Those Who Prayed For Big Things and Got Big Answers: 4 Examples

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

There are numerous cases in the Bible of those who exercised great faith through prayer.  Here are just four examples.

          

1.  Abraham’s servant prayed for a wife for Isaac—Genesis 24:10-27.  There are two things in this story that may show us the great faith of the servant.  First, though the task of finding a wife for Isaac was huge, the servant did not lack in confidence that God would lead him to her.  This is evident by the ten camels brought along, packed down with a variety of gifts, which the servant fully expected to give to the women and her family (Gen. 24:10, 53).  Second, the prayer was so specific, which shows to us the servants close communion with God and his great confidence in God’s ability to answer prayer.

After the prayer was answered so directly (vv. 15-20), the servant bowed his head low and worshiped the LORD saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the LORD has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brother” (vv. 26-27). 

This heart felt conclusion demonstrates most clearly the servant’s great faith and loyalty to God, and leaves us with no doubts as to why God chose to answer his prayer so quickly and so directly.

          

2.  Hannah’s prayer for a son—1 Samuel 1:10-20.  Hannah’s prayer was not a big prayer because she prayed for a son; rather, it was a big prayer because up to this time God had closed her womb.  Thus, she prayed contrary to Gods apparent will.  She cried out to God in bitter tears, even vowed with an oath that if God would give her a son she would give Him up to the Lord to serve the Lord all of his days.  God was touched by Hannah’s tears and gave her Samuel, who became a great prophet for God.

          

3.  Elijah raises a dead child to life through prayer—1 Kings 17:20-21.  There are numerous cases in the Old Testament where the power of God is demonstrated through the life and prayers of Elijah.  This prayer, though short, was among the greatest.  For a child was dead, and Elijah simply but earnestly called out to the Lord and said, “‘O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s life return to him.’  And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the boy returned to him and he revived.”

The resurrection power that came through Elijah’s prayers was not due to any fancy words of prayer, but rather was due to his right standing with God.  If prayers are not answered it is not due to God’s unwillingness or inability to answer, but rather it is because we are living in sin and out of touch with God.  But for Elijah, the Lord was truly his God (v. 21) and that is why his prayers were effective (Ja. 5:15-18).

          

4.  Hezekiah prayed for victory over Assyria—Isaiah 37:15-36.  At this time in history, Assyria was a great power in the world.  Wherever they went to conquer they completely destroyed those lands.  Sennacherib, king of Assyria, fully expected to conquer the land of Judah as well.  But Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not give in to the taunting of the Assyrians, by which they were constantly trying to persuade Judah to surrender.  Instead Hezekiah turned to God in prayer for help. 

What makes Hezekiah’s prayer so beautiful and so full of faith was his high regard for God’s glory and reputation.  Thus he prayed, “O Lord our God, deliver us from his [Sennacherib’s] hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, Lord, art God.”

That night the angel of the Lord went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; “and when men arose early in the morning, behold all of these were dead” (v. 36).  What a great victory for God and for Hezekiah.  Hezekiah prayed a big prayer and God gave a big answer.

In these four examples of big prayers that got big answers, we may observe that there was one common element: the one who prayed prayed with great faith in God to answer.  And I’m sure that if we would examine every single prayer that got an answer we would find the same conclusion. 

 

Posted in Possibilities of Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Thanks for your insight on this Hebrew word Yahweh Yireh. It’s good to know there are people around who care to make the scriptures more clear. At a first reading this is something the average Joe wouldn’t see. Thanks.

preacherwin's avatarThe Preacher's Study

“And Abraham called the name of the place, ‘Yahweh is Seen,’ that it may be said that day that on the mountain, Yahweh is seen.”

(Genesis 22:14)

 

The traditional rendering of the name of this place is “Jehovah Jireh” or “Yahweh (The Lord) will provide,” though this name is arrived at more through inference than it is through translation of the Hebrew. Literally, this name should be rendered, “Yahweh is seen,” and is a reference back to verse 8 of this chapter where Isaac is asking his father about the lamb to be sacrificed and God replies: “Yahweh will see to the lamb…”  Since verse 8 is understood in the context of God’s provision, verse 14 is rendered likewise.

