How is it that glory of God,our prayers and our abiding in the Word are bound together?

In John ch. 14:13-14 Jesus says “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

The “whatever” only makes sense when we know we are asking things that we know (from the Scripture) will glorify the Father. Praying for God’s glory to be manifested in the way He answers our prayers, protects us from praying for selfish gain (James warns us about this kind of prayers in James 4:3) or praying as if God were a vending machine.

In our prayers, as in all the rest of our life, our aim is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Let’s look at other verses in the same gospel of John to see how the glory of God, our prayers and abiding in the Word are connected: In John 15 -all of it is gold- verse 17 we read,

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

When the Words of God abide in us, we can ask “whatever we wish” and receive it. How is that possible? If the Word of God abides in us the Holy Spirit will help us pray with an earnest desire to bring glory to the Father with our petitions, and to bear much fruit in the answers He gives to our prayers. Being in the Word of the Lord will not let us be idle neither in our payer life or our daily work.

The same “whatever “ appears again in Ch. 16:23-24

“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

When we pray seeking to glorify God’s name, to make His name known, to exalt His glory, our joy will be complete -because our greatest joy is to see the name of the Lord exalted among our Christian brothers and sisters, and made known among those who do not yet believe in Him. There is no greater joy for the Christian than to see God’s name being glorified in all circumstances and places.

Friends, we can only learn how to pray according to the will of God when we start praying according to His Word, which means that we first must take the Book of God and read it! When we read it and read it, and read it, we will soon find ourselves meditating on it and maybe even memorizing some passages. And soon we will notice that His Word will be taking residence in us and we will be praying more and more with the desire to make the glorious name of the Lord known among our family, our neighbors, and in all the nations. And as the Word of God abides in us, we will be speaking His Words to our children, our friends, our neighbors, our vocabulary will be saturated with gospel truths. Our joy will increase and our strength to face trials will be renewed, because we will have the certainty that God will glorify His name and His Word in whatever way He pleases to answer our prayers. Our hope will be unshakable and our prayers will abound with thanksgiving and praise.

Under His sun and by His grace,

Becky Pliego