God's Holy Fire: 'The Spirit of Truth'

Thursday, August 20, 2026

[Jesus said,] "I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back."
— John 14:16-18 MSG

Key Thought

The Holy Spirit is all about truth: The Spirit inspires the truth that is taught, empowers the truth that is lived, and brings about his true fruit in our lives. In today's Scripture, Jesus makes four powerful claims about this Spirit of Truth.
  1. The Friend that God will send to us is the Spirit of Truth.
  2. The unbelieving world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth.
  3. The Spirit of Truth, the Friend, will be in Jesus' followers.
  4. The Spirit of Truth's presence is a reminder of Jesus' promises not to leave his followers orphaned and to come back for us and bring us home.
The difference between people trying to be good on their own and those who follow Jesus is this one crucial issue: The Spirit lives in those who belong to Jesus (Romans 8:9), and that's the Truth!

Today's Prayer

Father, thank you for your Presence, the Spirit of Truth, who lives inside me. My blessings and my effectiveness as a follower of Jesus are tied to the Spirit's influence on my emotions, thoughts, words, and behaviors. Conform me to your truth by the influence of your Spirit of Truth. In Jesus' name, I ask this. Amen.

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Illustration

Illustration of John 14:16-18 MSG — "I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you."

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About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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