Before you and your spouse got married, did you know each other really well?
Was there ever something that you were surprised to learn about your spouse after you were married?
The longer you’re with someone, the more you know them. The longer you’re with them, the more you recognize their patterns. You learn their likes and dislikes, their hopes and fears.
In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed about us knowing The Father.
“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
John 17:6-19 NLT
9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
Jesus said His disciples knew certain things about God because of Jesus. What are some things you know about God because of Jesus?
How does Jesus want your marriage protected from the evil one?
Jesus says we are hated by the world, because we don’t belong. According to Jesus, we are “out of this world.” That means we are different.
In what way is your marriage out of this world? How is it different?
How do Jesus’ words in verse 18 apply to our marriages?
“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.
John 17:20-26 NLT
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.”
You can usually tell what people really want by their prayer requests. What does Jesus really want for us? What is the heartbeat of his prayer in this passage?
How does it make you feel that Jesus prayed for us directly?
Jesus doesn’t specifically pray for marriages here, but where is unity or disunity felt more than in marriage?
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:21 NLT
As we are having the picture of the gospel drawn in our lives, what does unity look like, according to Ephesians 5:21, above?
What are ways we are learning to submit to each other for greater unity?