Grace Church

0 comments  February 23rd, 2010

Pray for God to Give a Gift to Jesus | You by Jordan

When the vantage point of our prayer is lined up with Christ's worth, we will quickly find more expectation in our praying and true transformation in our lives.

Prayer can be empty, and often is, but it doesn't have to be. We should expect our Father's favorable response.

Can God bless your prayers?

The hindrance, if we are Christ's, is that we're coming to God in "prayer" from a vantage point that He will not bless. If we do not belong to Christ, then the issue is deeper. You must be reborn. You must be made spiritually alive through faith in the Savior, the risen Lord Jesus.

So many have found continual Christian growth relegated to something that more resembles a permanent pit-stop on the road to nowhere. Sure, we may pray for God to change us, and for God to work powerfully. We may sincerely, at least in the moment, want to be changed. Why then is our growth stalled?

Unbelief, God-belittling, self-serving requests, and other roots are hindrances to answered prayer. There are a number of other reasons, too. It's probable that among the many reasons, there's one at the bottom of them all.

In my own experience with Christ, it seems to (all to often) come back to this one issue:

Do I believe that Jesus is worthy and do I desire for Him to be honored (worth-ed) in my life?

Here's the root issue. The spirit of our praying reflects the bent in our heart. What do we most want?

When I'm praying according to Scripture for God to hear and respond because I want Jesus to be glorified by God's answer, there is a corresponding result of greater delight in Jesus and a (yes, mostly slow) metamorphasis into His likeness.

In short, one way to combat all that wars against Christ's Lordship in us, is to pray fervently that God would give us (you) to Jesus as a gift. That is:

• A "continually transformed more into Jesus' likeness as the reward for His sufferings" gift.
  
• A "Jesus is worthy for me to never get stalled in conformity to His image" gift.
• An "I cannot manufacture true change on my own, so for Christ's sake do it, O Lord" gift.

When the main motive changes from "it would be nice for God to do this" into "Jesus is worthy, so please answer, O God," I believe God will be pleased to work powerfully.

Are we inclined and asking for Jesus to be glorified in answer to our requests? Is Christ's honor in your life your uppermost desire in your praying?

If not, then some serious uprooting is in order. And this garden should be weeded continually.

Three Practical Suggestions

1. If you find that the desire for Christ to be glorified in your life as God gives you to Him in greater conformity to His likeness is altogether absent, then go to the Bible and find true Christians, get to know the real gospel, and pray for Christian conversion. Pray to be "saved" for Christ's sake!
   
2. If you find that the desire for Christ to be glorified in your life as God gives you to Him in greater conformity to His likeness is woefully lacking, then pray for your Lord Jesus to be glorified as God magnifies His worth in your ongoing tranformation to His likeness. Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit to be revived in your life.
   
3. If you find that the desire for Christ to be glorified in your life as God gives you to Him in greater conformity to His likeness is on the rise, then pray for your Lord Jesus to be glorified as God magnifies His worth in your greater transformation to His likeness. Pray that your life will prove that you have not yet arrived.
   

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