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Lessons on Prayer

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."  John 15:7

 

Consider what Jesus teaches about prayer.

Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). We are to plead for our enemies--just as Jesus prayed for His crucifiers--asking God to lead them to Christ and, for His sake, to forgive them. Jesus also tells us to pray for the conversion of sinners. Prayer is key to our effort to communicate the gospel and win men and women to Christ.

Another lesson Jesus teaches is the victorious assurance that God answers every true petition (although not always the way we wish He would). We need to trust in the promise of John 15:7 and in the complementary intercession of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:27).

We also need to remember that with God nothing is impossible. No task is too arduous, no problem too difficult, no burden too heavy for Him. Do not, however, put your will above His. Do not insist on your way. And don't expect an immediate answer to come in exactly the way, the place, and the manner that you are seeking. Rather, learn to pray as Jesus Himself prayed: "not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).

From, HOPE for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions, by Billy Graham.