The Hebrew verb in question in both verses is the word hDa∂r (ra’ah). Literally, the verb means to see, to know, or to be aware of something. In verse 14…

View original post 440 more words

Posted in Reblogs | Leave a comment

Six Steps To Help You Develop Your Faith

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

 Faith is the condition on which Christ’s power is based.  For He could do no mighty works in Nazareth because of their lack of faith, just as the disciples also could not cast the demon out of the lunatic boy because of their lack of faith.  Faith and prayer work together.  If we fail in our faith, our prayers also fail.  So then, the possibilities of receiving big things in prayer hinge on our ability to believe God for big things.

But that ability to believe does not just happen over night.  There is a process of growth in faith, a process of development.  Here are six steps to help you develop your faith.  If you will devote yourself to these six things you will see your faith grow and you will see God do great and mighty things through your prayers. The more diligent you are at these six points the sooner faith will come. The development of faith is not instantaneous, but it does not have to take years to develop. 

        

1.  Get to know God; abide in His Word and in prayer.  Get in the habit of having a quiet time every morning—read a passage of the Bible, meditate on it, and pray over it.  Then, periodically during your day, take time to meditate on a verse that God has put on your heart. Pray over that verse and commit it to memory.  Keep in constant communication with God.  Praise Him with thanksgiving all during the day.

          

2.  Obey God moment by moment; be surrendered to His will.   If you sin, know that you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn. 2:1).  Confess your sin regularly to Him and He will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9).  Then, being cleansed, determine to obey Him again.  Try to develop a pattern of obedience so that you obey Him more than you disobey Him.  Soon you will begin to experience the blessings of obedience and will want to obey Him more and more.

          

3.  Discern what God’s will is and what He wants you to ask for and receive through prayer.  Discernment of God’s will will come only to those who are surrendered to God and committed to holiness.  They are those who have a growing disdain for sin and all the trappings of the world. They regularly deny themselves (Luke 9:23), and even fast on occasion—not because they love to fast or want to lose weight or want to impress anyone, but only because it helps them not to sin; and it gives them a clearer view of God.  With this clearer view of God comes a greater discernment of His will and what He wants you to pray for.

          

4.  Through prayer, take hold of the things God wants you to have.  Take confidence that He will give these things to you.  1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence which we have before 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 which we have asked from Him.”  These are powerful verses!  Claim them, memorize them, and quote them back to yourself as often as you need them, to remind yourself that God is going to give you the things He has given you a desire to pray for.

          

5.  Stay focused on God.  Sometimes in our praying we tend to focus more on the things we are praying for instead of the God who will give them.  I have heard of people who have come out of a prayer session more tired and worried then when they came in.  Evidently, all they did in their prayer time is think and worry and complain about all their problems, etc.  They were not focused on God; they were focused on themselves.  (Now that I think about it, I do it myself. I think we all do from time to time.)  But if we focus on God in our prayers, He will lift our burdens and rid us of our doubts and fears.  

E. M. Bounds states, “Think about God.  Make much of Him, till He broadens and fills the horizons of faith.  Then prayer will come into its marvelous inheritance of wonders.” 

As Bill Hybels has stated, “Faith comes from looking at God not the mountain.”  If we desire to move mountains through prayer we must focus on God, not the mountain. He is the creator of the world who made the mountains; He can move them if necessary.

          

6.  Pray until the answer comes.  Do not entertain any doubts in your heart, but believe that what you are praying for is going to happen (Mk. 11:23).  In fact, believe that God is already at work bringing your prayers to the answer.  Pray expecting the answer and believe that by your more fervent praying the answer will come sooner.

 

Posted in Possibilities of Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

God Is Eager To Give Us Big Things

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

  There is ample evidence throughout the Bible that God is eager to have us ask Him for big things and to give us big things.  As you view the following scriptures, let them transform your praying and your faith.

 Psalms 81: 10 – “I the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” 

From this verse and its context we get the impression that God is jealous.  He does not want to share His children with other gods.  He in effect said to the Israelites, and He says to us now, I will be your provision and your comfort just as I have been all along.  Let me provide for you.  I love you.  Open your mouth wide.  I’m eager to give you all I have.

John R. Rice comments about this verse: “This scripture was a favorite of George Muller…who received and dispensed over seven million dollars for the Lord’s work without ever asking a man for a penny.”  It all came to him through prayer as he opened his mouth wide.       

