We find Jesus’ longest prayer in John 17. The prayer models many things for us. It consists of 3 parts and 7 petitions.
In part 1 Jesus prays for himself. He offers 2 petitions, each a mirror of the other (John 17:1, 5):
1When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
5And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
Here, Jesus prays, “The hour has come.” In other words, “It’s time to die.” It is the darkest moment of Jesus’ life to-date. “It’s time to die.”
Yet here, rather than pray a lament or complaint, which would be well-deserved, Jesus offers a prayer of confidence: “Glorify me with glory.”
“Glory” and “glorify” are important words in John. They are found 14 times in the first 11 chapters and 19 more times in the Gospel’s concluding chapters. They are used 10 times in this prayer.
Here, the words carry two possibilities. First, Jesus may be praying for God to exalt him. Just as his death on the cross will be inglorious, so he prays for God to follow that death with a glorious resurrection. He prays for God to exalt him
Second, Jesus may be praying for God to reveal himself through the death. In the Old Testament, God’s glory is his visible manifestation (e.g., Ex. 16:7,10). Jesus may be praying that through the crucifixion and resurrection, God will reveal himself.
Both possibilities point in the same direction: Jesus prays that through this painful time, God will bring the best from the bad; God will bring triumph from tragedy; God will let the Story end spectacularly.
The word “glory” carried then as it does now the hint of light. Something that is glorious is something that is full of light. Jesus prays that out of this darkness, God will bring light.
Consider a painful time in your life. Pray for God to bring triumph where you see only tragedy. Pray for God to bring the best from the bad. Pray for the Story to end spectacularly. Pray for God to bring light from the darkness.
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