Let me first ask you a question and then answer the question for you. What is a successful prayer life?
The successful prayer life is one of self-denial. It is a recognition of the Lordship of Christ, a giving up of things that are not wrong in themselves, but that hinder and take up our time. A prayer life doesn’t mean hours on end spent in actual prayer on our knees, but hours of study and meditation in the word until our life becomes literally absorbed in the word and it becomes a very part of our DNA. One could spend hours in literal prayer fruitlessly if the heart is not prepared beforehand. The preparation of the heart comes from meditation in the word, on what we are in Christ, on what he is to us, and on what his Holy Spirit can mean to a life that becomes God minded inside. Prayer is fellowship with the Father, just as he dwelt in Jesus. The cultivation of a habit of communion. It is learning to take advantage of our rights in Christ. It is assuming the responsibility that those rights give us. To have prayer privilege we must take prayer responsibility.
My thought today is: What God in Christ is to us. My text is from: 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 which tells us, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
We know what he was to others but what is he to us? We know what he was to Israel under Moses that we read about in the four books of the law. We know what he was to Israel during all the years of their walking under the covenant. There were no enemies that could stand before them. We know that under David, Israel conquered the entire inhabited world at that time, and in all their wars never was there a soldier slain unless Israel had broken the covenant. If he was all that to Israel and they were but servants, what could he be to us today, seeing that we are called his sons and daughters.
Isaiah 48:13 says, “Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.” Notice that expression. “When I call them, they stand up together.” God’s voice controls the universe. Remember that when the Man of Galilee spoke to the sea amid the storm it became calm and quiet in a moment. Every law of nature was obedient to that man called Jesus. We stand in the presence of creative faith, and God’s creative ability daily. You can hear him say, “When I call, they come into being.” Things that were not, have now become.
Romans 4:17 speaking of Abraham, Paul said, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Things that are not, become tangible through faith. It thrills the heart when we realize that our omnipotent God of love really is and does exist. He also calls into being things that do not exist. This is domination faith, which is a creative and authoritative faith.
Matthew 14:13-21 gives us the story of Jesus feeding the multitude, “When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, this is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, they need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.”
In this story we are given two facts. Firstly, Jesus ruled over the law of supply and demand by ruling the very laws of nature. Secondly, the twelve baskets full that they collected showed that he not only met their need but went over and above. It was beyond all that they could ask or think. This is the anointed Christ that we serve. How proud we should be of him, and how we should brag about him before men. He is our Lord and savior. If we had a son, father, or other relative that could do such miracles, we would brag about them wouldn’t we? We are partakers of his nature. Do you remember when he said, “I am the vine, and you are the branches?” It is utterly wonderful how we can be one with him and we should rejoice in the fact that we have such oneness.
John 5:25-29 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” This is our master, and this is our Lord. That is dominating, creative, and authoritative faith.
Romans 4:19-21tells us, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Abraham was a blood covenant friend of Jehovah. That blood covenant was sealed with the blood of an animal and then the blood of Abraham was mingled. Our covenant is sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ. Deity and humanity united in the incarnation. How much better is the blood of Jesus Christ than the blood of bulls and goats. How much better is the life of the son of God than the life of a mere man like Abraham. We are bound to him by an indissoluble covenant. He is bound to us as Jehovah, just as he was bound to Abraham in that covenant.
If Abraham, a friend of God, could accept an angel’s testimony and act upon it, what can we as sons of God do? Do you know what happened to Abraham? His youth was renewed. Sarah’s youth and beauty were renewed so that a king fell in love with her not knowing that she was Abraham’s wife and wished to marry her. She was passed ninety years of age; in the following year she gave birth to Isaac. That is the same God with whom you and I are dealing with, he is our father. If Abraham could accept the testimony of an angel, can’t we accept the testimony of the new covenant? We have become the very sons and daughters of God Almighty. By a new creation, we are partakers of his very nature. We have become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are now the next of kin to the son of God. How this knowledge thrills the heart and rejuvenates us in our body, soul, mind and spirit!
Jesus has given us the power of attorney to use his name. When the Master was ready to leave the earth, he said in John 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” We have never yet completed the mission and taught everyone to observe or to do all that he has commanded us to. Didn’t he command them to love one another, even as he loved them? Didn’t he command them to bear one another’s burdens as he bore theirs. Did he not command them to lay hands on the sick and to cast out demons in his name? Can you see what it meant when he said, “Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the age?” If we would use that name with the authority invested in it, we could break the power of Satan over our loved ones; we could heal the sick and we could raise the dead.
