Question 1:
What are some of the biggest ways electronic media
has affected your life?
I have begun to wonder if we own our smartphones, or if they own us. We have come to depend on them for apps for purchases, maps to help us find our way, and endless games to play—not to mention making the occasional phone call. One of the most popular uses of smartphones is to access all the social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and text messaging. How big a part does social media play in our lives? On average, some 3.2 billion users spend two hours and twenty-two minutes per person on social media. Every day.1
It can be difficult to resist the urge to check social media. Research shows that when people give in to that compulsion, their anxiety level rises. Being connected to social networks or answering texts endlessly makes it hard for them to log off. They felt obligated to keep checking in—just in case.2
Social media may build bridges, but it also puts up walls. Too often we are consumed with our social media profiles and we end up missing the most important relationships we have. We miss the great joy of spending uninterrupted face-to-face time with friends and family, and we squander the opportunity to really know God.
THE POINT
Prayer draws us closer to Jesus
as our hearts align with His.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 17:1-5
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
Knowing God requires spending time with Him—both time in His Word and time in heartfelt prayer. Heartfelt praying is deep praying. It is going beyond the surface of merely “saying our prayers” or crying out for help during a crisis or tragedy. To really know God—to have an intimate relationship with the Lord—we must move beyond the rote and our request lists and really connect with our heavenly Father. We need to go deep.
When we take the time and make the effort to do this, not only will we get to know Him better, but we also will feel the calming touch of His unseen hand throughout our day. In both the anxious and the routine moments of life, we are able to experience Him more clearly. When we go deep, we encounter His glory. Those who have eternal life can know God intimately. Eternal life not only ensures that we will behold His glory face-to-face throughout eternity, but it makes an intimate relationship with God possible now.
In John 17, Jesus’ “hour” had come. In the midst of the “hour,” He prayed that even as God was glorifying Him, He would glorify the Father. God’s shikinah [shuh KIGH nuh] glory that once resided in the temple, now rested in the incarnate Jesus who was dwelling among God’s people (1:14). Jesus prayed that those who had been given eternal life would see that glory.
Question 2:
What does it look like to glorify God
in our culture?
Following Jesus’ example, we also are to pray for people to see God’s revealed glory. It’s important to note that the first thing Jesus prayed was for God to be glorified. Our desire to see God’s glory is to surpass all other desires, and our first request is to be for His glory. The Model Prayer Jesus gave us to pray begins with the request: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matt. 6:9). We seek God’s glory over all else.
When we follow Jesus’ example, we pray for the things He prayed for—and in the way He prayed for them. We must break free from only approaching God when we need something from Him; we must learn to pray because we need Him. We are to seek Him and not just seek things from Him.
Even as we pray for His glory, we will encounter Him in His glory. As we deepen our prayer life, praying as Jesus prayed, we experience His glory—His holiness, His authority, and His reputation. Heartfelt prayer increases intimacy with God. As we come to know God intimately, He will reveal His glory.
John 17:21-23
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.”
Jesus also prayed for unity. The believers needed unity then, and we desperately need it now. Is unity possible? Can people with different agendas, backgrounds, beliefs, and points of view really be unified? Division and discord are everywhere. We encounter it in politics, in families, or at work.
While everyone wants unity, few are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to become and remain unified. Unity doesn’t mean that others will agree with us, behave like we want them to act, adapt to our preferences, and give in to us. An insistence on conformity works against unity.
We can only achieve this unity when we are in God and He is in us. Jesus prayed, “May they also be in us.” When believers are connected to God—we are dwelling in Christ and He is dwelling in us—unity happens. We are in Him, and He is in us. We move beyond a surface relationship with God, into a deeper relationship in which we know Him intimately. There is no other path to unity.
Question 3:
What does unity look like in the church?
The spiritual discipline of heartfelt prayer is not limited to a private quiet time. While Scripture certainly tells of many people praying in “prayer closets,” we also find numerous accounts describing believers who gathered together for prayer. With one mind, one heart, and one purpose, God’s people lifted their prayers up to God.
Jesus shares His glory with His people—“I have given them the glory that you gave me” (v. 22)—but this was not simply so that we would possess His glory. His glory is to lead to our unity: “That they may be one as we are one.” We are to join Him in praying for that unity. One of the key things that points others to God and brings Him glory is when we, His children, live together in unity. This is unity the world needs to see.
John 17:24-26
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.”
As we grow in our relationship with God, we will have an intimate relationship with Him. Our hearts will become one with His, and as we’ve seen, our prayers will focus on His glory and seek unity among believers. As we see in verses 24-26, when we pray like Jesus, those prayers will also include a desire to make His love known to others, so that they can experience it as well.
An eternal love exists between the Father and the Son, and Jesus’ prayer was that “the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” His love in us spills out! We will care about what He cares about. We will care for the people He cares for. When we grow in knowing Him, the force that drives us will be the desire to make Him known.
Question 4:
What’s the relationship between
our unity and our witness?
Knowing God and experiencing His love motivates us to pray for those who have not yet come to know Him. When God’s love runs through us, we will pray for people who need Him, but we will also tell them what He has done for us—we will let them see His glory. We will pray for the salvation of people who don’t know Jesus, but we will also make His name known to them. Because God loved the world, not just people in “our world,” we pray for the nations, but we will also go where we are called and help others who are called to go to the nations.
While Christians fail to agree on many things, we all can agree that people need the Lord. They need to know and experience the love of God in their lives. To carry out our role in “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18), we must be unified in our purpose. We can and should use every means possible to share the love of Christ. And when we do, we receive the joy, but God gets all the glory!
Question 5:
How has our group helped you
experience the love of God?
FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS
Circle the ways you will undertake this week to develop a more intimate communion with Jesus.
Then list some other ways you could fellowship with Him.
Bible Study Prayer Witness Giving
Helping someone Singing Other: ____________
Spend some time right now in prayer, not asking for what God can do for you,
but just having a conversation with Him.
“Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having
the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
PHILIPPIANS 2:2
LIVE IT OUT
How will you utilize the spiritual discipline of prayer to draw you closer to Jesus? Choose one of the following applications:
- Pray for God’s glory. Replace at least five minutes of social media time [or TV watching] with additional time spent in prayer for God’s glory.
- Pray for unity. Gather with others to spend time in concentrated prayer for unity among believers in your church and around the world.
- Pray for God’s love to be known. Set an alarm on your smartphone for 3:16 every afternoon and pray John 3:16 over at least three people who need to know the Lord. Pray for the spread of the gospel around the world. Pray for opportunities to share Christ through your social media outlets.
Social media and other modern distractions can consume our attention if we’re not careful. But if we are prayerful and align our hearts with His, God can use even these as tools for reaching others for Christ.
