Skip to main content

Our Confidence in Prayer by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     If anyone ever knew the power of a praying life, it was the Apostle John. When he was old and eager to lead the precious people of God in the way they should go, he wrote 1 John which, among other things, makes this promise about prayer. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
     John’s words echo those of Jesus and reiterate his great and precious promises regarding prayer. But as with Jesus’ words, John’s promise comes with this caveat: to have our prayers affirmatively answered by God, we must ask according to his will. How, then, can we know that we are praying according to his will?
     First, we know that we are praying according to God’s will when we pray! That is to say, our Father invites and commands us to pray—to make our cares known to him, to offer our requests to him, to intercede on behalf of other people, cities, and nations—and when we obey him in this, we are submitting to his will.
     Second, we know that we are praying according to God’s will when we pray according to his Word. Some things about which we pray are a mystery to us, and therefore, we should look to his Word and focus on what is known, seeking him from there about what is unknown. The more we grow in praying according to his Word, the more we grow in the ability to discern his will in all things. As Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” As the Lord renews our minds according to his Word, the Spirit shapes our prayers according to his wisdom.
     Third, we know that we are praying according to God’s will when we are praying in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. That is to say, prayer is a relational activity, and when we are seeking the Lord himself over and above what we are asking of him, then we can know that we are well-tuned to his heart. The heart of the Lord is unite heart-to-heart with his people.
     Fourth, we know that we are praying according to God’s will when we pray with, and receive confirmation from, other believers. Life in Christ is life together. It is personal but not private. Thus, the Lord is often pleased to give wisdom for prayer, discernment in prayer, and power through prayer when we gather together.
     Pray that we will believe and cling to this promise: “if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” Pray that Jesus will give us theological and practical insight into what it means to pray according to his will and a heart to ceaselessly ask of our Father for the glory of his name. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

Catechisms: Building a Heritage of Sound Faith - By Pastor Kevin Feder

By
This is an article I (Pastor Kevin) wrote in 2005 and updated in 2017. It is featured in a new resource available through Children’s Desiring God called Discipleship through Doctrinal Teaching and Catechism by Sally Michael.  It is our desire to encourage parents to use a children’s catechism as a tool in building and strengthening faith in children. A simple definition of a catechism is “organized teaching.” Catechisms are not the only things that can or should be used to instruct the next generation, yet they have useful purposes. Listed here are ten specific benefits a catechism can uniquely offer. Hopefully these ten points will help parents understand how a catechism can be effectively used in their families. 1.  A catechism is a very clear and complete gospel message. A catechism is, among other things, a very clear and concise gospel message to children. Everything a child needs to know for salvation is embodied within a catechism. The gospel is truly ama...
Post a Comment
Read more