The Lord Jesus told us that His prayer is for all those who believe; it is for all those who belong to Him. It is not for those in the world. John 17, which we have just read, is quite clear. Verse 9 says, "I ask concerning them; I do not ask concerning the world." "Them" refers to those given to Him by the Father, as mentioned in the previous verses. "I do not ask concerning the world, but concerning those whom You have given Me." Here we see the scope of the Lord's prayer; it is for those who believe in Him and not for the world. There is another matter which we can mention here in passing. The Father is related to the world; and the Son is related to the church. The New Testament never says that Christ loves the world; one only sees that God loves the world. On the other hand, one sees that Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. The realm of the Father is the world, and the realm of the Son is the church. He said that He did not pray for the world. The effect of His work causes the world to be saved; yet His prayer, His priesthood, is only for Christians. It is not for outsiders.

He prays for us. What is the purpose of His praying for us? He prays for God to keep and protect us so that we can be like Him, so that we can be separated from the world, and so that we can be one. Regardless how strong the world is, how severe the temptations of Satan are, or how intense man's flesh is, the prayer of the Lord Jesus constitutes all the strength; He is able to keep us. If God were not a God who listens to prayer, nothing would happen. But God is One who listens to prayer. In John 11 the Lord Jesus said, "Father, I thank You...You always hear Me." If God continues to listen to prayer, it will be impossible for us not to be saved. Friends, before you could perish, you would first have to escape from the prayer of the Lord Jesus. The prayer of the Lord Jesus is the guardrail of hell. If you want to go to hell, you need to jump over this guardrail. If you cannot push away the prayer of the Lord Jesus, and if you cannot get rid of the guardrail of prayer, you have no way to perish. Thank God that the prayer of the Lord Jesus is trustworthy.

Let me cite a very clear example. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, Peter once said very proudly to the Lord, "Everyone can deny You, but I will never deny You." Afterwards, Peter failed. The Lord Jesus told him in advance, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have you all to sift you as wheat. But I have made petition concerning you that your faith would not fail; and you, once you have turned again, establish your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32). Because of this word, Peter was able to rise up again after he failed. Not only was he able to rise up, but he was able to help many others. Many people have risen up even today because of Peter. Peter's turning again was not out of himself. It was the power of the Lord's prayer that was holding him all the time. Later, when he remembered the Lord's word, he wept and repented. All this came about by the power of the Lord's prayer. God listens to the Lord's prayer.

The Lord Jesus never prayed for Judas, because Judas was a perishing one from the beginning; he was not saved. From the first day, he was a perishing one. He never believed in the Lord Jesus; he never acknowledged the Lord Jesus as Lord. He merely called Him Master. Judas was a perishing one. The Lord Jesus could not pray for him. But Peter was a saved person; he was definitely saved at the latest by the time of Matthew 16, when he confessed the Lord Jesus as the Son of the living God.

We should not trust in our own prayer. Rather, we should trust in the prayer of the Lord Jesus. It is not a matter of us praying fervently every day. The question is not how many times we have prayed in the last few days. We need to remember that regardless of how many times we pray, nothing will be effected. It is not our prayer that keeps us saved to the end; it is the prayer of the Lord Jesus that can keep us saved to the end. I do not know how many of us here tonight believe in the power of the prayer of the Lord Jesus. Can you entrust yourself without reservation to the prayer of the Lord Jesus? You may think that Satan's temptations are severe, the world's temptations are strong, the fleshly desires are intense, and Satan's attacks are heavy. I cannot agree with your word. If we look at ourselves, oftentimes we will feel like saying we are finished. After a few more temptations from Satan, we think that our flesh will be out of strength. Many times we feel discouraged and are unable to continue in prayer. At such times, we need to look to the Lord Jesus. He is our High Priest. We have to lift our head and look to Him. We should say, "I cannot make it. I cannot even pray. Yet I will trust in Him. He is my High Priest; He can save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him because He lives always to intercede for us." We have to rely on Him. Since we have such a High Priest interceding for us, would it be possible for us to lose our salvation?