Jesus prayed to be heard. His prayer in John 17 was not silent but audible. He prayed out loud as the disciples listened. His prayer was for their benefit demonstrating for us that audible prayer leads to joy for those who listen.
How do we know Jesus prayed out loud in John 17? He said, "These things I am speaking in this world in order that they might possess My joy having been filled up in them" (John 17:13). The verb translated "I am speaking" (λαλω from λαλεω) means to speak in contrast to staying silent. The word referred to the physical act of making sounds in contrast to the inability of a deaf and mute person to make sounds (cf. Mark 7:35; BAGD, p. 463). Jesus prayed out loud not for His benefit or God's, but for the benefit of the disciples who were listening (Meyer, John, 3:467).
"These things" (ταυτα) that Jesus is saying could refer to the entire discourse (John 13-16), but most likely refer to the prayer itself (John 17). The present tense of speaking (λαλω) implies that He is continuing to express "these things" not that He had said "these things" in the past. Jesus was making the following requests to the Father as the disciples listened to Him pray.
- Keep them in your name (v.11)
- That they may be one (v.11, 21)
- Keep them from the Evil One (v.15)
- Sanctify them in truth (v.17)
- That they may be perfected in unity (v.23)
- That they may be with Jesus and see His glory (v.24)
The purpose of Jesus' prayer was that (ινα) they, and we by extension (see v.20), might possess (εχωσιν) His joy (την χαραν την εμην). What is the joy Jesus wants us to enjoy? It is the joy that Jesus Himself possesses (John 15:11; 16:24). Jesus' joy is the joy of His heart drawn from the obedient communion with the Father. It is the joy of knowing for certain that no matter what happens we are being kept by the Father, protected in His care just as Jesus was kept by the Father (Godet, John, p. 895). Jesus knew this joy even as He faced the cross. We, too, can experience His joy in the certainty of God's loving care for us.
The joy has filled us and is continuing to fill us up. The verb is a perfect tense (πεπληρωμενην) indicating a past filling with abiding results. The passive participle tells us that God does the filling that we enjoy. We do not fill ourselves with His joy. He makes us full of joy no matter our circumstances in life.
The joy we experience - His joy - is found in ourselves (εν εαυτοις). This joy is a joy we experience in our inner conscious person (BAGD, p. 212). We have an inner joy that comes from hearing Jesus pray for God's loving care sheltering us in this world. Nothing can happen to us outside of God's work of keeping us which produces in us a deep joy in our inner person.
We can follow Jesus' example in prayer for each other. All too often our prayers revolve around our health and wealth. Perhaps if we heard others pray for us as Jesus prayed for us, we would be filled up with Jesus' joy in our inner being! Perhaps if we prayed more for the things Jesus prayed about, we would experience more of the joy Jesus enjoyed!
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