"…so whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you." - John 15:16
Have unanswered prayers left you feeling unloved or forgotten? What are the things that occupy most (if not all) of your prayer? What is that one prayer request that you bring to the Lord most often? Perhaps it's about a relationship (or it's the request for a relationship). Maybe it's about the future. Maybe it's associated with the past, a past hurt or struggle. Maybe it's just a prayer to get through the present, which seems to be dragging on. Only you and God know what it is…that deep, dark longing within your heart that occupies all of your time and energy. Do you feel like God has answered that prayer?
Probably not because if you felt like He answered it already, you most likely wouldn't still be praying about it with such fervency or redundancy. The reality is that there are many prayers we offer that we often feel go unanswered. That "lack of response" is usually seen as God punishing us, or not being present to us or, simply, not caring. But before we go there, let me ask you one more question. Does your prayer request lead you closer to Christ and, ultimately, to Heaven?
If so, give God time, He might have an alternate way of getting you there. If not, ask yourself another question, "Do you really expect God (who wants to have you close to Him and, eventually, home in Heaven with Him) to answer a prayer that would lead you away from Him?"
I used to get annoyed because I would ask God for things in prayer and I'd always invoke Jesus' name in the prayer, but nada. I did what this verse said. I said Jesus' name and…still, God didn't answer me. Then I learned what "asking in Jesus' name" really meant. The Name of Jesus is sacred, because it is the very name and essence of God. How sacred? Read Philippians 2:10 and Exodus 3:14.
The Name of God (Jesus) is holy. To invoke the name of Christ means that you are asking God for something as Jesus did, Himself. It's more than "using someone else's name" when trying to get a discount or trying to get into a private party. You are putting on Christ, taking on His very essence, which means that you abandon your wants to the will of God that requires total humility and trust.
Jesus lived a life that put God's will ahead of his own in all things. At no point do we see this more clearly or beautifully than in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).
To ask God for something in Jesus' name means, very simply, to want God's will to be done more than you want your wishes to be granted. It means trusting that if what you or I "want" is not what will ultimately lead us closer to God or be best for our soul, that God precisely because He loves us won't answer that prayer…and that's a good thing.
Tonight, rather than rattling through a long list of intentions that God already knows (and probably expects) from you. How about something different? How about just uttering, proclaiming and praising the name above all other names, Jesus. Just repeat His name over and over again. Let that be your prayer this night. In fact, let that be your prayer anytime, trusting that God knows the longings of your heart and will act in accordance with His will and His hopes and design for you.
That is the easiest way to insure that your prayers are always answered – make your prayers about what God wants for you, not what you want from Him. And if it's been a while since you prayed, that's okay, just start…"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…"
Probably not because if you felt like He answered it already, you most likely wouldn't still be praying about it with such fervency or redundancy. The reality is that there are many prayers we offer that we often feel go unanswered. That "lack of response" is usually seen as God punishing us, or not being present to us or, simply, not caring. But before we go there, let me ask you one more question. Does your prayer request lead you closer to Christ and, ultimately, to Heaven?
If so, give God time, He might have an alternate way of getting you there. If not, ask yourself another question, "Do you really expect God (who wants to have you close to Him and, eventually, home in Heaven with Him) to answer a prayer that would lead you away from Him?"
I used to get annoyed because I would ask God for things in prayer and I'd always invoke Jesus' name in the prayer, but nada. I did what this verse said. I said Jesus' name and…still, God didn't answer me. Then I learned what "asking in Jesus' name" really meant. The Name of Jesus is sacred, because it is the very name and essence of God. How sacred? Read Philippians 2:10 and Exodus 3:14.
The Name of God (Jesus) is holy. To invoke the name of Christ means that you are asking God for something as Jesus did, Himself. It's more than "using someone else's name" when trying to get a discount or trying to get into a private party. You are putting on Christ, taking on His very essence, which means that you abandon your wants to the will of God that requires total humility and trust.
Jesus lived a life that put God's will ahead of his own in all things. At no point do we see this more clearly or beautifully than in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).
To ask God for something in Jesus' name means, very simply, to want God's will to be done more than you want your wishes to be granted. It means trusting that if what you or I "want" is not what will ultimately lead us closer to God or be best for our soul, that God precisely because He loves us won't answer that prayer…and that's a good thing.
Tonight, rather than rattling through a long list of intentions that God already knows (and probably expects) from you. How about something different? How about just uttering, proclaiming and praising the name above all other names, Jesus. Just repeat His name over and over again. Let that be your prayer this night. In fact, let that be your prayer anytime, trusting that God knows the longings of your heart and will act in accordance with His will and His hopes and design for you.
That is the easiest way to insure that your prayers are always answered – make your prayers about what God wants for you, not what you want from Him. And if it's been a while since you prayed, that's okay, just start…"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…"
Unanswered prayers left you feeling forgotten? by Mark Hart at lifeteen.com
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