Instead of there being just one George Mueller caring for thousands of little orphans, by faith there would be thousands of men and women whose prayers would feed and clothe the needy and the hungry. He was a Christian evangelist born in 1805 in Bristol, England, who was the director of the Ashley Down Orphanage. We have never taken the word seriously enough. We have never acted as though it were true as we really should have. If someone wrote you a letter and told you that they had deposited $5000 into your account in the bank to take care of your debts, and if you knew that they were financially able to do it, you would not hesitate a moment to believe them. You could hardly wait to get to the bank. You would hand the letter to the cashier with great confidence. You know the person who wrote the letter; you know the promise they made to you; you know the money is there waiting for you. Is the word of your father, the word of the master, to be depended upon any less than the word of a friend? A spectacular faith can grow out of a prayer life like this. A trust and a confidence in God’s word. You can see what he is to us and what we are to him by studying his word. Nothing is impossible for God and all this ability has been given to us. What an opportunity to bless and help us, and others through our prayers. Spiritually we could be a George Mueller, making a difference in our world.
Let us consider the word of God for a few moments. When the angel visited Mary to tell her the glad tidings of the Father’s will was for her to be the mother of the Incarnate One, she made a remarkable statement. Luke 1:38, “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” How this statement shows full surrender to the Master and grips the heart. What sublime confidence that Jewish maid had in the word of that angel when she said this. Previously she had spoken, “How can it be, I am not a married woman.” The Angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come unto thee, and the power of the most high shall over shadow thee; wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the son of God.” Then the angel said these words, “For no word from God shall be void of power. With God nothing shall be impossible.” This is creative ability and an authoritative faith. This is God’s word.
How it thrills our hearts when we realize that God and his word are one. Mary recognized that God and his word were one. God’s word is God’s faith expressed. It is God’s confession about himself. The word is invested with God’s authority and God’s ability. I recall the scripture that says by the word of God were the heavens made. Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” John 1:1-5, 14 tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” That is faith’s creative ability and authority, through words.
Practically all of Jesus miracles were performed using words. He made this significant statement, “The words that I speak unto you are not mine but the Father’s who has sent me.” John 12:49 says, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” Jesus was not using the words of a mortal man of flesh as we are, but the words of the eternal spirit and now those words have been handed down to us. They were creative words, they were healing words, they were demon-dominating words, and they were words filled with faith, creativity, and authority. I have been thrilled lately in my studies, in noticing the faith of Jesus. He believed that he could redeem men if he became sin and suffered in their stead. He believed that if he conquered Satan, that men would accept that victory as their own. He believed that if he arose from the dead, that men would believe that he was the very son of God. He believed in the merits of his finished work, that men would be able to stand in his presence without condemnation. He believed that he could take these old broken, wrecked human beings and recreate them, and make them the very sons and daughters of God. He believed that he could take this wreck of a human such as I, that had been dominated by sickness and sin through the ages and made him a new creation who could dominate the devil and circumstances and made him master where he had served as a slave before. Jesus believed in the calling that God had on his life and thus was able to fulfill it, through faith, creativity, and the authority of God.
Jesus believed in himself, in what he had to do, and in what he accomplished. We believe now that if men would respond to Him and would accept Him, they will receive eternal life through the work he did on Calvary. We believe that men can receive the very nature of God, through the resurrection power. We believe that any man, woman, boy, or girl who will repent and be baptized in water taking on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, will be filled with the Holy Ghost and that they will become the worthy sons and daughters of the Almighty God. We know the word cannot lie, because Jesus was the word made flesh, and it is a very part of his nature. Therefore, we act upon the word of God that we have heard. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 55:1, “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
What a foundation this is for our life, our walk with the Lord, and our prayer life. We have God’s word to back us up and no word from God can fail. We can have real assurance in our prayer, that when we pray in the authority of Jesus name, it is as though he has uttered the prayer himself. Our prayers will always be answered when we pray in accordance with his word. The life Jesus lived following the calling of God, using the authority he was given by God, his obedience to God, and the faith, creativity, and authority he accessed in God that he showed in his life, were examples to us of what God in Christ really is and what it means to us today. We must first seek to understand who God was in Christ, then embrace it wholeheartedly as our own, and then enjoy this new found life we can have walking with God just as the man Christ Jesus did!