Appointed To Bear Fruit: A 90 Day JourneySample

Praying for Greater Works

What have you prayed for today? Was it something for yourself or your family? Certainly, we should pray for those things. In Jesus’ teaching on prayer, we are told to pray for our daily bread (Matt. 6:9-13). In addition to that, Jesus wants us to pray for something even more important. He wants us to pray that God’s name would be glorified throughout the world. Our first priority in prayer is to glorify God, because there are so many places where God’s name is not honored. In fact, today many continue to defame His name in their religious practices or in the media. If we have experienced God’s love in our lives because we have found forgiveness of sins in Christ, it should be our desire for other sinners to find that love as well. God’s love should change the content of our prayers. 

Jesus tells us that we will do greater works. In order to do these greater works, however, we need a power that is greater than what we have in ourselves. After commissioning us to do greater works, Jesus immediately gives all believers the resources to do those works. He doesn’t want us to serve Him with frustration and weariness. When Jesus went to the Father, it was so the Holy Spirit would come. It is the Holy Spirit and His power that will perform these greater works through us. He will draw men and women to Himself through the gospel that we proclaim. Our words are nothing unless they are accompanied by the Spirit’s to change people’s hard hearts, so that they will receive salvation through Christ. 

When we pray that the Father will be glorified through Jesus, we are unleashing the Holy Spirit’s power through our testimony. Everything we need to do these greater works has already been provided and is accessed through prayer. This is exactly what Jesus promised us when He said, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do.” He put no conditions on this request. However, when we pray for ourselves, God places conditions on those prayers. Jesus teaches in John 15:7 that, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Answered prayers are always a result of being in line with God’s will. The Apostle John echoes this when he writes, “If we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (I John 5:14-15). But when we pray that our greater works will point to Christ, there are no conditions for answering those prayers. God will respond for the sake of His own glory. 

Prayer is the key to unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit through our testimony. And God is most glorified when sinners repent. Even the angels of heaven shout for joy; so pray that the Father will be gloried in the Son. Pray that God will use your life to testify boldly on His behalf. Spend some time today asking God to draw your family, friends, and neighbors to faith in Christ. It is God’s desire that all should believe (I Tim. 2:3-4). And, God is drawing many to Himself. As you share the gospel with the lost, God’s Spirit will work in their hearts to bring them to faith in Christ. 

Application:  What will you pray for today?