Day 19

Week 3:  The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed

Jesus Prayed for the Disciples to be Sanctified

SCRIPTURE

• John 17:13-17 (TLB) "And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. 14  I have given them your commands. And the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. 15  I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power. 16  They are not part of this world any more than I am. 17  Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth.

OBSERVATIONJesus prays that we will be holy and set apart as we continue to live in this world of sin. He prays that because it is God’s will that we remain in this world for a while so as to be witnesses of His power and transforming love. UNDERSTANDINGJesus interceded for the disciples (and for the disciples to come) because He knew that His time here on earth had come to a close and it was now in the plan of the Father that the eleven carry on the work Jesus started. Jesus’ confidence was not in the resolve or resourcefulness of the disciples but in the power and love of the Father who had “given these men” to Jesus. In essence Jesus was asking that the will of the Father be fulfilled. And because the will of the Father meant that these men would be the witnesses who would carry the news of God’s love through His Son to the world Jesus knew they would be in for some rough times so He prays for their protection.But in order to be true witnesses of the saving and transforming power of God they needed to be sanctified as well. That is, they needed to be pure, holy and set apart. Another way to say it is that they needed to become more like Jesus, and as they became more like Jesus they would be living witnesses of the power and love of God. That is why we are to be holy in an unholy world – to be His witnesses to the world.The problem is that to live in the world means we are always in contact with the sinful nature of the world and if we are not careful it can rub off on us, which is why Jesus says that we are to wash daily in the Word of God – the scriptures. We are made pure by the daily washing in the Word that cleanses our hearts and minds and keeps our vision heavenly. LIFE APPLICATIONThe importance of PB& J stands out in this passage. In order to continue to be transformed into the holiness and purity of Christ we must daily spend time in prayer, bible study and journaling. Bible study and journaling go hand in hand because in order to truly glean what the Word of God is saying and how we are to put it into practice in our lives we must not just read but process the Word of God. It is why we do SOUL Journaling – because it helps us answer the questions of What is God saying and what will I do about it.I encourage you to sanctify yourselves by the reading and studying of the Word of God and by spending time daily in prayer.