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” 

Here, for Israel, though famine and pestilence had stricken them, though Babylon was ready to swarm over the land to take the city, God reminds them through Jeremiah that all they need do is call out to Him and He will show them great and mighty things which they had never seen before.

 Spurgeon says of this verse:

 There are different translations of the text.  One version renders it, “I will shew thee great and fortified things which thou knowest not.”  Another reads it, “great and reserved things which thou knowest not.”  Not all developments of spiritual life are similarly easy to attain…There is an upper realm of rapture, communion, and conscious union with Christ that is far from the common dwelling place of believers…Most Christians are only up to their ankles in the river of experience.  Some have waded till the stream is up to their knees.  A few find the water up to their shoulders.  But a very few find it a river to swim in—the bottom of which they cannot touch.  There are heights in experiential knowledge of the things of God the eagle’s eye of acumen and philosophic thought has never seen.

 

Amen to that.  And I will add this: just because the huge blessings of God are somewhat hard to reach, God is nevertheless eager for us to receive them through prevailing prayer.  In fact, God has made these things hard to get at, and has made them to be secret things in order that we may seek for them with a greater intensity and eagerness to find them.      

Matthew 17: 20 – …truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. 

Here, in this context, a man brought his lunatic son to Jesus in order that He might heal him by casting the demon out of him, which the disciples were unable to do.  “And Jesus answered and said [to His disciples], ‘O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I put up with you?  Bring him here to Me.’ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once” (vv. 17-18).

This occasion provided Jesus with an excellent lesson of faith.  For He explained to His disciples (He also speaks to us.), that the reason they could not cast out the demon was simply because of their lack of faith. This kind of faith, He said, is gained only through prayer and fasting (v. 21).  But He was also eager to say to them (and to us), “If you have faith [if anyone has faith] as little as a mustard seed, you shall say [anyone shall say] to this mountain [to any mountain], ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move, and nothing shall be impossible to you.”  These last words of Jesus were the whole point of his lesson—“Nothing shall be impossible to you.”  God is eager to see us move mountains through prayer!

Posted in Possibilities of Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Why Don’t All Christians Have Good Fruit?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

What we are really asking here in terms of fruit is why all Christians don’t show evidence in their life of the nature of Christ in them.  The answer to that question is really quite elementary.  It is because there is not enough good Christian input in their life; there is not enough thinking and dwelling on the Word of God, and on things that are true and good and pure, etc. (Phil. 4:8).

But some would say: “If there is just a little thinking on the Word and on what is good, wouldn’t there be a little fruit?

The answer is no, not really.  And here is why.  If there is only a little meditation on the Word, that meditation will be used just to help the Christian survive as a Christian.  When there is a little more meditation, that spiritual intake is used to help the Christian grow a little.  Fruit (that is, the evidence of the nature of Christ in a person) comes only when there is an abundance of mediation on the Word.

We can compare a Christian who wants to bear fruit to a fruit tree.  If you have ever noticed the rings on a tree after it has been cut down you will notice that some of the rings are large (lines that are far apart), and others are very small (lines that are close together).  Each ring, as you might know, represents one year.  If the tree has a large ring, that tells you that the tree grew that much in a year.  And more likely, if it was a fruit tree, it bore fruit that year.  But if you see very small rings, that tells you that on those years the tree grew very little and probably didn’t bear any fruit.

And the reason why fruit trees don’t bear fruit in some years is because, as Jim Downing has explained in his book Meditation, God has established priorities for trees in how they take in nourishment.  As he explained, fruit trees have three priorities for nourishment.  The first priority is to stay alive, or to sustain the life that is already in the tree.  Therefore, the first amount of nourishment that comes into the tree is used for its own survival.  The second priority is for its growth.  Hence, if more nourishment comes into the tree that is needed for it to survive, that extra nourishment is used to help the tree grow in all directions.  The third priority is for fruit.  Therefore, when the tree has enough nourishment for the growth of its roots and trunk and branches, then the rest of the nourishment that comes into the tree is used for growing fruit.

