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Can we have whatever we ask in prayer?
Message #1 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series "Prayer Promises"
There are at least ten prayer promises that say we can have whatever we ask in prayer. Eight were given by Jesus Himself [Matthew 18:19; Mark 11:22-25; John 14:13,14; 15:7,16; 16:23,24,26], two by the apostle John [1 John 3:21-22; 5:14-15].The key question is: to whom were the promises given? Jesus was giving final instructions to His committed disciples, to the men with whom He would leave the keys of His kingdom. These were not promises for casual followers, but for those who understood they were to deny self, take up their cross and follow Him [Matthew 16:24] as the Christ [Matthew 16:16]. In 1 John, the promises are addressed to believers the apostle is encouraging to live in spiritual intimacy, koinonia fellowship with the Lord Jesus--serious disciples.These remarkable open-ended promises are meant to be taken literally--Jesus’ committed disciples can have whatever we ask in prayer, but each promise must be considered in the light of the others, in the context of the passage in which it appears, and in the broader context of the entire Word of God. There are conditions which must be met before we can be given whatever we ask. We’re not only told the conditions to be met, but we who are Christ’s own have been given the Holy Spirit Who will enable us to recognize and meet every condition. Our Lord wants us to become those whose fervent prayers avail much [James 5:16], those who do not ask amiss [James 4:3].
Pray with me now -- Lord, help us to live in such a way that we can have whatever we ask in prayer, in Jesus’ name, amen.
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