Jeremiah Chapter 9: Verses 5-6 (NIV)
Friend deceives friend,
and no one speaks the truth.
They have taught their tongues to lie;
they weary themselves with sinning.
You live in the midst of deception;
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.
Colossians Chapter 1: Verses 9-14 (NIV)
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified youto share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
In John Chapter 17 verse 16, as Jesus was praying to His Father, He prayed for His disciples and those who would follow after. He said that they, and those of us who have chosen to follow Him, are in the world, but not of it.
The world hasn’t changed from Jeremiah’s time. In these verses we read of the culture in which he lived, full of deception and deceit. And so it is today, and many people refuse to acknowledge God, just as in Jeremiah’s day. That’s why we need to pray, for others yes, but also for ourselves, as Paul did for the young Colossian Church. We too need to know God’s will and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to live as God requires us to and to bear fruit for God’s glory. And we need to do so with strength, endurance and patience, something which is not always easy, and we should only do it in God’s strength and not our own. That’s why we need to pray. Not just for those in the Church, but those who are still in the world and are being deceived. Look at what we gain, redemption, forgiveness and an inheritance in God’s Kingdom. We want others to have that too.
Dear Lord,
Thank You that because Jesus prayed for us, as others have too, it is possible to live in the world without being party to all the things that Jeremiah lamented. Help me to pray as Paul did for my own life, and those who cross my path. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.