PRAYER RELEASES THE RESOURCES OF HEAVEN
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14
Prayer is the key that release the resources of heaven. It is only when we pray that we tap into the immeasurable wealth of God. We not only pray to praise God and wage war against spiritual forces in heavenly places. We also pray to make our petitions know to God. We pray to ask from God.
All that God has is at our disposal if we could only ask in prayer. We will lack nothing if we can only learn how to ask. We ask the Father – we ask the Father in the name of Jesus. Douay-Rheims Translations says; “and whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, that I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son” The resources belongs to the Father and are accessed through Jesus. We use Jesus’ name to make our request known to God.
We pray to God in Jesus’ Name. This is the protocol as ordained by God. How often do we abort our prayers by taking Jesus out of the setting and talk to God like He does not exist? God has given Jesus the name that is above all names. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11. This Jesus is “a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” Hebrews 8:1. The duties of the high priest in the old covenant included among others; to bring to God the offerings of His people. Christ also as a High Priest offers to God our offerings of prayer and petitions. Do you see why we cannot pray any other way?
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Jesus made this promise while He was on earth and it is still standing. It is as real today as that day He pronounced it and will remain real and active until He comes back again. Jesus is actually saying; every time we have a need we should approach the Father in His name and ask. We hear the apostle later encouraging believers to do the same thing. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need’ Hebrews 4:16. How do we do that? By following the procedure as laid by God and announced by Jesus in our text of the day.
Ask according to God’s will
There are two conditions to this promise, however. One; we must ask according to God’s will. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15. We ask according to His will. Not according to our will but according to His will. God has a will for our lives and He reveals it to us through His word. Praying according to His will is therefore praying according to His word.
If we pray and ask according to His will we find audience with Him. He hears us if we pray that way. Although all that God has is ours; we can only have those that are asked according to His will and are good and profitable to us. We have our will and God have His will too. God’s will is above our will. So when we pray and ask anything from God, He will only give us if we ask according to His will.
God is a good God. He cannot give us things that will hurt or destroy us. He gives us only those things that make our lives better. Hear what Jesus said in Matthew 7:9-11; “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” God is interested in our welfare and it pleases Him when we progress. Jesus says He will make sure that our petitions are met “that the Father may be glorified in the Son” It makes God feel good when things go well for us. I think I can also say it makes Him smile when we receive what we have been praying for. Beloved, be rest assured that God does not want to hold anything back from us. He is delighted in giving us what we ask in prayer; if it is according to His will.
Every time we approach God according to His will, we are positioning ourselves to receive. On the other hand; it is a waste of time and energy to pray and ask from God contrary to His will. This is not how to tap into the resources of heaven.
Ask in faith
We said there are two conditions to this promise and we have dealt with the first one. The second condition is faith. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them” Mark 11:24. The way into the resources of God is through prayer. This is the prayer that turns the lock open - the prayer of faith. To pray in faith is to pray believing that whatever you ask for is granted already. It is like when you get home after a long day. You slot the key into the key hole and turn the key. You don’t have any slightest doubt that the key won’t turn the lock.
Praying in faith is praying with this kind of attitude. You see when you pray with this kind of faith; first you are confident that you have prayed according to God’s will. You believe you have put the right key into the key hole. Second you believe in God’s ability to provide what He promised. In the case of the key and the lock you believe in the ability of the lock to turn when you turn the key. Friend, it is the prayer of faith prayed according to the will of God that will turn the lock and release the resources of heaven into our bosom.
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