Skip to main content

Why Must We Ask of Jesus in Prayer? Part I, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous


Why Must We Ask of Jesus in Prayer? Part I
By Pastor Charlie
In John 15:7-8, Jesus promised, “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” (emphasis mine). Last week we saw that this promise assumes something very basic but extremely important, namely, that we must spend time with Christ. For the next few weeks we will meditate on another basic but important assumption, namely, that we must ask of Christ in prayer or our prayers cannot be answered.
In Matthew 6:8 Jesus said, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him,” which begs the question, Why then must we ask of Jesus in prayer? If the Father already knows what we want and if he is disposed to give us what we want when we ask according to his will, why then doesn’t he just give us what we want? I see at least eight reasons, three of which we’ll consider today.
First, we must ask of Jesus in prayer because he commanded us to do so. As those who have become his children by grace through faith, we begin with obedience and not questioning. As we do what he says and learn to walk in his ways, he increases our understanding and joy in him. The flesh must understand in order to obey; the spirit obeys in order to understand.
Second, we must ask of Jesus in prayer because we are in a relationship with him and communication is central to the health and growth of any relationship. Of course, he knows us much better than we know ourselves but the sound of his children’s voices is surely among the greatest delights of his heart. Think about the great lengths to which Jesus went to save us, bring us to himself, and make us children of the Father. Think then of how precious it is to him to see us actually relating with our Father through his blood and by the power of the Holy Spirit. So we ask of Jesus to delight the heart of Jesus because we’re in a blood-bought relationship with Jesus.
Third, we must ask of Jesus in prayer because it teaches us to live in childlike dependence upon him. It teaches us that he is the vine and we are but branches. It teaches us that he is the bread and fountain of life, and that we are but hungry and thirsty souls who need a source from which to eat and drink. And it also teaches us that he is eager to give the food and drink of himself to all who believe and ask in his name. So we ask of Jesus because it helps us to understand and feel our proper relationship to Jesus.

Prayer Focus: Pray that Jesus will persuade us that we must ask of him in prayer, and that he will teach us to actually ask of him in prayer day by day. Pray that he will teach us how to form and articulate our thoughts and affections in such a way that he will be glorified, that he will be pleased to answer our prayers, that others will be blessed, and that our joy in him will be increased.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more