John 17:20, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” 

Today we complete the seven specific things that Jesus prayed for us.

4. THAT YOU WILL BE SANCTIFIED – verse 17. 

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth.”

The word ‘sanctify’ means ‘to make holy, purify, consecrate’. How can we keep pure and holy in this world? Jesus tells us the answer in his prayer. The Word of God will keep us holy. Read the Word of God. Memorize it. Think about it. Confess it out loud. Talk about it. 

Do you want your children to be sanctified? Feed them the Word of God. Read it to them daily. Encourage them to memorize it too.  Two important Scriptures for your children to memorize on this subject are:

Psalm 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” 

Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” 

5. THAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE HIS GLORY – verse 22.

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them.” 

Can you believe this statement? It is amazing. When Simeon saw the baby Jesus, He spoke prophetically as he proclaimed, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:30-32) Jesus was the light and glory of God on earth.

Now he has returned to the heavenly realm, God still wants His light and glory to be revealed in this sin-sick world. He has now chosen His redeemed people to be the light and the glory. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) Yes, He wants you to show forth His light and glory from your life.  

Unless you shine your light, people will stay in darkness. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” (Isaiah 60:1)

Jesus was not a flickering light, but a great light. He wants you to shine brightly too. Remember that Jesus prayed this prayer for you and is still praying it at the right hand of the Father.  Read Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16; 5:16. 

6. THAT YOU WILL BEHOLD HIS GLORY – verse 24.

“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am: that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” 

Jesus longs that we will live in the eternal realm with Him and behold the glory that He shares with the Father. This is why He came to earth to redeem us. What a redemption! What a hope! Oh what a day when we will behold Him in all His glory!

This is also the prayer that we pray for our children, isn’t it? That they will be born again, receive eternal life, and come to know Christ intimately. Our most important task as parents is to prepare our children for the eternal world. 

7. THAT THE FATHER’S LOVE WILL BE IN YOU – verse 26.

“That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

What kind of love does Jesus want us to have for one another? The love that the Father had for His only begotten son! Oh to experience this kind of love in our lives. Oh to have this love in our families. Oh for this kind of love in the body of Christ. 

It is sacrificial love. It is love that does not think of itself.  It is love that does not demand its own way. It is love that delights to serve. It is love that pours itself out for the other person. This is the love that keeps a marriage together. This is the love that binds a family together. This is the love that will bring true revival to the body of Christ.

We can’t experience this love in the natural. It is only as we lay down our lives, take up the cross and allow the Holy Spirit to fill our lives.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Come, Oh Lord, and overflow me with your love.  My love runs out so easily, but I thank you that in your heart there is a well of love that is inexhaustible. I draw from that everlasting well. Fill me to overflowing. Let your love spill out to everyone in my home – and everyone I meet. Amen.”

QUOTE: 

John 17:9, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” 

My heart is touched when I read the prayer that Jesus prayed for us in John chapter 17. Because this is the heart of Jesus for His own children, we can also pray this prayer for ourselves, and for our own children, knowing that it is in the perfect will of God. Read through the whole of John chapter 17 again when you can. In the meantime, we’ll look at some of the specific things that Jesus prayed for us.

1. THAT YOU WILL BE UNITED AS ONE – verse 11 & 21, 22b, 23. 

“That they may be one, as we are.” 

Wow! What a prayer. What a vision. Oh to experience the same kind of oneness with one another that Jesus had with his Father. We can’t expect this to happen in the body of Christ until we experience it in our own marriage and family. When husbands and wives walk in oneness, and families live in harmony together, we’ll begin to see this happen in the church of God.

Join with Jesus in this prayer for your marriage and your family. Keep praying it into being until you experience it. 

2. THAT YOU WILL BE KEPT FROM EVIL – verses 15-16 & 11-12.

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

When we come to Jesus, He does not want to let us go. Read John 10:28-30. He keeps us by His power. (1 Peter 1:5) Claim this promise for yourself and your children. Join with Jesus in praying this prayer for your children. Pray that they will be kept from the lures of the world. Pray that they will be kept from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of the life. Pray that they will be kept from the deceptions of the enemy. Pray that they will be kept close to the Lord.

We don’t separate ourselves, or our children from the world to do this. We train them to be strong in the Lord and strong in the truth, so they can stand against the world. God’s desire is for us to live in this world, untouched by its lures, evils and temptations. He wants us to touch the world with His love and salvation, but be untouched by the temptation to their sin.

