for you & teaches you to pray.

o But He must first transform us before we can pray in the Spirit. (Eph 6:18)

o Brokenness leading to repentance is prerequisite for receiving H Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

· Ask, seek, knock… our Father will give the H Spirit to those who ask Him. (Lk 11:9,13)

· When any thought or suggestion of evil arises in our mind, the H Sprit will expel it in response to our prayer, & keep us as pure as we are willing to be kept.

· Spirit’s role is crucial if you’re to “take your stand against Satan’s schemes” (Eph 6:10-18)

· To be filled with Spirit (Eph 5:18)… you must be emptied of self & surrendered.

· Have you received the fullness of H Spirit? (How much of you does He have?)

· Denying self is the key to being filled with Spirit, & fellowship & intimacy with God.

· Fruit of Spirit describes the life we all long for… but this life is not natural for us & not attainable by us by any effort of our own. (Gal 5:22-23)

o The life that is natural to us is found in Gal 5:21… the works of the flesh.

· When we come to end of ourselves & just give over the whole work of sanctification to the indwelling Spirit… only then does the fruit of Spirit become the fruit of our lives.

o Renounce self utterly, & let the H Spirit bear His own glorious fruit in your daily life

· The war you’re engaged in is spiritual, & you must use spiritual weapons to win.

o Satan’s attacks are persistent… you need to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. (v.18)

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful & effective. (Ja 5:16)

· Powerful & effective prayer of righteous man is essential for victory in spiritual warfare.

· Power in prayer depends on your life… when your life is right, prayers will be answered.

o God ears are attentive to the prayers of the righteous. (1Pet 3:12)

· God’s Word is ammunition for your main spiritual offensive weapon… PRAYER.

o Scripture enables you to discern God’s will so you can pray IAW His will.

o The righteous man’s prayer is powerful because he has first sought God’s will & he has surrendered his will to God’s. (Not my will, but yours be done. (Mt 26:39))

· If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you’ll bear much fruit. (Jn 15:5,7)

· You are a branch of the heavenly vine… to live exclusively to bear fruit to glory of God.

· What life must you lead to bear fruit… to pray powerful & effective prayers?

· Live as a branch depending on the vine for strength… the source of power in prayer is the vine, not your righteous acts. (Jn 15:5, 7)

o The righteous life is one of close relationship… abiding, remaining, & being one.

o Focus must not be on doing righteous acts, but staying connected to Jesus. (Heb 12:2)

Ceasing to pray for others is sin. (1Sam 12:23)

· Believers who are aware of the war & power of the enemy spend much time in prayer.

· Prayer is the most critical weapon in spiritual warfare. (Eph 6:18)

· Prayer is also probably the least used… Most of us would rather do anything than pray.

· Prayer is not in vain when we believe in the certainty of answered prayer.

· If we truly believe in God & His faithfulness, intercession will become the very first thing we do when we seek blessing for others.

· Disappointment is impossible… He will give you what you ask for. (Jn 15:7)

o As we abide in His presence, He often leads us to change what we ask for.

· Time spent in prayer will yield more than time given to work.

o Only prayer gives work its worth & its success.

· Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in & thru us. (Isa 59:1-2)

o Prayer moves the mighty arm of God.

· Let our primary ministry be intercession… in it we secure the presence & power of God.

· Scripture’s central promise is that God is with us… we are to live in His presence.

o Experiencing the presence of God is the great privilege of God’s people & their power against the enemy. (In His presence, you will hear Christ praying for you)

· In the Christian life… defeat & failure are due to the loss of God’s presence.

· If we apply this to our failure in prayer, we see that it is because we are not in full fellowship with God.

· Loss of God’s presence is due to sin… defeat is God telling us there is something wrong.

· God delights in being w/us… He never withdraws unless we compel Him to do so by sin.

· Lack of prayer is a greater sin than we have thought… it means we have little taste for fellowship with God.

o It also means our faith rests more on our own work than on the power of God, & it reflects no absolute dependence upon God & no full surrender to Christ.