One-minute read.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:12-13
Jesus wants the disciples to do even greater work than He accomplished with the help of the Holy Spirit. After Christ ascended, the Spirit came upon the disciples, and Peter’s first sermon at Pentecost had more converts than during Jesus’s entire career. Through the disciples, God multiplied Jesus’s ministry after His departure. Prayer gives power to God’s children when they align their hearts with His and pray in Jesus’s name.
The Lord’s not a genie in the sky that gives us whatever we want. Our prayers must become consistent with God’s character and purpose. We know what Jesus desires us to do with our lives: spread the Gospel’s good news to the ends of the Earth and love God and others with all we have. If our prayers align with Christ’s desires, God will answer accordingly. But selfish prayers that serve only us won’t receive the same response.
Following Jesus means His desires become ours. Not wanting any to perish, the Lord calls us to share what we know and help people find God’s grace and mercy, given freely to all. When we accomplish our task, the Lord’s kingdom grows, and people discover the peace that surpasses all understanding and comes only through Christ. We have a purpose and mission; fulfilling our divine tasks requires prayer that aligns our hearts with the Lord’s and helps us do our job well.
Application:
Godly ability comes through prayer.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for giving us a mission and purpose and the means to fulfill it. Please align our hearts with Yours, and what we ask in Your name, let us receive it as we strive to love You and others well. Please help us continue to spread the good news of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.
IJNIP. Amen
