“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Joh 14:13 AV)
Herein
is a condition for answered prayer that I have never heard taught or
preached. It appears a condition for
answered prayer is that it ultimately brings glory to the Father. This makes total sense. Why would the LORD give us the request of our
heart if it accomplished just the opposite?
He wouldn’t. This truth runs
deeper than this though. Almost all of
our requests are asked in the pretext of what they mean to us. What we would like to see happen. What we wish the LORD would do. Rarely do we ask our petitions because it
would be in the LORD’s best interest to answer these requests in the manner in
which we desire. One has to wonder how a prayer life would sound that put God’s
glory first rather than our own wishes or anxieties. It is almost unfathomable.
As
we have written before, we do not struggle with the physical attributes of God. We know that He knows all things. We know that He can do all things. We know that His power and wisdom are without
limits. The problem we have is we do not
believe He will do what we ask of Him.
What we also fail to consider is why He may choose not to answer in a
way we wish He would. For instance,
almost always, when we have a loved one who is suffering from poor health, we
pray the LORD would heal such and individual.
We hope and pray it will turn out all right. Yet, the word of God clearly teaches that death
is the consequence of sin. Death passed
upon all men for all have sinned, says Paul in the fifth chapter of
Romans. This is a judgment of God. If He answers that prayer for perfect health every
time we ask it of Him, then is judgment is made of no effect.
Many
of our requests are made without considering what it might mean to the sovereign
plan of God or the perception mankind has of Him. Little consideration is given to His moral
attributes and what an answer might do to the veracity of such a request. How does it effect the plan of God? How does the answer further the glory of God? Will mankind get the wrong idea of who and
what God is if He grants me the desire of my heart? Will the LORD and His plan of salvation be
furthered or hindered if my request were granted? How will it effect my walk with God and the effectiveness
of my life for His purposes? These
questions should be entertained as we petition the LORD.
Just 3 chapters later, Christ leads by example by praying for this very thing:
ReplyDeleteJoh 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
He prays for Himself here, but of all the things He could have asked for, His request is for the ability to glorify His Father. His ultimate desire here is the glory of God. In fact, the theme of His prayer in chapter 17 (though He prays for Himself, His disciples, and believers) is His obedience to the Father in showing the world the glory of God:
Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth:
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me;
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:
Joh 17:14 I have given them thy word;
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world...
Joh 17:21 ...that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:23 ...and that the world may know that thou hast sent me...
Joh 17:25 ...and these have known that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it:
If only we prayed as Christ did...