Eastertide Day 47 Thursday June 5 2025
John 17: 20-26 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 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.”
In this passage, Jesus prays not only for His disciples but also for all who will believe in Him through their message. He asks for unity among believers, just as He is one with the Father. This unity is not merely about being together but about being deeply connected in love and purpose. Jesus desires that we experience the same intimate relationship with God that He shares, and through this, that the world may come to believe in Him.
This prayer challenges us to reflect on our own relationships within the community of faith. Are we fostering unity and love? Do we seek to be united in purpose with others, reflecting God’s love to the world? Jesus’s desire is that we live in such harmony that it becomes a testimony to the world of God’s presence.
Moreover, Jesus’s prayer reveals the depth of His love for us and His desire for us to know God fully. He invites us into a relationship that transcends fear, doubt, and division, offering peace and oneness with the Father and with one another.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your prayer for unity and love among all believers. Help me to live in harmony with others, reflecting Your love in my words and actions. Teach me to seek unity not for the sake of conformity, but as a witness to Your presence in my life. Draw me closer to the Father, that I may experience the fullness of Your love and share it with those around me. Strengthen my faith and help me to be a living testimony of Your grace in this world.
Amen.