Written by: John Sernaque
Dear Reader.
Books / Pr - Prayer (2002) / Chapter 7—Prayer And Obedience
Prayer Does Not Take the Place of Obedience—There are conditions to the fulfillment of God’s promises, and prayer can never take the place of duty. “If ye love Me,” Christ says, “Keep My commandments.”“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” John 14:15, 21. Those who bring their petitions to God, claiming His promise while they do not comply with the conditions, insult Jehovah. They bring the name of Christ as their authority for the fulfillment of the promise, but they do not those things that would show faith in Christ and love for Him. {Pr 67.2}
Many are forfeiting the condition of acceptance with the Father. We need to examine closely the deed of trust wherewith we approach God. If we are disobedient, we bring to the Lord a note to be cashed when we have not fulfilled the conditions that would make it payable to us. We present to God His promises, and ask Him to fulfill them, when by so doing He would dishonor His own name. {Pr 68.1}
The promise is “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7. And John declares: “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” 1 John 2:3-5.—(Christ’s Object Lessons, 143, 144.) {Pr 68.2}
A very dangerous teaching promulgated from pulpits throughout the world is that we are not under the law but under grace. God would not send His Son on such an expensive errand to abolish the law. Christ Jesus gave up divinity to save us from our sins, not in our sins. Christ says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Even a child comprehends such a straightforward statement. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. God’s promises are conditional, but His love is not. However, if you go to God in prayer while holding on to known sins, your words will fall to the ground and your prayers will go unheard. The promise is “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
We come humbly before You into Your presence with contrite spirits. We have made many mistakes in our lives and have sinned against You. You are omniscient and omnipresent, so there is nothing that we can hide from You. We are sorry and humbly repent of our sins and pray for Your forgiveness. We pray for Your wisdom and understanding to learn Your ways and keep from making mistakes and make the right choices. We pray to abide in You that Your word
may abide in us. We pray to receive Your character so that when others see us they will see You. We pray for Your strength, that we may be a source of strength and example to others. We love You with all our hearts, minds, and souls and are thankful for Your guiding law. We pray for the courage to uphold all of Your Ten Commandments. We thank You for the gift of Your law that stand as the pillars to all nations. We pray that all humanity would take heed to Your commandments and not follow the traditions and doctrines of man. We pray for all peoples to give up their lives of sin, confess and repent, so they can be saved for Your heavenly kingdom. Heal us dear Lord, and we shall be healed, save us and we shall be saved, for Thou art our praise. We pray that we honor and glorify Your name in obedience to all Your law and not make You a liar. We pray for Your truth that makes us free from sin. Sin is what separates us from You and it is our prayer that nothing comes between us, and what You have joined together, let not man put asunder. We pray to do what is right, favorable, and well pleasing in Your sight. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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