So this is the order of priorities as God has designed it.  The fruit is the last priority.  And it makes sense.  There must be survival and growth before there is fruit, because the fruit is the last to grow on the branches.  As Downing has said, “… [the fruit] is the overflow, the surplus, the excess life of the nourishment taken into the tree over and beyond that needed for life and growth.  Fruit is simply excess life.”

So what we are saying here is that God has given Christian people the same three priorities of nourishment.  Downing sums it up: “When we have partaken of the life of Christ in such abundance that our life-sustaining needs are met and our growth needs are met, the overflow of the love of Christ, the life of Christ, turns into fruit.”

I would like to state also that the reason why many Christians don’t bear good fruit is because their vines are already full of bad fruit.  As Paul in Galatians (esp. chap. 5 & 6) indicates, the one who sows to the flesh will reap a harvest that is of the flesh—which is bad or corrupt fruit (Gal. 6:8).    But he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap good fruit—fruit which is not corrupt and does not decay, but lives in us forever; for it has the life of Christ in it, and it gives us the very highest quality of life that is possible to experience (Read Jn. 17:3 and Eph. 1:17-18).

 

How Does One Bear Fruit? 

We have already mostly answered that question.  It is by our constant meditation on the Word and by our abiding in Christ.  Overall though, it is by our steadfast obedience to God.  For Jesus told us in John 15:5, “He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit…”  But then Jesus goes on in John 15:10 to tell us how to abide in order to bear fruit.  He said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Obedience is the key.  It will keep us abiding in Jesus’ love, which will result in much good fruit. 

 

 

Posted in Obedience and Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fruit in the Bible: 8 Possible Meanings

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Besides the regular meaning of fruit, like an apple or an orange, there are a few other meanings.  Here are eight different meanings or descriptions of fruit:

 1. The result or outcome of something.  For example, in Psalms 128:2 (in the RSV) it says, “You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands.”  Thus fruit here is the result of one’s labor.

A second example, this time of bad fruit, is in Proverbs 1:31: “They will eat the fruit of their [evil] ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.”

From the New Testament, two good examples of fruit being the result of something are the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-23).  The Bible actually calls the bad fruit the works of the flesh, but they also can be thought of as bad fruit because they come as a result of walking in the flesh.  Hence, those who walk after the flesh will have the resulting fruits: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.” 

Conversely, those who walk in the Spirit (according to the leading of the Holy Spirit) will yield these fruits: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  These last things are the fruits that we bear when we are obedient to God.

 2.  Prosperity.  In Psalms 1 the righteous man who delights in and meditates on the Word of God is “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season.”  And what is that fruit?  The last line of verse three tells us: “And whatever he does shall prosper.”  And I take it here that this type of prosperity is godly and holy; it is a prosperity that would result from meditating on the Word of God.

Likewise, in Prov. 8:1-20, fruit (which here is the fruit of wisdom) is described as riches, honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.  Here again it is not speaking of earthly riches; it is the true riches and wealth that comes from God’s wisdom.

 3. Offspring and yield.  There are several verses in the Old Testament that show us that fruit is of the womb.  There are also various verses that define fruit as being the yield of plants.  In Deuteronomy 28:4 we see both of these definitions: “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kin, and the flocks of thy sheep” (KJV).

 4. That which allows us to recognize a thing.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit you will recognize them” (NIV).  Fruit is like a nametag.  It is what is on the outside, what is visual, and reveals what is on the inside.  I like what Ronald Dunn said: “Fruit is the outward expression of the inward nature.”

I have observed that in the Old Testament fruit is generally described as prosperity or blessing from God.  I think that is also true in the New Testament, however, with the emergence of Christ, fruit is also in reference to Christ.  So clearly, the fruit of a Christian is the evidence and the expression of the nature of Christ in us.  Thus, all the blessings we receive from God are always the result of the life of Christ in us (Eph. 1:3).

5.  Attitudes and actions.  I would say that your fruit starts with attitudes and then immediately grows into behaviors. In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul gives us a list He calls the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  So, as I see it, these good fruits are godly and Christ-like attitudes of Spirit-filled Christians.  And when we get these attitudes from the Holy Spirit, good actions and behaviors follow; for all the fruits of the Spirit, since they begin as Christ-like attitudes, must also result in Christ-like behaviors (or the attitudes wouldn’t be true).  Therefore, when we have a loving attitude, we also will love others; when we have joy, we also will help others to be joyful; when we have peace in our heart, we also will do things to seek peace with other, etc.

