Prayer – A Partnership with Christ
>>> Read John14:12-14; 16:23-27 <<<
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7
We have looked briefly at Abraham as an intercessor; however, it would be a mistake to leave the topic of prayer on an 'introductory note.' For that reason, we will jump ahead to the Gospels in order to explore one of the most amazing revelations in the whole of Scripture. First, we'll look at a bit of very general historical context.
Although God revealed Himself to many people in the Old Testament, there are relatively few who were set apart for personal, ongoing communion with God. Think of Israel, the chosen nation, where priests and prophets had access to God while the rest of the people remained at a distance (also see Ps 103:7). When the Lord Jesus arrived on the scene, presenting Himself as the Son of God, there was great confusion among the Jews – even the disciples were blind to the fact that they were in the presence of God. Still, at one point His personal devotion to prayer caused them to say, "Teach us to pray."
The disciples had heard Jesus pray to His Father – they weren't asking Him to teach them how to pray (a method of prayer), they wanted to understand His relationship of prayer with God. His teaching on the so-called Lord's prayer was their first introduction to relating to God as Father – "…pray then in this way 'Our Father …'" – it was something they wouldn't truly understand until the indwelling Holy Spirit brought clear revelation. However, just before He went to the cross, the Lord introduced them to yet another amazing truth, which is revealed in John 14-16. He told them about a new ground of prayer – a wholly new access to God that would be possible when He (Christ) was glorified.
Jesus was revealing a new relationship between the Persons of the Godhead and believers. There would be new privileges and new responsibilities; new spiritual resources would be available to them – the limitless resources of the infinite Father! A new partnership was to be forged because He was going to the Father. In this new partnership, Spirit-filled believers would become "fellow workers" (1Cor. 1:9; 3:9) and partners in service. The new ground is characterized in "If you ask … I will do…" (Jn 14). The actual work is reserved for Christ, yet He has assigned the service of prayer to the believer who is His partner. He states that there will be greater works because we join with Him in nearness to the Father. We can pray in the name of Christ because 1) we are counted righteous, since we are in Christ (Rom. 3:22; 2Cor. 5:21) and 2) we are accepted in the Beloved, which means we are loved by the Father as He loves His own Son (Eph.1:6, Jn 17:3).
Therefore, the prayer is heard by the Father even as He hears the voice of His own Son. The key to praying in Christ's name is revealed in the verse quoted above (Jn 15:7) – we must abide in Christ as the branch abides in the vine. This assumes that the believer acknowledges his own weakness in prayer. That is, he acknowledges that even as he must depend upon the Holy Spirit for every other aspect of Christian life, he needs to depend upon the Spirit in knowing what to ask in prayer. Spiritual fruit is produced only as we depend upon Him and respond to Him in obedience. Our dependence expresses confidence in Him, and our obedience is the result of habitually living in nearness to Him (abiding).
Abiding in Christ involves another important element, which is expressed in the words "If My words abide in you…" You must be informed about His will and you must comprehend it – this requires time spent in His Word as you depend upon the Spirit for understanding. It is a high calling! One in which the Spirit of the Living God shares Himself with us as we share ourselves with Him. The purpose of our prayer is to glorify God through our relationship with His Son.
In prayer, human and divine wills are being combined for the purpose of bringing about the precise divine purpose through the free choice of men. The human will must be in agreement with the divine will. True prayer is not merely human but sustained by, and carried on by, the Divine Spirit. This is prayer in the name of Christ. Christ's desire in collaborating with us is to glorify His Father – in prayer we seek to have our desires correspond with His. We are children of God, adopted as sons, translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love, members of the household of God, and partners with Christ in service and suffering. God has included prayer as an essential part of our relationship with Him and He uses it in the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ. Lewis Sperry Chafer
To pray in the name of Christ means that I understand my position as a dependent being, that I desire to align my will with the will of the Father, and that I recognize my need for the enabling power of the Holy Spirit even in prayer.
Until now, you have asked for nothing in My Name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.
LJ 10/09
