QUITE THE PRAYER
John 17:16-17 NKJV
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
This a quite the prayer by Jesus. And, as a side note, He did not bow His head and close His eyes. Verse one says He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said. So, it’s okay to pray with your eyes open. It is okay to pray looking toward heaven. Really, it’s not the physical position we take but the position of our hearts that matters the most.
This is quite the prayer. Jesus says some things in this prayer that are challenging to get our heads around. So, we must receive them by faith in our hearts. I mean, Jesus said things in this prayer, such as the Father loves us as He loved Jesus. And the glory that God gave Jesus, He has given us. And just in the event that you are thinking this only pertains to the apostles, Jesus stated that He was not praying for the apostles alone but for all who believe in Him by their words. We can count ourselves in that number. So this is quite the prayer.
Jesus referred to His apostles as not being of the world, just as He was not of the world. Jesus is speaking of the world’s system because, obviously, He was living on the earth, as were all the apostles. No, Jesus is speaking of this world’s system. When we were born again, we were born from above, a spiritual rebirth. We are in the world but not of the world. We have been separated from the world.
The word sanctify that Jesus uses in our verses for today means to set apart. We have been set apart by God because of the truth. Then Jesus states clearly that God’s Word is truth. And that makes sense for us who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior. We heard the word of truth and responded. Peter would later say we were born again of incorruptible seed or seed that does not die, eternal seed. God’s Word is living and powerful. Peter said God’s Word lives and abides forever. Whenever someone hears the gospel of God’s Word and responds, that word separates them. We are not set apart to God by our works and effort. But we were separated by the truth when we believed and responded.
APPLICATION
This verse seventeen is a good one to add to our own prayers. Father, thank you for separating me by Your truth. Your word is truth. In all things, we look to see what God’s Word says about this situation. We want the truth concerning who we are, the truth concerning God’s love for us, and the truth concerning what our future holds in God’s Kingdom.
As we know and practice the truth, that truth makes us free. The truth about God’s will for our lives frees us to reject the lies of the enemy. The truth about the authority we have because we are connected to Christ frees us from being dominated by fear, despair, sin, and sickness. The truth of God’s Word separates us from the darkness in the world. We may live among the darkness, but we are not of the darkness; we are of the light. And light is always stronger.
Jesus said a lot in this prayer. And He said a lot when He declared that we are separated by the truth of God’s Word.
PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for Your word of truth, which makes me free from the law of sin and death. Thank You that I am set apart for You.