There are also bad fruits that come from our fleshly lusts, out of our sinful heart.  These also start as attitudes and proceed to actions.  For instance, the sin of anger may proceed to murder; and the sin of sexual lust may proceed to adultery (Matthew 5:21-31).  It should be easy to recognize bad fruit in a person.  Just look at the way they act and what they say.  Paul gives us a list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21.  Notice that the list contains both the fruits of attitude and behaviors.

6. Praise to God.  Praise to God is the fruit of our lips as we open our mouth to worship Him and give thanks to Him.  But, as we see in Isaiah 57:19, this fruit does not come from ourselves; it is created in us by God.  He puts the praises of Himself on our lips.  Also, in Hebrews 13:15, it says, “By Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God…” 

7.  Witnessing.  This is a fruit of both attitude and action.  It is a fruit of love and of the actions of love.  It is also the fruit of obedience to God and of work.  It is the outward expression of the nature of Christ in us—for Christ was always witnessing (Read Jn. 15:16).

8.  Converts.  Converts, new Christians are fruit.  And when you are the one who leads them to Christ they may be considered as your fruit.  For as we see in Romans 1:13, Paul had often planned, and was eager to come to Rome so that he “might have some fruit among [them].”  In other words, he wanted to lead many to Christ, and he regarded those converts as his fruit.

This post is a excerpt from my book Joy of Prayer. 

Posted in Bible Studies, Obedience and Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

The Blessings of Obedience: 6 Good Results of Obedience to God

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

There are so many good results of obedience.  I could ramble on and on about all that God gives us when we obey.  Generally speaking, obedience to God gives us entry into all that He has for us.  It opens the door of His blessings to us and keeps us in His will.  By obedience we stay in tune with God and are given all the power of God. By obedience we put ourselves in the middle of His love and there we see His glory (Jn. 14:21).  We will go on now to examine six specific results of obedience.

 

1.  By obedience we become God’s friend.  The Bible says in John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”  The word “manifest” in this verse means to disclose or to show oneself.  It is a term of friendship.  Therefore, as we see here, obedience to God brings to us the friendship of the Father and the Son.

In John 15:14 Jesus says it plainly: “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”  That thought, to be a friend of God, is just overwhelming to me.  It is hard to comprehend and describe it. It is so wonderful, so heartwarming.  And just think, God is willing to be a friend to anyone who will come to Him and obey Him.

 

2.  By obedience we get to know God’s will.  It’s really quite simple: the more we do what God tells us to do the more we get to know Him as a friend.  And the more we grow as His friend the more He reveals Himself and His will to us.  Hence, we will find that His will is good, acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2).

We will also find that His will is mysterious, awesome, breathtaking and quite overwhelming.  If you read the book of Ephesians (esp. 1: 7-12 and 3:1-20) along with the book of Revelations (esp. chap. 19-22) you will see what I mean.  If you make it our aim to obey God day by day He will show you who He is and will fill you in on many of His wonderful plans.  Let us pray with David from Psalms 24:4: “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths.”

 

3.  By obedience we bear good fruit.  A life that is obedient to God will always bear good fruit. 

 

4.  By obedience we find power for continued obedience.  The initial decision you make to obey God (to commit yourself to God and to surrender yourself to Him) gives you a new power over sin.  It sets you free from sin.  For the Bible tells us in Romans 6:16-18, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?  But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.  And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Therefore, when we present ourselves to God to obey Him, He gives us a new power over sin and a power to continue to obey Him.  In fact, as verse 18 tells us, by our obedience we have made ourselves a slave of righteousness.  Hence, being a slave, we are compelled to continue to obey God and to be holy.  It becomes our nature.  It is our new heavenly desire.

