“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” — John 16:24
Let Him Serve Us
“There is a direct correlation between not knowing Jesus well and not asking much of Him.” — John Piper
I believe we expect too little of God. We think we know Jesus personally, yet we don’t talk to Him.
It is a relationship after all. Prayer is how you communicate with the Creator of the universe, and He wants us to seek after Him. He wants that because He will be glorified and that is how our joy is made full!
In 1857, a church in New York City started a weekly prayer meeting to try to reach more people. Jeremiah Lanphier started by handing out invitations to a couple people for this gathering. The first meeting saw six people show up, the next saw 40, and it continued to grow. The meeting was open to all peoples and professions. Eventually, it became so large that the meeting had to be held every day. It turned into one of the largest revivals in the history of New York City — nearly a million converts in two years. Yet, we still don’t pray.
During this season, we see Jesus made a decision for us. He came to save all of us. He came to serve and not be served (Mark 10:45).
Prayer is the only way to let Jesus in. He wants us to depend on Him — completely. We can do nothing outside of His guidance. Total reliance on Him gives Jesus the glory and us the joy He designed us for.
“Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence.” — S. Joseph Kidder
We will never know what Jesus is capable of without talking to Him. We will never know what prayer can accomplish if we do not do it. We act as if the truth spoken in the Bible on prayer is old news. I’m here to tell you it is not. We are often too afraid to talk to God. Why? Because it makes us uncomfortable.
Let’s celebrate Jesus by communicating with Him through prayer and seeing what He will provide.
— Reid Carper
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