Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
– John 17:17
The seventeenth chapter of John is one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible. In Jesus’s intercessory prayer for His disciples, just before the crucifixion, He says that He is not only praying for His disciples but also for those who believe after them. That includes all of His present-day followers.
Jesus asks that His disciples will be one as He and God the Father are one. Think about that kind of unity. Jesus said He did not do His own will but the works of the Father. And He asks that His disciples not be taken out of the world but kept from the evil one. Jesus also asks that the Father will sanctify them in truth—God’s Word.
Sanctify means to consecrate or set apart for God’s service and worship. The Father sets His disciples apart for such service and worship through His word. By studying the Bible, meditating on, and practicing His words, you are set apart for His service and in unity with His people.
As you read in John 17 today, echo the prayers of Jesus, that His people may be in unity, kept from schemes of the enemy, and set apart for service and worship through His Word. Do not only pray for the lost but like in Christ’s prayer, pray specifically for those who believe in His name.
Pray for the Christian citizens and elected officials of the United States to be sanctified through the truth and be people of integrity, despite opposition from the world.
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