ll literature is this sacred Book
of God. The heart of this Book is the Gospels. The heart of these four
Gospels is John's. The heart of John's is this exquisite bit, chapters
thirteen to seventeen. And there's yet an inner heart here. It is this
bit, the seventeenth chapter, where the inner side of Jesus' prayer-life
lies open to us. And we shall find an innermost heart yet again here.

The simplicity of speech here catches the ear. The holy intimacy of
contact with God hushes the spirit. The certainty of the Father's
presence awes the heart greatly. The unquestioning confidence in the
outcome is to one's faith like a glass of kingdom wine fresh from the
King's own hand. The tenseness and yet exquisite quietness holds one's
being still with a great stillness. Both shoes and hat go off
instinctively and we stand with head bowed low and heart hushed for this
is holiest ground.

Of course, no paraphrase of this prayer can possibly approach its own
beauty and simplicity. But it may perhaps send one back to the prayer
itself to see better what is there.

They're out in the open, down near the Kidron. Jesus stops and looks up
towards the blue, the Father's open door, and quietly talks out of His
heart into His Father's heart, "Father: the hour is come"; talked of
long before this errand was started upon, brooded over these human
years, felt in His inner being as it ticked itself nearer in the
tremendous passing events. Now it is come. The clock is striking the
hour, striking on earth and echoed distinctly in the Father's ear.

"Father: reveal now the true character of the Son; yet only that the Son
may reveal Thy true character.[121] Thou hast already done so in the
control Thou hast given Him over all men, that so He may give to them
the eternal life. And this is the real life to come into intimate touch
of heart and life with Thee and with Thine anointed One, Jesus."

"I have already revealed Thy character in doing fully the errand Thou
didst send Me on. (And it _was_ fully done in all the active part,
though the greatest thing yet remained to be done in the tremendous
yielding, the strong passive yielding to Hate's worst that so Love's
truest and best might be clearly seen by men.) And now I am coming back
to be recognized and acknowledged and received by Thine own self even as
it was before I came away on this errand."

Thus far He has been alone with the Father face-to-face; just the two
together in closest commun