 

5.  By obedience our prayers will be answered.  One of the things that will happen when we obey God is that our prayers will be heard and answered.  What a marvelous thing!  But I don’t think God answers our prayers just on the basis that we have gone through the mechanics of being obedient.  No, it is not that way at all.  John 15:16 seems to indicate that answered prayer is a type of fruit, or a manifestation of His grace that comes to us as we abide in Him; thus, as we make our obedience a lifestyle.  For the last phrase of the verse, “that whatsoever you ask of the Father in my name, He may give to you,” seems to be an extension of the former phrase, “that your fruit should remain”.  The word “that” between the two phrases is a connecting word that indicates that the last phrase is connected to the former phrase.  Thus, our ability to pray and receive answers is a type of fruit. 

But I also think that more fruit comes as a result of our prayers.  G. Campbell Morgan suggests that the verse should be understood this way: “I chose you in order to bear fruit, and in order that you may do so I chose you to ask, and so to get in touch with God, that fruit may abound.”  And so, I think that answered prayer is a type of fruit, and prayer itself is a means of more fruit. 

R. A. Torry and E. M. Bounds have some things to say about obedience and prayer. 

R. A. Torry said, “If we would have power in prayer, we must be earnest students of His Word to find out what His will regarding us is, and then having found it do it.  One unconfessed act of disobedience on our part will shut the ear of God against many petitions.”

E. M. Bounds has said, “An obedient life helps prayer.  It speeds prayer to the throne…Our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,’ had full liberty of approach and ready access to God in prayer.  And He had this free and full access because of His unquestioning obedience to His Father.”

The Bible says, “Whatsoever we ask we receive because we keep His commands and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 Jn. 3:22).

The last result of obedience is the most important.

 

6.  By our obedience the Father is glorified in the Son.  In John 15:7-8 Jesus said, “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.”   Here Jesus tells us that if we abide in Him (which includes our obedience to Him), we will receive answers to our prayers.  In verse 8 Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified…”  The word “this” means that when you abide and obey, and when your prayers are answered, then He will be glorified.

The next phrase gives us the reason why He is glorified.  It is “that,” or because in abiding and obeying and in having your prayers answered “you bear much fruit.”  Therefore, the Father is glorified by our obedience; but it isn’t in our obedience alone that He is glorified.  No, He is glorified by our obedience because our obedience causes us to bear much fruit.

And why is fruit so important to Him?  Well, our fruit is evidence to the world that we have the nature of Christ in us, and that we are His disciples (Jn. 15:8).  And whenever the Father sees the works of His Son being multiplied and magnified in the world through us, He is pleased and glorified.  And His glory is in the Son (Jn. 14:13).

 

Posted in Obedience and Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

3 Ways to Surrender Your Life unto the Obedience of God—From Romans 12:1-2

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

               

1. By viewing the mercies or God. In Romans 12:1 Paul urges believers, “by the mercies of God,” to present their bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.  This phrase, “by the mercies of God,” indicates that these mercies are the means of our surrender. The Amplified version translates this phrase as “In view of the mercies of God,” which indicates that these mercies, as we view them, are a motivation for our surrender.  I think both ideas are true.  When we view and experience His great love for us we are made ready and also able to love Him back by our willing surrender. 

The first thing we ought to do then if we genuinely want to surrender our lives to  God is to get a good view of the mercies of God, which are discussed in chapters 1-8 of Romans (as well as throughout the entire Bible).  And there are so many things discussed in these chapters; I can’t mention them all.  However, they may be simply outlined as such: Justification, sanctification, and glorification.  Here then is just a glimpse of the mercies of God.

Justification.  Justification is a gift by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  It is “God’s gift of pronouncing man righteous in spite of his guilt.” Hence, God recognized that we were full of sin and guilt (Rom. 3:23), but instead of judging us for our sin, He took great compassion on us and made His own Son who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).  Yes, “God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8) and made us His righteous ones.  What great love!  Now, because of our justification, we have peace with God, we have escaped God’s wrath, we are free from condemnation, we stand in His grace, and we exult in hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5).

Sanctification.  Westminster Catechism has defined sanctification as: “The work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.” Sanctification first began at the cross where He baptized us into His death and then raised us up to new life (Rom. 6 and 8).  And we now are being renewed by the Spirit of life in Christ through the washing of the Word (Jn. 17:17), and by His own intercession (Heb. 7:25).  What a wonderful God we have!

Glorification.  Glorify means, “The bringing of Christians to a heavenly condition and dignity (Rom. 8:30).” We don’t know much about what that life will be like; but we do know that it will be a life of learning and of experiencing the riches of His grace forever (Ephesians 2:7).  What a life!  What a God!  What great mercy He has shown us and will continue to show us. 

