PRAYER OF SANCTIFICATION
And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5).
People are expecting miracles from God. But God expects people to cleanse themselves and become holy. People say that if God does a particular miracle they would undergo Baptism as a family. But what God says is “I will do a miracle but before that get sanctified and present as a holy vessel.”
God expected the children of Israel to get sanctified before crossing Jordan (Joshua 3:5). Accordingly, they got sanctified and when the priests placed their feet on Jordan, the river turned and gave them the way. Following this victory, the children of Israel went around the walls of Jericho shouting aloud and the wall fell down.
After the walls of Jericho fell down, the Israelites celebrated the victory. But in the midst of the victory celebration, Achan who was one among them took an accursed thing of Jericho and hid it in his tent. God wanted him to confess that sin and to forsake it.
Joshua was not aware of this and when he went to Ai city with the children of Israel for a battle, they were miserably defeated. Thirty-six persons were slaughtered in Israel and the opponents won the battle. They realised that the wrath of God fell on the congregation of Israel because of this sin.
“ Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads” (Joshua 7:6). They killed Achan and his family members by stoning as a process of sanctifying themselves.
Are there defeats and problems in your family? Is there no peace between husband and wife? Assemble as a family and evaluate yourself. Analyse whether you have ever saddened God or you have ever disobeyed His words and initiate now to set things right in every possibility.
After getting sanctified, it was easy for the children of Israel to destroy the city of Ai. God gave them victory after victory as they went with purified hearts. One may be a prominent saint or one may be an ordinary believer, it is highly essential for them to pray to confess their sins. It is a duty fallen on them. God who is Holy should be got nearer to and hastened with holiness and purified heart.
To meditate: “ *Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight— that you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you judge” (Psalms 51:4).
God dealt with Israel differently than God deals with the church. Sanctification for Israel was outward behavior. Sanctification for the church is the work of the Holy Spirit.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sanctification/
From time to time human beings are commanded to sanctify themselves. For example, God commanded the nation of Israel, "consecrate to me every firstborn male" ( Exod 13:2 ). God said through Peter, "in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord" ( 1 Peter 3:15 ). One sanctifies Christ by responding to unbelievers meaningfully, out of a good conscience and faithful life. God calls his own to set themselves apart for that which he has set them apart. Sanctify, therefore, becomes a synonym for "trust and obey" ( Isa 29:23 ). Another name for this action is "consecration." To fail to sanctify God has serious consequences ( Num 20:12 ).
Human beings ultimately cannot sanctify themselves. The Triune God sanctifies. The Father sanctifies ( 1 Cor 1:30 ) by the Spirit ( 2 Thess 2:13 ; 1 Peter 1:2 ) and in the name of Christ ( 1 Cor 6:11 ). Yet Christian faith is not merely passive. Paul calls for active trust and obedience when he says, "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" ( 2 Cor 7:1 ). No one may presume on God's grace in sanctification. Peter reminds believers to be diligent in making their calling and election sure ( 2 Peter 1:10 ).
A person or thing can be sanctified in two waysaccording to God's creative purpose or according to God's redemptive design. All sanctified in the first sense are used by God in the second sense. Not all God uses in the second sense are sanctified in the first sense.
Sanctification According to God's Creative Design. God created the universe and human beings perfect (i.e., sanctified). Everything and everyone functioned flawlessly until Adam and Eve believed Satan's lie. The fall plunged the human race and the universe into a state of dysfunction ( Gen 3:14-19 ). Neither was so distorted by the fall so as to obliterate God's original purpose and design completely. Fallen human beings still bear God's image ( James 3:9-10 ). Fallen creation still witnesses to God's existence and attributes ( Psalm 19:1-6 ; Rom 1:20 ). Yet both, depending on the analogy employed, are skewed, broken, fallen, dysfunctional, "unsanctified."
The imperfect state of creation is a reminder that God's fully sanctified purpose for it has been disrupted by sin. Evil is the deprivation of the good that God intends for the creation he has designed. The creation groans, awaiting its sanctification when everything will be set right ( Rom 8:21-22 ; Rev. 20-21 ).