Stephan Hoffman

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. John 17:15-17

Jesus prayed for his disciples, and also for those who through their words had come to believe in him (v20).  Jesus is also praying here for you who believe. He prays that the Father will not take you from the world (as you must proclaim to the world who he is) and that God will protect you from the evil one. You do not belong to the world, and if you sometimes feel out of place among the people of the world, it is also normal. You belong to God through Jesus Christ, and you are a citizen of his Kingdom that will last for eternity.

Jesus also prayed that we would be dedicated to God. I wonder if we still truly understand the word dedicated?  Dedication means that you are absolutely loyal and faithful and that you yourself (your time, money, energy, body, life) will be dedicated to God. You no longer think of yourself as an individual, but as someone who is one with other believers, and who will be one with God through Jesus Christ. You realise that the world does not revolve around you, but that you are part of a greater whole, which is about God and his glory. You are no longer motivated by your own selfish needs, but by the love of God.

This prayer of Jesus is so precious, you can, in your own time, revisit it again and hear how Jesus thinks and feels about you. He desperately wants you someday to share in his glory with him.  He wants you to have God's love within you now.

Come let us dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord. Come let us spend our lives in his service and glory.  Come let us live in the light of his Word that teaches us the truth about whom He is and who we are through him.

May God's love, through our life, be evident in this dark world!

Prayer: Father, thank you that through Jesus Christ you adopted me as your child. Help me to be a light in this dark world. Grant that I will spread your Word, so that your love will be evident in others. I dedicate anew my whole life, everything I am and have to you. Please fulfill your will in me. Amen