12th - 18th January 2026
At the end of last year, I came across an article by Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation. In it, he described a viral trend where people asked ChatGPT the unsettling question: “If you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation without them even knowing it?”
The responses were both profound and disturbing. One said, “I wouldn’t come with violence. I’d come with convenience.” Another warned, “I’d keep them busy. Always distracted.” Perhaps most chilling was this: “I’d watch their minds rot slowly, sweetly, silently. And the best part is, they’d never know it was me. They’d call it freedom.”
As I reflected on the close of our Advent season, these words echoed Jesus’ own warning that “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). The Bible rarely portrays the enemy as loud or obvious; more often, deception comes quietly, through distraction and distortion rather than open opposition.
Jesus, by contrast, offers a very different invitation. On the night before His death, He said to His disciples, “Abide in me, and I in you … apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5). The danger is not always that we stop believing, but that we stop abiding – allowing busyness, noise, and lesser loves to slowly draw our attention away from Him.
Whether we realise it or not, we are always being formed.
Formation is unavoidable; the question is what – or whom – we are being shaped by.
This week, let us centre our prayers on learning again what it means to abide in Jesus: to remain rooted in His love, attentive to His voice, and shaped daily by His presence rather than by the constant noise around us. Abiding is not passive. It is a daily choice to stay close, surrender our soul to let Christ have all, to draw strength from Christ and to trust the Father’s hand even when His work feels sharp.
Together, let us pray through the verses of John 15 and reflect on how Jesus shifted His invitation from ‘Follow me’ to ‘Abide in me’ the night before His crucifixion.
Written by Martin Spence
MONDAY
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” John 15:1-4
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the vine dresser, the one who tenderly works hard on the vine, watering, pruning and harvesting. We thank You that Jesus was not just a vine, but the true vine, faithful, life giving and genuine, all others are artificial. Your desire and purpose for us, as branches, is to produce fruit, yet there are times You need to lift the branches from the ground to enable them to bear fruit and there are times they need pruned to bear more fruit. Please would You work through the diverse circumstances we will face today to shape Christlike fruit. Thank You that Your word is sharper that a two-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of our hearts. You invite us to abide in You, may we lean on You, may our trust in You grow, may we draw our strength from You alone. Father, may we abide in Christ today, staying connected to the source of life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
TUESDAY
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:5-8
Heavenly Father, thank You that we, as branches, have a living connection to You – the vine. We acknowledge that apart from You we can do nothing, yet there are many times we seek to accomplish things in the power of our flesh, with impure motives and hypocrisy. Please forgive us for the times we rely on our own abilities and neglect joining in Your work. May You remind us that it is not about our continual effort and strain to abide, but simply to rest in You.
May our chief thought today be to fix our mind on the mystery of Christ being the vine. May our hearts be so inclined towards You, seeking You, that the very things we ask for are the desires of Your heart. We ask that You would protect our minds, may we not be drawn away from the life in the vine, may our prosperity, comfort or struggles not distract us from our true source of life. Today, may Jesus, the vine who supplies the Holy Spirit, the life and the strength, enable us, the branches, to wait, to rest, to receive and to bear fruit. Today, may You be glorified, may I have no other aim but to let You bring more fruit through me through Your transforming work. Father, may we abide in Christ today as He brings fruit to bear. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11
Heavenly Father, thank You for the way You loved Your Son, without beginning and end, without measure and unchanging. Thank You that Jesus loved His disciples the way You loved Him and instructed them to remain in His love.
Forgive us for the times we forget to rest in His love, for the times we don’t stay connected to Him, for the times we don’t remain with Him in trust and obedience. We ask that at each moment we feel troubled today, may we recognise the situation, accept and welcome that challenge and walk through it with Him, may we abide in Him.
Thank You that Jesus demonstrated what it was to be obedient, with His ultimate act of obedience laying down His life for us. In those moments of challenge today, help us respond the way Your Son would. Help us to remain in You and grow as we journey through today.
