“Bringing Glory to the Father”
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
John 15:7-8
One of the exciting things about this journey we are on is that God is on this journey with us. No matter how devoted we are and determined to do more for Him or to believe Him for greater things, He wants us to do more and produce a greater amount of fruit. He wants to answer our prayers His name can be glorified. That truth should be the central focus in our living and our prayer. We should and live and pray in such a way that the Father is glorified.
All of this starts for us today by abiding in the presence of Christ. Just before I started writing this today I was having my time with the Lord. In the beginning, my mind was very distracted because I wanted to get busy working on this project again. As I read and mused over these verses I realized how foolish it would be for me to write anything about prayer if I was not willing to abide or linger in God’s presence for as long as He wanted. I simply paused and asked Him if there was anything He wanted to say to me. Again it was difficult in the beginning because my mind was so very distracted. I intentionally sat back in my chair and waited. I don’t know for how long, but I waited until I could listen to what He had to say to me. His message for me was clear and challenging.
It is difficult to abide or to remain in God’s presence when we are rushing through our times with Him so we can get off to work or school or hurry and get to bed. Abiding means we are slow to depart and we stay with God in a sense of expectation. Today you have set aside this time to meet with Him in your secret place. You have the choice of going through the ritual of meeting with Him or you can determine that you will abide in His presence for as long as He desires.
In like fashion we are also to abide or remain as God’s word abides in us. This is critically important. Right now your circumstances are communicating something to you. If you have not sat before the Lord and lingered in His presence and heard clearly from Him, then you will be easily defeated by the taunts and jeers of the enemy. Faith is a fragile thing and is only strengthened by abiding in God and His word abiding in us.
So let me ask you, what is the word from the Lord for you today? What word does He want to abide in your heart so you will not fall into despair? You must be willing to dwell in His presence to get that word and when you receive it, to cling to it with you all your might as you continue ask the Lord for miraculous intervention.
Abiding in Him and His word abiding in us is absolutely critical if we ever hope to stand in confidence on the last part of verse 7, “…ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you.” There are two conditions we must meet; to abide in Christ and His word to abide in us. When those conditions are met, look at the far-reaching implications of this promise - we can ask for whatever is in our hearts, whatever we wish, and we can expect that God will give what we have asked for. No tricks. No gimmicks. The only condition is that as we abide in Him and His word abides in us, our wishes are going to be conformed to His wishes for us.
While sitting before the Lord this morning the Lord clarified what He wants me to ask Him for. There are four specific things that I am to ask God for. If He is the one to initiate what I am praying for then I have confidence that He will bless me with what I ask to do. It is imperative that you allow Him to shape the focus of your prayers. I know for sure that each of the four specific things I am to trust God for will bring glory to Him.
That should be the focus in these days. We should want to pray in ways that bring greater honor and greater glory to the Father. He desires us to bear abundant fruit so that people will see the fruit of our lives and immediately look to Him to honor His work in and through us.
One of the things I am compelled to pray about is my writing ministry. The Lord has challenged me on multiple occasions to pray that my books would be distributed all over the world. Just last night I was in a meeting after church where we stopped and asked the Lord to promote this book and sell it all over the world. I have asked the Lord to take my other books as well as this one and to put them in the hands of people in every state in this country and to spread them around the globe. God gets the glory when people hear the story of how the Lord inspired this book, enabled me to write it, published it, and then sent it around the world to be used as a tool on His behalf.
It is all about God and the glory of His name. As you continue to dwell in the presence of the Lord He will change the focus of your praying. Your motivations will be realigned according to His purposes and His fame throughout the earth. There is nothing more I want to do in my life than to promote the glory of God through my living and praying. What is the huge, impossible thing is God asking you to believe Him for? Listen as you abide and soak in the scriptures and then pray with bold confidence that God can bring it to pass.
Steps to Trust and Obey:
1. You are challenged to abide in Christ today. Linger with Him and listen to Him.
2. What is God saying to you today as His word abides in you?
3. Are there some steps of obedience He is inspiring you to take? If so, what are they and how will you respond?
4. What abundant fruit is the Lord calling to you to ask for? How will that abundant fruit bring glory to the Father?
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