A PRAYER FOR UNITY

John 17:20-26
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The Prayer of Jesus

20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”


If I was commissioned to do a study and write a report on unity within the Body of Christ … The Church … I believe I would find us well short of this portion of Jesus’ prayer. “I pray that they will all be one…” We can’t look at the Church and find much unity, not doctrinally or culturally. We put our pet doctrines, none which are necessarily wrong … baptism … tongues … healing … end times prophesy … etc., ahead of unity in Christ. We would rather cling to our culture … nationality … race … tradition … etc., than cling to each other.

Jesus prayed that the same unity which exists in the Trinity, would live in the Church. When Jesus comes back, will He find us loving one another or still divided? Let us put away childish things (1st Corinthians 13:11) and become the mature Church, the unified Church, Jesus prayed we would be.