Jesus' Unanswered Prayer

SCRIPTURE: John 17:20-23
²⁰ “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. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

OBSERVATIONS: I think it's amazing that Jesus prayed for me way before I was born. The answer to this prayer, though, has not been fully manifested. The Church does not have oneness and unity and I believe it is one of the reasons that too much of the world does not know that Jesus was sent by the Father and that He is Lord! We still have church splits and believers who claim to know God and yet will not work through offenses with each other. We seem to forget this prayer of Jesus and how much He wanted us to live in unity with one another. This was a part of the last prayer He prayed before He sacrificed Himself for us. If it was that important to Him, shouldn't we do all we can to work at being at peace with one another?

APPLICATION: I have a responsibility to go out of my way to work at loving my brothers and sisters in the Lord and being "one" with them. Not only should I do this because I love Jesus and it is something that is important to Him, but I also need to do this because it helps the cause of evangelism.

PRAYER: Father, I want to glorify You with my life. Please help me to do all that I can to live in unity and with my fellow believers and to love them a You do. And please help the whole Body to take Your prayer seriously so that we can be a witness to the world that You are the one true God. Give us wisdom in our dealings with one another and the courage to follow through in pursuing peace with one another because we love You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.