3. THAT YOU WILL LIVE IN HIS JOY – verse 13. 

“That they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” 

Jesus’ joy was not determined by his outward circumstances. It was founded on his relationship with His Father. He was filled with joy because he kept his eyes on the final goal. He even endured the cross “for the joy that was set before him.” (Hebrews 12:2)

The joy Jesus wants us to experience is not based on happiness. It is not dependent on our circumstances. It is an inward joy. We have it in us because He lives in us, and he is Joy. His joy is not here today and gone tomorrow. It is a remaining joy! It is always in us because He abides in us. Jesus said in John 15:11, “…that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

Don’t let outside pressures rob the joy from your life. Continually acknowledge the joy of the Lord in your soul. Don’t let negative attitudes and words rob the joy from your home. Keep the joy flowing.

We’ll look at more next week.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for praying for me. I thank you that right now you are interceding for  me at the right hand of the Father. I yield myself to you that your desires for me will be worked out in my life and in my home. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

QUOTE: 

Deuteronomy 4:37-38, “He brought you out of Egypt with his Presence, with his mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you…”

Isn’t God so good to give us a fresh new day every morning? Yesterday is gone. Perhaps you felt a total failure yesterday. Maybe everything went wrong. Forget it. Today is a new day. It is a new day for you to train and nurture your children for the destiny that God has planned for them. Don’t worry about all you have to accomplish. Instead, keep the eyes of your heart upon the Lord. He is your Sufficiency. He is your Strength. He is your Rock. He is the God who is Enough. He is the One who has given you this mighty task of training your children for His glory. Because He has given you this mandate, He will help you carry it out. You don’t have to do it on your own. He wants to work with you if you will let Him.

God has promised us in Psalm 55:22 that if we release the weight of our burden on to the Lord, that He will take it and He will sustain us. Isn’t that a wonderful promise? So why carry the burden yourself? Cast it upon the Lord. 

Yes, I will admit that God has given you a big undertaking in motherhood. In fact, it is such an important assignment that it takes every effort of your being - physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It is the greatest calling in the nation. You are training God’s task force. You are training the generation that could usher in the coming of the Lord. It’s a huge task, but you have a powerful God behind you. With God you can do things that are bigger than you.

God told the children of Israel to go into the Promised Land and drive out the nations that were “greater and mightier” than they were. Deuteronomy 9:1-3 says, “Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim (who were giants), whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is he who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you.” (Also read Deuteronomy 11:22-24) 

God commanded them to do something that was bigger than they were! It was impossible to accomplish this task with their own strength. But He knew that they could do it, because He was with them.

Dear mother, do you feel that this job of motherhood is too much for you? Do you feel it is bigger than you can handle? Perhaps you are homeschooling and you feel totally overwhelmed. You don’t have to do it on your own. God is with you! Acknowledge that he is with you. Thank Him that He is with you.

Remember that with God you will do things that are

bigger and mightier than you! 

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, so many times I feel everything is too much for me. But I thank you that you are with me. You are my Strength. You are my Help. You are my Deliverer! I thank you that when you are with me I can do things that are greater and mightier than my natural strength. Lord, I claim your strength today. Thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

QUOTE: 

Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies.”

Dear mother, when you walk in victory and authority in your home, you are above rubies and above all other women in the home.  

Let’s read Deuteronomy 28:13 again, “If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord… and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, and never at the bottom.” (NIV)

One of the greatest secrets to live above your daily problems is your confession.  What you speak has power to affect your life, your circumstances and the lives of your children in your home. Make sure you confession is positive. 

Here are some affirmations for you to speak out loud today… and every day!

I am ABOVE the disposition of grumbling, complaining and self-pity.

I am ABOVE listening to negative thoughts about my husband and

                      our marriage. I am bound by covenant.

I am ABOVE the lure of being squeezed into the mold of this world’s

                      system.

I am ABOVE being intimidated by the antagonists of God’s truth.

I am ABOVE the fallacy that I am “just a housewife.” I am training

                      children to affect the course of this nation.

I am ABOVE the temptation to leave my divine career of motherhood

                      for a lesser career that only brings earthly reward.

I am ABOVE the deceiving humanistic philosophies that infiltrate the

                      media and society around me.

I am ABOVE the trials and frustrations that encompass me about.

I am ABOVE the tales and petty talk of the gossipers.

I am ABOVE self-preoccupation. I will give room in my heart and

                      mind for the needs of others.

I am ABOVE the pressure to “keep up with the Joneses”. I don’t have

                      to have everything everyone else has.

Don’t forget to speak these affirmations out loud. It is not enough to think them in your mind.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Lord, help me today to speak positive words. Help to speak only words of victory. Amen.”

QUOTE:

Dear mothers, here is a little poem which I taught to our children when they were young. Whenever they faced a challenge, we would quote this poem. I am sure that they can all still quote it today. It shows us the power of our confession. Perhaps you could teach it to your children too. However, I know it will encourage you as much as your children.