13 “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. 14 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. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
These are the prayer requests Jesus had for us:
1. to be full of joy
Do others see joy in me as I go about my holiday preparations? Why not? What do I let steal my joy at Christmas?
2. protection from the evil one
What particular temptations is Satan most likely to use on me at this time of the year? to overspend? to use my time the way the world pressures me to instead of the way that would honor God?
3. to be sanctified (made holy or set apart) by the Word
Are my days so hectic that I don't even have time to read His Word? How is my celebration of Christmas set apart from the world's ways?
4. for our unity
Do our family's holiday celebrations cause friction among us? Or among other believers who celebrate differently? What can I specifically do to foster unity and harmony?
These are good requests for us to pray for one another, too, this season and every season.
