Aug 26, 2022 Your Weekend Prayers – Words of Grace – August 28, 2022
Praying with each other is one of the cherished activities of congregational life.
But here’s a situation that we can’t seem to correct. We spend more time talking to each other about our “prayer requests” than we do praying. Don’t get me wrong. There is great benefit in talking and sharing our burdens with others. But when something is called a “prayer gathering,” let’s get to the praying.
That same urge to “get on with it” is in me now as I am writing about Jesus’ words on prayer in John 16. As I write this Words of Grace, I wonder if it is best for me to add more words to those already spoken by Jesus, or just call us to pray.
I am opting for the latter. This weekend, pray.
Maybe a few more words will be helpful. Take some time to read John 16, particularly verses 16-28. As you do, you will encounter something that will likely be challenging to understand, and you might wonder if it’s true. Jesus said, “whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”
I encourage you to do two things with this bold promise of Jesus.
First, pray about what it means. Of all the things we can give our time to this weekend, this is at the top of the priority list. The Son of God said God the Father will give us whatever we ask in his name. Unless Jesus is joking or intentionally misleading us, this means something. Don’t we want to know? Let’s read and pray about what this means.
Second, pray. If Jesus’s words mean something and are true, then we are being called to do something. Ask.
You may be afraid to ask for fear of being disappointed or embarrassed for having believed something so outrageous. You may hesitate to be bold in prayer because you don’t think you really understand what Jesus is saying.
This may help you. Read John 14-16 and what Jesus said about life on earth without him, with his Spirit, and with each other as the church in the world. Then, ask for things that come directly from his words. As Jesus’s words abide in you, and you abide in him, ask for the desires that are stirred in you.
When we gather as Grace Community Church on Sunday, we are going to ask. I hope you will be with us.
-Scott