Day 17: 31 Days of Prayer

Day 17: 31 Days of Prayer

Verse:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would surely have told you. For I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with Me, so that where I am, you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to Him: "Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way there?" Jesus said to him: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father also. From now on you know Him and have seen Him." Philip said to Him: "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him: "Have I been with you so long, Philip, and yet you do not know Me? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say: Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, who dwells in Me, does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe because of the works themselves. I tell you the truth: whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do, and even greater works than these. For I am going to the Father; and whatever you ask in My name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:1-14 - TB)

Reflection:

Do you wonder where the discussion about prayer is in the verses above? When Thomas and Philip spoke with Jesus, were they not speaking with God? Every time in the Bible when the disciples spoke with Jesus, they were praying. Our prayer is the normal conversation of those who believe with Jesus. When Thomas questioned Jesus, he did so with sincere curiosity. "Where are You going, Lord?" For me personally, I often pray that the Lord will bless where I go, but I do not often ask the Lord where He is going. Is this not more important for us? Where the Lord wants to go is where we should go. On the other hand, it is easy to look back on it with self-centered teaching, seasoned with a little good intention. It is easier to decide where we want to go in life, with whom, when, how, and so on, and ask God to go with us than to determine where God is going, and how He wants us to follow Him. The former requires little or no obedience, while the latter requires faith the size of a mustard seed, and total surrender to Him. After Jesus responded to Thomas, Philip said that the Father was what they needed in order to be satisfied. What an amazing mindset of surrender. He suggested, "Lord, we do not even need to know where You are going. Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." What remarkable faith and surrender! For me, the challenge each day must be transformed so that my approach is not to "settle" for God, but to be completely fulfilled and satisfied by Him. What Jesus said to His disciples above still applies to us; when we ask anything in His name, He will do it. And in Him, we will do greater things than He did; we only need to believe. I would rather live like Christ and be truly filled by God than live in my own way, which is based only on desire.

Challenge:

Pray today with the same innocence and faith with which Thomas and Philip prayed. Draw near to God with the expectation of being fully filled by God the Father. Ask the Lord that you would follow His way, and that you would be given strength to follow Him. Ask that the Spirit would give you strength to surrender and believe, even when God’s way is not what you thought. God is always moving, and the Spirit is like the wind. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. Pray to see His way and make it your way.

Translated from the article “31 Days of Prayer: Day 17” by Daniel Berk