Thank You that Jesus’ joy is our joy. May His joy be in us, may His joy fill us – the joy of being loved, secure in His grace with an eternal future. Today is the day the Lord has made, may we rejoice and be glad in it. Father, may we abide in Christ’s love today, being obedient to His commands. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
THURSDAY
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” John 15:12-17
Heavenly Father, You are love.
Lord Jesus, the very life You lived demonstrated love, a life poured out, freely given. You are the vine, we are the branches, from Him we receive nourishment, life and love. May we accept Your charge and commandment - to live obedient lives. As You surrendered Your life for us, may we surrender our lives to You, allowing Your love to flow through us to others.
The one thing the world will notice about us is our love for one another. We pray that we would live our lives full of humility and unity. We thank You that Jesus demonstrated true love through a life of faithful obedience to You. Please shape our lives to follow in His way. May we live each day in fellowship and trust, known and welcomed as Your friends.
Thank You that You chose us, even before the beginning of time and You chose us to bear fruit. Fruit that would last. Would You give us ears to hear Your commandment and a humble heart to practice and obey it, a willingness to lay down our lives for others. Show us ways to notice somebody today, to care for them and to encourage them.
May we abide in Christ’s community today, displayed through our love of others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
FRIDAY
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’” John 15:18-25
Heavenly Father, as Your friends we expect to be hated as Jesus was. The world wants to mould us, to form us in its ways. In a world that seeks comfort, may we resist the tendency to drift through life. We live in this world, but You have called us out of it. Help us to live as a distinct people without retreat, rooted in You yet faithfully present in the world, steadfast in our loyalty to You. This is not an easy path, it’s the road less travelled, yet it is the way marked by the footsteps of Jesus.
Would You use us to reveal Your Truth and Love to those who do not yet see You. May we remember our identity is rooted in Christ and that a servant is not greater than his master. Give us the courage to remain faithful when challenged or persecuted because of Your Son and prepare our hearts so that such moments don’t unsettle us.
May we continue to abide in Christ, being faithful despite the opposition. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
SATURDAY
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27
Heavenly Father, thank You that Your Son has sent the Spirit of truth to abide with us as our Helper. The Spirit who comes from You, bears witness to Your Son, the Spirit who is truth.
Your Spirit enabled the first disciples to be bold and courageous, to testify to what they had seen and experienced with Jesus. We thank You that this same Spirit, who empowered Your disciples and enabled them to abide in Christ, now lives within us today. Help us to abide in Christ through the Holy Spirit, trusting the Spirit will give us endurance and empower us to be faithful witnesses.
May we remember that it is Your Spirit that bears witness and produces fruit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
SUNDAY
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:16-26 NLT
Heavenly Father, Your desire is that we walk in freedom, directed by Your Spirit and not governed by the desires of our flesh. Would You empower us to live this out. Enable us to do the right things, at the right time, in the right way, as we walk in Your ways.
As we reflect on the works of the flesh, slowly naming them before You:
sexual immorality,
impurity,
lustful pleasures,
idolatry,
sorcery,
hostility,
quarrelling,
jealousy,
outbursts of anger,
selfish ambition,
dissension,
division,
envy,
drunkenness,
wild parties,
and other sins like these.
Shine Your light on our lives and show us areas that require challenge, correction and repentance. We pause now and confess the places where we have allowed our flesh to rule.
We ask that Your Spirit strengthen us to resist the temptation and desires of our flesh. Would You cleanse us and put to death those desires that distract us from knowing Christ. May Your Spirit grow in us the fruit of love:
a joy that isn’t dependent on circumstances,
a peace that steadies us,
a patience that endures,
a kindness that blesses,
a goodness that is beauty in action,
a faithfulness that perseveres,
a gentleness that restores,
and self‑control that honours You.
Please continue to shape us into people who reflect Christ in all we do. May the fruit of Your Spirit be evident in us today for Your glory alone. In Jesus’ name. Amen.