In John 17, we're treading on holy ground as we see Jesus begin a one-on-one communication with His Father—lifting up His eyes and His voice and talking to the Father just hours before His death.

I have resorted to this prayer frequently through the years. I practically know it by heart. John Knox, that great Scottish reformer, cherished John 17 so much that when he was on his deathbed, he had his wife read it aloud over and over until he passed into eternity.

John 17 is the Lord's prayer. You might say, "That's not the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer is 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name….'" No, that's the disciples' prayer, the one Jesus gave to the disciples when they said, "Lord, teach us to pray."

This is the Lord's own prayer. This is Jesus' prayer to His Father. And at 632 words, it's the longest of Jesus' prayers recorded in the Bible.

Isn't it interesting that of all the things the disciples could have requested, the only thing we are told they asked Him to teach them was how to pray. My guess is they saw the powerful effect of prayer in Jesus' life. They saw it as the secret of His relationship with the Father.

But this brings up a question. Why does Jesus need to pray? If Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity, coequal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit—if Jesus is who He claimed to be, why does He need to pray?

It's a good question, and one you and I should wrestle with. While Jesus was on Earth, He was in a state of absolute submission to the Father. He had all the attributes of deity in human flesh and proved Himself to be God on a variety of occasions by signs and wonders. Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully man.

Philippians 2:5-11 says that Jesus, "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God" (v. 6), and that "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death" (v. 8). He became like a bond servant, serving the Father's will, being able to say, "I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29). He lived in voluntary subjugation and obedience to the Father, having a nature that was human and at the same time, divine. He was in submission to the will of the Father. So that's why He could say, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).

Since then, Jesus has ascended to heaven and is continuously at the right hand of God, but during His life on Earth, He felt the need to always be in contact with the Father. He would spend all night in prayer, sometimes getting up very early in the morning to pray. He prayed through His ministry, until the end.

Now here's the obvious application. If Jesus Christ thought it important to stay in contact with His Father often by prayer, where does that leave us? Is it something we should save for when we're really in trouble? Or will we make it a constant priority to be connected with the Father?

If Jesus knew that need in Himself, then we should also recognize and experience that need, then follow His example.