“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:7-13 NKJ
As we come to the close of this series on what it means to be a fruit bearing disciple IN Christ my prayer is that you are beginning to see what an honor and privilege it is to be set apart and chosen by Jesus to be a disciple. And as you choose to fill the position my prayer is that you have come to understand the importance of walking as Jesus walked in love for one another and the importance of following the lead of the Holy Spirit, so you are able to know what God’s will is for your life. I also pray that you realize it is God’s desire to answer your prayers and to produce fruit in your life because in these He is glorified!
If you ask most Christians if they believe God answers prayers they will say yes and if you ask them if they believe God performs miracles they will say yes. But then if you ask those same people these questions when they are in the midst of a battle oftentimes their answer is quite different because they will say things like, “if it is God’s will” or “I don’t want to put any demands on God so I am just praying He helps me get through it if He doesn’t choose to do a miracle.” Have you ever said things like this? I know I have many times but not anymore, because I have come to understand that it is always God’s will to perform His Word in my life and it is always His will to answer the prayers of His people.
Do you realize that answered prayer only bears testimony to God’s faithfulness to His people on the earth? Think about it for a minute. There is no need for answered prayer in heaven because there is no need in heaven. Everything in heaven is perfect! There is no sickness, disease, poverty, abuse, etc., so prayer is not even a part of the kingdom’s operation in heaven. Prayer is a part of the earthly operation of God’s kingdom and for the purpose of bringing the kingdom dynamics into the worldly realm. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Jesus said is how we are to pray. Why? Because on earth is where the need for the manifestation of the kingdom is needed in order for people who do not know God to bear witness to the fact that He is the one and only true God and the only God who is worthy to be praised!
Once Christ comes back to take us home the people who have not accepted Him as their Savior face judgment and prayer ceases! There will be no second chances once Jesus comes back to see the fervent effectual prayers of the righteous man avail much. (James 5:16) This is why it is so important for the people of God to come to understand what Jesus is talking about when He says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:7-8)
Look at the following passages where Jesus talks to us about prayer. Matthew 17:20, “So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 21:21, “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
John 14:12-14, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” And Matthew 18:19, ““Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.”
The key to seeing the manifestation of answered prayer as a fruit bearing disciple can only come when we are being led by the Holy Spirit in what to pray because as we learned yesterday it is only God’s Spirit that knows the things of God. The will of God is His Word and it is His Spirit who performs His Word in us and is given to us to teach the things of God. It is in abiding IN Christ on a daily basis through prayer, meditation, and praise where our hearts will be turned toward receiving the promises that are manifested in us through the power and might of the Holy Spirit. (Zechariah 4:6) And it is when we believe by faith and do not doubt where we have an assurance that what we have asked, we have received because if we are allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us when we pray; we are aligned with God’s will.
Prayer: May we all grow in wisdom and knowledge of what it means to be fruit bearing disciples IN Christ. May we all come to understand to the deepest level of understanding what it means to abide In Christ and to have His Word abide IN us, so we allow Him to perform His will IN us by the power and might of His Spirit as it works IN us according to His purpose. May we believe and not doubt that God answers the fervent effectual prayers of the righteous man and that we believe by faith that we are the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus. May the world see Your kingdom come and Your will be done in the earth as it is in heaven. And help us to be the light in this darkened world so that those who do not know you and who live in the darkness, will want to become a part of the kingdom of light through faith IN Jesus Christ as they witness Your kingdom dynamics at work IN us. Amen
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