With this view of God’s mercy, we ought to be motivated, and strengthened to love Him back—to surrender ourselves to Him.  But it is not a surrender that says; “Since you have loved me so much I suppose I owe it to you to love you back by my surrender.”  No; it is rather a surrender that says, “You have loved me so much; I can not help but to joyfully give you all I have in return.  I give you my life and all my service until I die.”

 

2. By the decision of my will to offer myself as a living and holy sacrifice to God. After we have viewed the mercies of God, then we must make a decision (as Paul urges us to do in Romans 12:1) to give our bodies to Him, “as a living sacrifice,” to obey Him—not just for a moment or for a season, but for a lifetime.  As soon as we make that very important, lifetime decision He will aid us in what we have decided to do.  For it is a principle of sanctification that if I dedicate my life totally to God, then He will help me to obey Him.  For scripture says that if I present my self as a slave to righteousness (which is what surrender is), it will result in my sanctification (Rom. 6:19, 22).  And sanctification is God’s work of grace in us, which enables us to obey Him.

Here are three ways in which our commitment to surrender helps us in our continued obedience:

a. When we decide to surrender we find a holy desire to obey Him.  This desire comes from the heart of God as we continually renew our surrendered heart up to God.  Yes, as we renew our vows to Him in love He changes our nature and makes us partakers of the divine nature.  He takes out of us all reluctance to obey.

b. When we decide to surrender we are guided in our obedience. Duewel Says, “When you live in the sphere of God’s will, you can expect the Holy Spirit to unfold to you step by step the acts of obedience He desires from you and the prayers he desires to pray through you.”

c. When we decide to surrender we find new energy to obey.  Within the realm of our surrender there is energy, a motivation to obey.  It is a change that has taken place within us.  This new nature that we have propels us to new heights of obedience.  Since we have given ourselves totally to Him He gives Himself totally to us.  He is our strength!  Whatever He gives us a desire to do and whatever He directs us to do He gives us the power to do!

 

3. By renewing the mind.  The third way God helps us to surrender is by the renewing of our mind.  As verse two says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

So in review, the first way God helps us to surrender is through His many mercies when we view them; secondly, He helps us when we decide to offer ourselves to Him; now thirdly, He will help us as we renew our mind—because when we renew our mind, as verse two says, we will be transformed.

The last words of the verse, “good and acceptable and perfect,” are descriptive of a surrendered and obedient life—and also of God and His will.  Therefore, when we renew our mind by a consistent study and meditation of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit then does a work in our mind and heart by transforming our thinking and our acting.  Hence, He makes us more holy, and He gives us a better knowledge of His perfect will.  Consequently, we become well equipped and empowered to surrender ourselves to God unto obedience.

 

Posted in Obedience and Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

How To Be Obedient To God–3 Ways

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Picture from a favorite blog: Stories from Home

 

This post is another except from Joy of Prayer.  The following are three things that we should do if we want to obey God:

1. Find out what His commands are, what pleases Him, and what His will is. To discover these things we have to first search the scriptures.  The vast majority of the will of God has already been revealed there showing us clearly what to do and what not to do.  Where there is no clear teaching on a subject, if we continue our study and meditation, we may discover scriptural principles that will aid us, even Old Testament stories that will provide for us excellent examples.  And all along the way, in our search for His will, lest we become weary in the work, God assures us that He will help us in finding it.  Philippians 2:13 says, “…it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

George Sweeting, in his book, How to Discover the will of God, reminds us that God has given us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).  He says, “God is not a celestial dictator who wants to order every movement of our lives…He wants us to use our own sanctified, God-given common sense.”  At times, he said, it is best to just go ahead and do the obvious thing instead of waiting and seeking Gods clear leading from scripture.  George quotes from A.W. Tozar: “Except for those things that are specifically commanded or forbidden in scripture, it is God’s will that we be free to exercise our own intelligent choice…the man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong choice—any choice will be the right one.”

