Skip to main content

Praying Fervently About Everything

Image
By
Last week pondered Jesus’ words from John 15:7-8 and the fact that he invites us to pray with holy fervency; this week we will ponder the fact that he invites us to pray like this about anything and everything. As the Apostle Paul later wrote, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” And elsewhere, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, emphasis mine). 

How can Jesus invite us into such a broad life of prayer? Isn’t he obligating himself to answer prayers he doesn’t want to answer? In other words, isn’t he concerned that we will ask for things that are not glorifying to him and good for us and others? The answer to this question would be “yes,” were it not for the conditions that Jesus laid out in the first part of the verse, namely, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…” 

When these conditions are met, the words of Christ lead us to die to our fleshly desires, and help us to see that the supreme aim in all things is the glory of God. The words of Christ give shape to our souls so that we understand what is good and right and true and pleasing to the Father, and thus they teach us to pray according to his will. It is as Paul said in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind [which happens as the words of Christ abide in us], that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” And when we are able to test and discern what is good and acceptable and perfect, we will pray according to the Father’s will and he will be pleased to answer all of our prayers. 

The words of Christ are like the nutrients of the vine, and prayer is the means by which we suck the nutrients out of the vine. If we pray for poison, our loving heavenly Father will not give it to us, but he might use the occasion to shape us more into the image of Christ. If we pray for the life-giving nutrients of the vine, we should pray earnestly and expectantly, knowing that the Father will grant our requests, not because he is subject to our demands but because he is faithful to his promises. 

Prayer Focus: Pray that the words of Christ will so shape our hearts and lives that we will learn to fervently pray according to the Father’s will. And pray that as we pray according to the Father’s will, he will be pleased to answer from heaven and bear much fruit through our lives, to the glory of his name.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

God Displays His Beauty While Lifting Heavy Burdens by Pastor Kevin

By
I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me.  Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f...
2 comments
Read more

Is your Sense of Identity Tied to your Smartphone?

By
In her book Alone Together Sherry Turkle writes, “To make more time would mean turning off our phones. But this is not a simple proposition since our devices are ever more closely coupled to our sense of our bodies and minds. They provide a social and psychological GPS, a navigation system for our tethered selves” (167). Hmm, that’s a profound point. Our phones are no longer just a tool we use to get things done; they have become part of who we are. They make us feel awake, alive, and connected to the world, and therefore we must have our phones with us at all times. But why is this so? Or to ask a question that gets closer to the heart of my issues with my phone, Why do we feel the compulsion to check and respond to messages multiple times per hour? Perhaps… We want to feel important, bigger than we are. We want to feel needed, even indispensable. We fear the disappointment, disapproval, or anger of others if we do not respond in a certain period of time. We feel i...
2 comments
Read more