Prayer and Obedience
Prayer Thoughts: A Monthly Memo to Encourage Us in Our Prayer Life
By Colin Stott, Special to ASSIST News Service
Essential
to effective praying is obedience. It is impossible to overstate the
importance that the Scriptures put on obedience to God. It is a tangible
way of measuring our love for Him. “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15 NIV).
Disobedience
on the other hand is a great hindrance to prayer and usually indicates
that there is something that seeks a higher place in our lives than God.
If something not of God dominates our lives (our priorities, our time,
our money or desires), and we are not willing to let go of it, then we
have allowed that thing to become an idol.
A.W.Tozer
doesn’t mince his words when he says: “Grace will save a man but it
will not save him and his idol. The blood of Jesus will shield a
penitent sinner alone but never a sinner and his idol.” A line from the
old hymn Rock of Ages is a timeless word to us, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.”
We can’t go the way of the cross while covering up an idol or sin. It
didn’t work for Achan (Joshua 7) and it won’t work for us.
Jesus
desires our obedience because He knows that what He is asking of us is
for our highest good. And He makes available all the resources we
need—the desire to obey and His Spirit to empower us. With so much
riding on our obedience: our love for Jesus, an ungrieved Holy Spirit,
God’s glory in our lives, and our effectiveness in prayer; there must be
only one outcome—our full surrender.
Our
Lord won’t force us to obey but patiently awaits our willing consent.
Will we bow the knee? This quote by May Stephens is a fitting prayer: “I choose Thee, blessed will of God! In Thee alone my heart can rest.”
Photo captions: 1) Don’t just pray -- Obey! 2) A.W. Tozer. 3) Colin Stott.
** You may republish this or any our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).
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