Part Seven: The Prayers of Jesus

There are three major recorded prayers of Jesus. Together they trace the full arc of His life before the Father — what He said to the one He called Abba. The Lord's Prayer gives disciples the shape of prayer. Gethsemane shows them the cost of surrender. The High Priestly Prayer reveals what the Son asked for them on the night He was handed over.

The Lord's Prayer

"So pray this way: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Matthew 6:9-13 | See also Luke 11:2-4

Gethsemane — First Prayer

"My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will."

Matthew 26:39

Gethsemane — Second Prayer

"My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will must be done."

Matthew 26:42

The High Priestly Prayer — John 17

Selected declarations from the prayer of consecration, offered the night before the crucifixion. This is the prayer that contains John 17:3 — the verse that defines eternal life. The whole prayer should be read. What follows are the anchoring declarations.

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you."

John 17:1

"Now this is eternal life — that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent."

John 17:3

"Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one."

John 17:11

"I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one."

John 17:15

"Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth."

John 17:17

"I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me."

John 17:20-21

"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world."

John 17:24

"Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me. I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them."

John 17:25-26