Month: May 2025

Prayer is the power that moves the hand of God…

Prayer is a way to communicate with God, helping to develop a personal relationship with Him and align our hearts with His will. It also provides comfort, guidance, and peace during various life situations.

For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do.

We pray for a variety of reasons.

For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him.

We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7).

Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3).

If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.

For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.

Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations.

We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).

We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27).

He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15).

Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit.

In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8).

Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.

From: Kenneth E. Hagin

In teaching on prayer for so many years, I always take two particular Bible texts.

The reason I choose these two for my main texts is because I don’t believe there are any better.

These two texts will cover anything you want to teach on the subject of prayer.

The first text I use is Ephesians 6:18, in which Paul is writing to the believers at Ephesus.

The second text is John 15:7, which says, “If ye abide in me [Jesus], and MY WORDS abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

This verse is all-inclusive, because Jesus said “My words.”

Therefore, any word the Bible teaches on the subject of prayer is covered by John 15:7.

If Jesus had just said, “If you abide in Me,” we Christians would automatically have it made because we all abide in Him as believers.

But Jesus added, “And My words abide in you.”

Have you ever noticed that many of God’s promises are conditional?

If you want answers to your prayers, follow the instructions that have been given to you: If you abide in Jesus, and His Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.

I believe in receiving answers to prayer, all right. But there are conditions that have to be met in order for our prayers to be answered: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…”

I want to look at a passage in the Old Testament that teaches us something further on prayer.

Isaiah 43:25 and 26 gives us insight into the authority we have in prayer. to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do.

We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him.

We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7).

Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3).

If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.

God is not ruling in this world. He is not ruling on the earth.

Thank God, He will one day! But right now His will is not being carried out on the earth—except in the lives of those who surrender to Him.

Years ago I read a statement John Wesley made and it stayed with me. Wesley said,

“It seems God is limited by our prayer life—that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him.”

A while later, in 1949, I was reading after another writer who made that same statement.

But this fellow added, “Why this is, I do not know.”

We Need To Know More About It

“Why doesn’t he know?” I asked.

Then I found out I didn’t know either.

Yet if Wesley’s statement is correct—and it seems to be as you read through the Bible—then we who are to pray should know more about it.

If God wants to do something for humanity, I thought I should begin to examine the Bible to find out why God cannot do anything unless somebody asks Him.

I found the answer through study of God’s Word.

You see, though some people have built up “spiritual air castles” that God is running everything in this world, He is not.

During the Vietnam War a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist began one column by stating that he was not a Christian.

He also said that he was not an atheist because the atheist says there is no God.

“I suppose you would classify me an agnostic,” he wrote.

“The agnostic says there may be a God, but if there is, I don’t know it.

Actually, I am prone to believe there is a Supreme Being.

I do not believe that everything here just happened. I believe there is a Creator somewhere.

“But I have never read the Bible. I do not attend church.

One reason I don’t is that what the Christians say about God doesn’t agree with what I think a Creator should be, nor with what I can see of Him in nature.

Even ministers say, ‘God has everything under control.

He’s running everything.’

Well, if He is, He sure has things in a mess.

People are killing each other. Little children are dying. Little children are hungry. Women are suffering.

There are wars everywhere. If God has everything under control, do you mean God is running those wars?”

Even an unregenerate columnist knew that wasn’t right.

A Change Of Dominion

God is not ruling in this world. He is not ruling on the earth.

Thank God, He will one day! But right now His will is not being carried out on the earth—except in the lives of those who surrender to Him.

That is easy to see if you will accept what the Bible says.

The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

It is obvious that His will concerning the salvation of all men is not being carried out.

When individuals accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, it is carried out in their lives.

But if God were running things and pushing His will off on people—and since He is not willing that any should perish—then it is logical to say that He would make everybody get saved today and then go directly into the Millennium tomorrow.

But that’s not the way it works.

As I examined God’s Word for the “why” behind John Wesley’s statement, I saw a truth I had never seen before, though I had been in the ministry many years.

As I asked the Lord about it, He said to me, “Go back to the Book of Beginnings.”

I knew He meant the Book of Genesis.

I reread it. I had read it many times.

I had heard it taught as a Sunday School boy. But this time, I saw it in a different light.

I saw that God made the world and the fullness thereof.

He made His man, Adam. Then He said, “Adam, I give you dominion over all the work of my hands” (Gen. 1:26-27; Ps. 8:6).

God did not say, “I am going to dominate through you.”

He said, “I give you dominion over all the work of my hands.”

Therefore Adam had dominion upon this earth and in this world.

He was originally, in a sense, the god (small “g”) of this world.

But Satan came and lied to Adam. Adam committed high treason and sold out to Satan.

When that happened, Satan became the god of this world.

Second Corinthians 4:4 calls Satan “the god of this world.”

As such, he has dominion. Where? In this world.

He will have that dominion and remain the god of this world until Adam’s lease runs out.

God cannot legally and justly move in and take away that dominion from the devil.

The devil has dominion here. He has a legal right because he has Adam’s lease.

And God cannot do anything unless somebody down here asks Him.

That is why prayer is so important.
____

We know from the Bible that the devil was defeated at calvary’s Cross and the Bible tells us that Jesus took from him the keys of death, hell and the grave.

It may not show up on Christian motivational posters, but Colossians 2:15 is one of the great verses of victory in the New Testament.

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Our great captain has won the contest.

The seed of the woman has bruised the head of the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).

While not as familiar to us, Colossians 2:15 was beloved in earlier periods of Christian history.

It is also regularly invoked in academic theology to support a certain understanding of Christ’s atonement known as the “Christus Victor” model, which argues that Christ’s saving work consists in defeating the evil powers that afflict and enslave humanity.

Satan has already been defeated at the cross and since has lost all of his legal authority to operate in this world.

