John 17:1-5…
Jesus begins this greatest prayer, the “High Priestly” prayer, by praying for glory. He desires that the Father would be glorified, and so He asks to be glorified that He might glorify the Father in return. Jesus is God, yet He submits to His role, in submission to the Father. He wanted to do what His Father wanted to do (John 5:17-19).
He had glorified God with His life, and now wants to glorify Him with His death. Jesus speaks of the eternal glory He already had with the Father, but He looks for that glory to be manifested in a place where none other would do so, the cross.
Look at these verses and realize that submission is not a loss of freedom, purpose, identity, or joy; it is where we find them. Jesus already knew that this prayer would be answered. He already knew the outcome, and still, He prayed. This is not a frivolous show, it is evidence that prayer is not about results as much as it is about relationship. If Jesus says that eternal life is to know God, then He is teaching us that this life is to be bathed in prayer.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, God invites us into the wonderful freedom, purpose, identity, and joy that are inherent and present within the Trinity itself.
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