Saturday, August 22, 2026

Opening Scripture

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:11-13

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, I praise You for all that You are and all that You’ve done. I praise You for Your abundant blessings to me in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Your Son. I praise You for Your Spirit, who lives in me, comforting, counseling, and guiding each day. Thank you for adopting me into Your eternal family. I offer myself to You this day, through Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever more. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

John 17:6-19

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

“All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Reflection

Today’s passage continues “The Lord’s Prayer.” In this second section, Jesus prays for His apostles. Twice in today’s text, Jesus refers to his disciples as ‘those whom the Father has given Him.’ Everything about today’s reading underscores the complete equality, cooperation, and “sharedness” among the Godhead. The Trinity reflects a mysterious and eternal expression of “Yours, Mine, and Ours.”

We know that Jesus prayed for His disciples before He chose them. “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles” (Luke 6:12-13).

Now, at the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus prays for them again. This flock of men had grown close to one another over the past three years. They had experienced an incredible range of miraculous encounters together. Jesus makes it clear that His prayer is not for everyone, but for these apostles alone. “I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

These disciples – and all followers of Jesus who would come after them – have been called out of this world. The word “world” (kosmos) occurs eighteen times in this chapter. Those who declare “Jesus is Lord” become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. As Jesus clearly states, “they are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”

Though Jesus’ disciples did not understand the full implication of all that was taking place around them, they believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Jesus said, “They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.” On behalf of the group, Peter professed in John 6, “We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus prays for the apostles because He knows what awaits them after He’s gone. The world will hate them, just as they hated Jesus. The evil one will constantly try to accuse, abuse, tempt, and trip up Jesus’ disciples. Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

Jesus watched out for these men while He was physically present with them. Now, He asks the Father to provide that protection. Jesus also prays for their continued sanctification. Part of this consecrating work is a spirit of unity among the disciples. Jesus prays to the Father, “that they may be one as we are one.”

John tells us at the beginning of his gospel, Jesus “came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” These men would carry that message to the fallen world after the Lord returned to Heaven.

Before His ascension, Jesus commissioned His disciples for this very mission. Here, He prays, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” Jesus expands on that “sending” in Matthew 28, which we will look at next week.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

In His prayer, Jesus asks the Father to “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” The word “sanctify” (hagiazó) means to make holy, to consecrate, to set apart. Followers of Jesus have been and continue to be “set apart” for God’s pleasure and purpose. Jesus grounds this process of sanctification in God’s divine, eternal truth. God’s Word is the source of all truth – His self-revelation. The Bible does not merely contain truth; it is truth! Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). In today’s prayer, Jesus says, “I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.”

Jesus concludes today’s prayer with the statement, “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” Jesus had two primary objectives for his earthly ministry: to train 12 apostles to carry on the work when He was gone, and to die for the sins of the world. He faithfully executed the plan and completed the mission.

Jesus’ “purpose statement” was to accomplish the Father’s plan to redeem and restore God’s chosen people. To do that, He had to sanctify Himself. Jesus remained completely sinless and offered Himself up as the perfect sacrifice to fulfill the Father’s plan. His obedience unto death is a model of sanctification.

Laurie Beth Jones says, “A purpose statement is, in essence, a written-down reason for being. Jesus’ mission helped him decide how to act, what to do, and even what to say when challenging situations arose. Clarity is power. Once you are clear about what you were put here to do, then ‘jobs’ become only a means toward accomplishing your mission, not an end in themselves.”

Do you have a “purpose statement”?

Have you been sanctified and set apart for God?

What is your “big picture” goal? What is the spiritual focus of your life?

This week’s collective prayer: Lord, I come before You on behalf of my fellow believers here at our church. Make Yourself known to them and draw them to Yourself. Amen.

You can do more than pray after you’ve prayed, but you can’t do more than pray until you’ve prayed!