INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT PRAYER

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13 NKJV).

Here the Lord Jesus is giving some encouraging and helpful instructions on prayer. These instructions were given to the disciples in the Upper Room the night before the Lord’s crucifixion. Thus, we want to note the place of prayer, the prerequisite of prayer, the promise for prayer, and the praise from prayer.

Place of prayer – “Whatever you ask.” We need to bring prayer into every facet of our lives. Some folks limit prayer to just a few areas, but prayer is for all areas of our lives. God never intended for us to limit prayer to a just few things. The word “whatever” means that there is nothing we need to exclude from prayer. No matter is too small or too big for prayer.

Prerequisite of prayer – “Ask in My name.” What does the Lord Jesus mean when He says to pray in “My name?” Well, for one thing, it means a lot more than just repeating the name of the Lord Jesus at the end of our prayers. It means to pray according to the will of the Lord Jesus. If we pray outside the will of the Lord Jesus, we are praying prayers God will not answer. The apostle James warned about this when he wrote in 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” To “ask amiss” means to ask for things that are outside of the will of God.

Promise for prayer – “That I will do.” What an amazing, gracious and wonderful promise. Whatever we ask, God will do, providing we ask according to His will. How many blessings we do not have because we do not ask. Again, James reminds us, “Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (4:2). We shortchange ourselves when we are slack in our praying.

Praise from prayer – “That the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Proper prayer and its answers glorify God. This is the chief reason for praying. We certainly have other reasons for praying, but honoring God should be the first reason. Prayer honors the Lord which is why some folks do not want prayers in schools and other places of government. Those folks who oppose prayer in public places do not want to honor God. But let us honor God much by praying much.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending His will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to His!”

John Robert Walmsley (J.R.) Stott (1921 - 2011)

English Anglican Theologian and Author

Word Study

Famine

In Luke 15:14 we read, “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want” (NKJV).

“Famine” is the Greek word limós (λιμός = lee-mos'). The word refers to a scarcity of food or harvest. In classical Greek limós refers to a literal hunger or famine. In the Septuagint limós means scarcity of food. Limós is also used the same way in the New Testament and refers to several incidents of famine from the Old Testament (cf. Luke 4:25; Acts 7:11; Gen. 41:54). Famine was greatly feared in the ancient world and was often a consequence of drought (cf. Gen. 12:10; 26:1) or war (cf. 2 Kings 6:25; 7:4; 25:3). However, famines are often sent as a “visitation” from God for sin. God is sovereign, and so He either providentially sends or allows every famine. Mother Nature did not send or allow it! And just as the famine in Egypt turned out for the good of Joseph, the famine in the “far country” turned out for good as it forced the prodigal son to return to his father. God is amazing for He wastes no events in our life and truly is able to make “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (cf. Rom. 8:28).

Did You Know…

According to the Book of Hebrews, when God made His covenant with Abraham, He swore by Himself because “He could swear by no one greater” (Heb. 6:13).

Bible Quiz

Who does James use as an example to encourage people to be patient for the Lord’s return?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to the Book of James, what is “pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father?” “To visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (Jam. 1:27).

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

As Isaac’s Seed the Lord Jesus will bless all nations (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16)

"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Gen. 22:18 NJKV).

As a consequence of Abraham’s obedience, God would keep the promise He had made concerning His blessing on Abraham’s descendants (cf. v. 17). Then, through one of his offspring (“Seed”), salvation-blessing would come to all the nations of the earth. This expanded blessing is centered in the Lord Jesus Christ, the coming “Seed.” And as explained by the apostle Paul in Gal. 3:16, the Lord Jesus Christ is that ultimate “Seed” of promise through whom the nations will be blessed. He argues that God’s promise to Abraham was a binding contract and that nothing, not even the law, could change it. Further, the covenant promises were motivated purely by God’s grace with no indication of conditions or suggestions that God’s favor was earned. The fact that God keeps His promise should give us hope.

Did You Know – Christian History

Edward Perronet was born in 1721 in Kent, England. He was an English Evangelical preacher, hymn writer and poet.

Perronet was the descendent of a French Huguenot family which fled first to Switzerland and then to England to escape religious persecution. Perronet seemed destined for preaching from a young age, for his father was both a minister and good friends with John and Charles Wesley – leaders of the Methodist movement. These men were highly influential in the life of Perronet, showing him how a man should live. Perronet’s father served a congregation that was part of the Church of England and naturally wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. But the footsteps Perronet ended up following were those of the Wesley’s, and he became a Methodist minister. He worked closely with the Wesley’s for many years in England’s 18th Century revival.

One of the most famous of Perronet’s ministry moments came when he was visiting John Wesley’s church. John insisted on Perronet taking the pulpit during the visit, but he was uneasy about preaching in front of John Wesley. Wesley urged him to do so several times. Finally, Wesley forced the issue. He announced that Brother Perronet would speak the following week. A week later, witty Perronet mounted the pulpit and declared he would deliver the greatest sermon ever preached. He then read Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount” and sat down! During his life, Perronet published three volumes of Christian poems, including a poetic rendering of the Scriptures. However, he is perhaps most famous for penning the lyrics to the well-known hymn, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” which is often called “The National Anthem of Christendom.” Shortly before he died on January 2, l792, his last words were, “Glory to God in the height of His divinity! Glory to God in the depth of His humanity! Glory to God in His all suffering! Into His hands I commend my spirit.”

A Little Humor

A man was struggling with life issues, so he decided to open a Bible to a random page and drop his finger on a verse and do whatever it says. The verse his finger landed on was Matt. 27:5 which states that Judas “went and hanged himself.” The man thought, “That’s not right, let me try again” and does the same thing, this time landing on Luke 10:37 “Go and do likewise.” Again, the man thought it wasn’t right, so he did it one last time and landed on John 13:27 “What you do, do quickly.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Heaven: Don’t miss it for the world!”