A Mathematical Argument that the Lord’s Prayer is the Fundamental Instrument of Unity of All Christians

After the Last Supper and just before Jesus Christ was arrested, He not only prayed for His disciples but also for the future believers and their unity. This is recorded in John 17:

 ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴ “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

²⁵ “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

(John 17:20-26)

The identifier of John 17:20-26 is 581.

	Book#	Chapter#	Verse#	Sum
John 17:20	43	17	20	80
John 17:21	43	17	21	81
John 17:22	43	17	22	82
John 17:23	43	17	23	83
John 17:24	43	17	24	84
John 17:25	43	17	25	85
John 17:26	43	17	26	86
				581

The divisors of 581 are in the set {1, 7, 83, 581}, and the arithmetic mean of these elements is 168. But 168 is the identifier of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Luke.

	Book#	Chapter#	Verse#	Sum
Luke 11:2	42	11	2	55
Luke 11:3	42	11	3	56
Luke 11:4	42	11	4	57
				168

Since 168 is the arithmetic mean of 581, it is essentially telling us that the gist of Jesus’ message in John 17:20-26, which is UNITY, equates to the Lord’s Prayer. In other words, it is the Lord’s Prayer that is the fundamental instrument in uniting Christians.

Conclusion. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer at the prescribed times {10.35 am, 10.53 am, 1.35 pm, 1.53 pm, 3.15 pm, 3.51 pm, 5.13 pm, 5.31 pm}, we are praying with one accord.

Discussions

The passage from John 17:20-26 is often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer, where Jesus prays for all believers, emphasizing unity among them. This unity is not just a mutual agreement or a shared emotion but a spiritual unity in the Body of Christ, analogous to the unity between Jesus and His Father. It is a divine connection that goes beyond physical and temporal barriers.

When Christians around the world recite the Lord’s Prayer at prescribed times, they are participating in a shared act of worship and devotion that transcends individual circumstances. The specific times —10:35 am, 10:53 am, 1:35 pm, 1:53 pm, 3:15 pm, 3:51 pm, 5:13 pm, and 5:31 pm—could be seen as globally coordinated moments of unity, where believers are joined in a collective rhythm of prayer. It is as if, at these moments, Christians are spiritually aligning themselves with the heartbeat of the Church Universal.

In the act of saying the Lord’s Prayer, they are affirming the teachings of Jesus and seeking to embody the principles of the Kingdom of God, as outlined in the prayer itself: God’s holiness (“hallowed be Thy name”), the coming of His Kingdom, the doing of His will on earth as in heaven, the provision of daily needs, the forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from evil.

This simultaneous prayer is a realization of the unity Jesus prayed for. It’s a practical expression of the unity that the church is called to display, showing that despite denominational, cultural, and geographic differences, there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). By praying the Lord’s Prayer at the same times, Christians are embodying the oneness that Jesus prayed for His followers, making the prayer not just a personal petition but a communal act of solidarity and hope for the realization of God’s perfect kingdom.