John 17 - This is such a great prayer. At the heart of it, we have these great words, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17). True prayer is always grounded in truth. There is a conversation between ourselves and God. God initiates this conversation. From Him, there is revelation. From us, there is response. Revelation comes first. He speaks to us. Then, we speak to Him. In our world, there are many voices. There is one voice which must not be drowned out: the voice of God.
“Your Word is truth” (John 17:17). Where does our faith come from? It comes from the Lord. He has spoken to us in His Word. He is still speaking to us. Are we listening to Him? We’re not to come to the Word of God with the attitude that says, “This is true. That’s not true.” On what basis do we say, “This is true. That’s not true”? We may come to some parts of the Bible and say, “That speaks to me.” We may come to other parts of the Bible and say, “That doesn’t speak to me.” What are we saying when we say this kind of thing? Are we saying something about God’s Word? or Are we saying something about our need to listen more carefully to what the Lord is saying to us through His Word? Let us learn to say, with our Lord Jesus Christ, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17) and we will begin to say, more and more often, “That really speaks to me.” It’s not about our deciding what speaks to us and then saying, “That really is the Word of God.” It’s about our saying “Your Word is truth” and then discovering that God has a great deal to say to us when we are learning to say to Him, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9-10).
