“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing ” (John 15:5).
The heart of prayer is knowing God. Prayer is the only way to communion with God. His passion and values can come no other way.
I once struggled with guilt over my prayerlessness. I knew that I needed to pray, but it was hard to find time. I’d rush in to church Sunday morning, pray a quick prayer and ask forgiveness for not praying more; and then promise God that I would pray more. Next Sunday the same thing. But there came a time when I had a fresh encounter with Jesus. At about the same time I attended the “Change the World School of Prayer.” A new power and freedom came into my ministry, and a new desire to pray.
After six months, I began to settle back into the old rut. The desire and enthusiasm were gone. I read books, preached on prayer, and attended the prayer seminar again. Nothing happened. Then I sought Jesus and everything changed. I had sought prayer and duty and missed Jesus. It was then that I realized that God does not give us impersonal things like prayer, power, victory, or service. He gives us a relationship with Jesus. Instead of seeking a prayer life, seek Jesus. The prayer life comes out of the relationship. ” Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is God come in the flesh. As you read the Gospels and talk to the Lord in prayer, He know about your temptations, struggles and problems. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3). Prayer is the Answer to your LIFE.
As we Pray together, let me quote Graham Kendrick’s song “Knowing You.”
All I once held dear, built my life upon,
all this world reveres and wars to own,
all I once thought gain I have counted loss,
spent and worthless now compared to this.
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You.
There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy,
my righteousness; and I love You, Lord.
Now my heart’s desire is to know You more,
to be found in You and known as Yours,
to possess by faith what I could not earn,
all surpassing gift of righteousness.
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You.
There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy,
my righteousness; and I love You, Lord.
Oh, to know the pow’r of Your risen life,
and to know You in Your suffering,
to become like You in Your death,
My Lord, so with You to live and never die.
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You.
There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy,
my righteousness; and I love You, Lord.
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You.
There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy, my righteousness;
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy, my righteousness;
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy, my righteousness;
and I love You, Lord.
Paul said it well, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:7-11)
Your Brother in Christ,
John David Hicks, Evangelist/Bible Teacher