Also, in our search for God’s will, we should be always mindful that love to God and our neighbor is the ultimate command.  As Jesus said in Matthew 22:40, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” 

Therefore, when we are pondering what His will is for us, we should consider that it will always be to love Him and others.  His will will always include others—to esteem others better than ourselves; and to look out for the interests of others more than our own (Phil. 2:3-4).

In fact, Jesus requires us to love others as He has loved us.  In John 15:12-13 Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  God’s will is clear to us in this passage.  In all we do in our life we must be involved with people—to the point of laying down our lives for them as Jesus did for us.

A second thing we should do is…

 

2.  Pray in the Spirit.  Spirit-filled prayer is a necessary preparation for obedience.  What I am talking about here is the Quiet Time prayer: the type of prayer that inclines the ear to listen to the Spirit (Jer. 7:24, 26).  It is the kind of prayer that depends on the Holy Spirit and that patiently waits on Him for guidance.

We may recognize Him as being gentle and loving yet strong and compelling.  Hence, when you quiet your heart before God in prayer and as you study His Word, His Spirit will gently and quietly urge you in a certain direction.  This urging is like an inward compelling, a gentle pulling, and a quiet whisper to do a certain thing or to go a certain way.  You will find that if you have made it a habit to study the Bible He will use those studied passages to direct you toward His will.

This type of prayer we are talking about is an abiding prayer, that is, prayer that helps us to live in union and communion with God.  By this prayer we endeavor to unite ourselves with Him just as a branch is united or connected to a vine.  And just as the vine gives of its life substance and the branch receives it, when we pray in the Spirit we commune with Him in such a way that He gives His life and power to us and we naturally and gladly receive it.

When your heart is prepared with this kind of prayer (when the spirit has softened your heart and made it more pliable), you will feel more compelled toward God, more in love with Him; therefore, you are made more willing and ready to obey Him.

A third thing that is absolutely necessary for obedience is your surrender to Him.

 

3.  Surrender your life to Him.  If you want to live a life of obedience to God you must come to Him with a right attitude—with a surrendered heart that is willing to do whatever He wants you to do.  Thus, when you surrender yourself to God you are presenting your body and your heart to Him to serve him.

And we serve Him not as slave-servants, but as friends.  For a friend is one who has a heart to obey and who is willing to obey supremely, that is, to give of his whole life.

In John 15:12-17 Jesus spoke to His disciples and challenged them with this kind of supreme obedience.  In verses 12-14 He said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”

So He was asking them to love Him and others supremely—to lay down their life for Him and for others, as He would soon do for them.  This is what He requires of us too.  It is supreme friendship (with obedience), of which total surrender is required.

Paul wrote about this type of surrender in Romans 12:1.  It is described as presenting, or offering our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.  Note that it is to be a living—not dead but living—sacrifice.  The term “sacrifice” indicates that our living service for Him will at times be painful.  That is because it is a life of self-denial, of taking up one’s cross.  This is the supreme love of laying down your life.  It is a life of suffering in the flesh for the glory of God and for the good of God’s kingdom (1 Pet. 4:1-2).

Wesley Duewel points out for us that the presenting of our bodies in Romans 12:1 is in the aorist tense in the Greek, which indicates that it is to be “a decisive, momentary act with a permanent result.” In other words, this kind of surrender is to be a decisive and willful commitment of ones whole life for a lifetime.

Yes, if our surrender is genuine it must be a commitment for life.  We can’t expect to learn how to obey God and to live a life of obedience if our surrender to Him is only part time, when we feel like it, or when it is convenient for us.  It must be a total surrender that commits the whole life to God.

Posted in Obedience and Prayer, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

This is good. In this story I don’t ussually think that much about the faith of Isaac. As a teenager I wonder if I would have had that same faith. This gives me a new respect for Isaac.

preacherwin's avatarThe Preacher's Study

“In this way they came to the place which God had told him and there Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. He bound Isaac, his son, and set him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.”

(Genesis 22:9-10)

 

It is at this point where the faith of Isaac comes to surface next to the faith of his father. There is no longer any doubt as to whether Isaac understands what is going on for he has likely seen his father make many such sacrifices of animals. Even still, Isaac allows his father to bind his hands and feet like one would bind an animal for the slaughter and then lay his bound body on the fire. There is also no question that if Isaac chose to resist, this teenager could…

View original post 286 more words

Posted in Reblogs | Leave a comment