How be it, for the time being (until Christ returns and sets up his kingdom on Earth) the authority to overcome the power of the enemy is only given to those who are born-again, filled with the Holy Spirit and are operating in faith, in Christ!

The Bible also tells us that through Christ we have been given ALL POWER in HEAVEN AND EARTH to overthrow all the power of the enemy, but we have to learn how to use that power and that’s why we need to study the Bible, to learn the Rules of Engagement in spiritual warfare.

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And our Source in every area of life…

Read John 15:

This is a chapter filled with divine love and instructions, and it shines a light on the believer’s journey.

The vivid analogy of the vine and branches underscores our absolute need for a relationship with Jesus to live fruitful lives.

Moreover, the commandment of love sets the standard for relationships, while the promise of the Holy Spirit and warning of persecution provide comfort and preparation for the trials to come.

Requirements for a Fruitful Life

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” —Augustine

In the Old Testament, God spoke of the vine as a symbol of Israel (Ps. 80:8; Isa. 5:1-2,7; Jer. 2:21).

In John 15 Jesus expanded the analogy. As the fulfillment of the Lord’s purpose for Israel, the great Son of David identified Himself as the Vine and His followers as branches.

No More Slaves…

We are all on a mission, all sent by our Lord and empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out that mission.

In the eighteenth century, many American Quakers were affluent, conservative slave holders, totally oblivious to the horror and anti-biblical nature of that role.

A young Quaker, John Woolman, set a lifetime goal—to rid his beloved Society of Friends of this terrible practice.

Woolman lived to the age of fifty-two and spent nearly all his adult years in his efforts to extinguish slavery among his Christian friends.

By 1770, nearly one hundred years before the Civil War, no Quakers held slaves.

This chapter of John does not deal with social justice, but it does teach righteousness and the kind of social virtues that result from the indwelling Holy Spirit.

John 14 has already talked to us about practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit.

As the Lord’s teaching continued, quite possibly out in the garden now, He emphasized how we can avoid inclusion in the ranks of those who sin regularly.

The key words are abide and fruit, the latter used eight times.

An understanding of the purpose of the New Testament is crucial to the understanding of the metaphors and warnings of this chapter.

Almost every book in the New Testament was written to professing believers. Even though their content was controlled by the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit, biblical authors could not discern the spiritual condition of those who would read their writings.

Among the vast number of people receiving and reading this Gospel, there would have been those who had no experience of regeneration.

John had more than half a century to observe the behavior of people who claimed to be Christians before he wrote this chapter.

The Old Testament referred to Israel as the vine.

The Jews in Jesus’ day believed that because they belonged to Israel, they were connected to God. But Israel often failed to produce the fruit God looked for.

Jesus made a radical statement by claiming to be the Vine.

Jesus emphasized that Christians must produce fruit.

He expected that of His followers then and He expects that of His followers now.

God loves to find anything that impedes our growth.

Jesus portrays Him as the Good Gardener who cuts and trims the vine.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you”
(15:1–3).

Jesus likely spoke these words while walking from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Perhaps He saw a vine hanging over a fence or draped along the wall.

He lifted up a section of the plant and explained the chain of command in the universe.

God is the Gardener. Jesus is the Vine. We are the grapes.

Vines grew abundantly in Palestine.

Carefully pruned, they produced sweet grapes. But left unkept, they crept everywhere and into everything.

The gardener trimmed the vines. Why?

So they could bear more fruit.

God trims us. Why?

For the same reason. “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (15:16).

A good gardener will do what it takes to help a vine bear fruit.

What fruit does God want?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Gal 5:22–23).

These are the fruits of the Spirit. And this is what God longs to see in us.

And like a careful gardener, He will clip and cut away anything that interferes.

A good track coach looks into the face of the runner and says, “We can break the record, but this is what it will take.”

And then the coach lists a regimen of practice and discipline.

A good editor reads the manuscript and says, “This work has potential, but here is what we need to cut.”

And the writer groans as the red ink flows.

God lifts up a branch of His vine and says, “You can be fruitful, but I’m going to have to clip some diseased leaves.”

And though the process is painful, we can see on the soil below us the spotted greenery He has clipped. Arrogance. Vain ambitions. Bad relationships. Dangerous opportunities. Revenge.

Does God take this process lightly?

I don’t think so.

Listen to this serious statement.

“Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (Jn 15:2).

The verb “prunes” is from the Greek word airo. It has at least two meanings; one is to “cut off,” and the other is to “pick up” or “lift up.”

I believe both are implied.

Before God cuts a fruitless branch, He lifts it up.

A gardener does this. He repositions the fruitless branch so it can get more sun or more space.

Grapes are not like squash or pumpkins. They don’t develop while lying on the ground.

They grow better hanging free.

A good vine dresser will stretch the vine on the arbor to afford it more air and sun.

You’ve seen gardeners realign a plant, and you’ve probably seen God realign a life.

The family uprooted and transferred to another city—was it so they could learn to trust God?

The person so healthy, suddenly sick—was it to remind him to rely on the Gardener?

The income stream dried up—was it God’s way of lifting you out of the soil of self and drawing you closer to himself?

Leaders with questionable motives and morals are elected.

Is it God’s way of stirring people to revival?

God is up to something. He is the busy, active Gardener who clears the field and removes the stones.

He constructs the trellises and plants the seeds.

He inspects the plants and pulls the weeds. And, most of all, He is good.

He is the Good Gardener who cares for His vine.

What fruit do you see in your life?

Do you see how God may be pruning you so that you can bear more and better fruit?

Grow closer to Jesus. Yield your life to Him, and allow Him to do anything in your life if it will lead to bearing more fruit.

(From Max Lucado – Encouraging Word)

SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)

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