Abiding In Prayer As A Family
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DEEPLY ROOTED FAMILIES |
Abiding In Prayer As A Family
John 15:7 (ESV)
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Is prayer important to you and your family? How often do you pray? I fear that if we use the attendance of prayer meetings today in Christian churches to gauge how much believers are spending time in their prayers, we could easily conclude that believers, in general, are neglecting it.
The words of Dr. Tony M. Anderson, in his book, Prayer Availeth Much, commented on his observation regarding the prayer life of many believers:
“Persons praying spasmodically are like men that gorge themselves with food and drink on special occasions and starve themselves between the feasts. We do not live from feast to famine when we enter into a partnership with Christ in prayer.”
Do these words adequately describe your prayer life? If they do, you are failing to take advantage of one of the best blessings we believers have received from the Lord.
Of course, since the main emphasis of our sermons this month is all about family, it becomes twice as significant that we discuss prayers. In the Bible, one perfect example of the need for prayers in the family is found in the life of Job:
Job 1:5 (ESV)
5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
This passage describes how Job established a habit that after his children feasted together, he functioned as a priest for his family, offering a sacrifice for them and interceding for their forgiveness just in case they have sinned against the Lord during their celebrations.
Likewise, as a father of three children, two of them are married with children; I see the blessing of being able to go to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to be merciful towards my children. Just like Job, I know that our children can be careless in their walk with Him and sin against Him; instead of hardening their hearts towards Him, I pray that He will make a way to keep them close to Him and put a hedge of protection around them. My thinking is that if my prayers for my children could support them in their Christian lives, then interceding for them is worth my effort and time.
As we talk about praying for our families this morning, I would like to highlight the theme, Abiding in Prayer. So, the focus is not the casual, once in a while prayers but the consistent quality of praying that comes from a deeper intimate walk with Jesus Christ. In our discussion of Deeply Rooted Families, it is evident that one of its manifestations is the quality of prayers we are experiencing within our families. The reality is that we can’t have a deeply rooted family in Christ without abiding prayers. So, let’s expound on our theme by looking at three basic descriptions of abiding in prayer as a family:
I THE ESSENTIAL TO ABIDING IN PRAYER
The context of John 15 is found in the metaphor of Jesus being the Vine and the believers being the branches. The text is one of the principal teachings that Jesus gave before He was arrested and crucified. Jesus Christ taught this metaphor of the Vine and the branches to convey to the believers two significant concepts:
A. The Necessity of the Believer’s Connectivity
In the New Testament, all the images describe the relationship of Jesus Christ to the believers and present significant union. Meaning, that you cannot survive as a believer separated from Jesus Christ:
Body and its members (1 Corinthians 12)
Head and the body (Ephesians 5:23)
Bridegroom and the bride (Ephesians 5:31-32)
Shepherd and the sheep (John 10)
Vine and the branches (John 15)
With all these images, the fundamental truth is that Jesus is the source of life. The believer cannot produce life on his own; life is only drawn from our union or connectivity with Jesus Christ. In the Vine and the branches metaphor, once the branch is separated from the Vine, it dies and dries up. And when it dries up, it becomes useless, suitable only for burning. So, to remain alive and productive, the believers must continually connect and depend on Jesus Christ.
B. The Nature of the Believer’s Communion
If you go back to our main text, you will find the word “abide.” It is used eleven times (11X) in John 15:1-11. The word means to keep in communion or fellowship with Christ. Therefore, believers must choose to enjoy consistent communion or fellowship with Jesus so that His life could work in and through us to produce a fruitful life.
This fellowship with Jesus Christ will not happen automatically, and we must intentionally spend time listening and praying to Him. Again, when we enjoy fellowshipping with Him, He can impart His life to us. So, to experience abiding prayers, we must enjoy fellowshipping with Him. The apostle Paul will remind us that it is our calling to fellowship with our Savior Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV)
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Notice, God Himself is calling us to have a fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that we as parents would be able to impress on our children that this calling is a significant privilege for people like us who desperately need Him to intervene in our lives.
II THE EXPECTATION OF ABIDING IN PRAYER
The following phrase in the text conveys the expectation that Jesus has for us whenever we abide in Him in prayer – “my words abide in you.” The inclusion of these words helps us understand that praying is a two-way conversation. James conveyed this assurance when he said:
James 4:8 (ESV)
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you . . .
So, when we talk to Him by letting Him know our praises and petitions, He also talks to us by giving His guidance and directions through His Word.
Perhaps, you have heard some believers say, “God spoke to me.” Let’s be careful that we understand this statement as if God speaks audibly to people. Of course, we see a lot of examples of these incidents in the Bible when God spoke audibly to some heroes of faith. However, today, these cases rarely happen because we already have the complete Word of God to help us. The Bible passage we always use to establish its sufficiency is 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV):
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The fact that the Bible can make the man of God complete and equip for every good work, then we know it is sufficient to guide and help us today.
Since the Bible is already available, God will use the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Jesus explained this truth to His disciples in John 14:16-17, 26 (ESV):
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
This passage plainly states that the Father sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us so that He can strategically carry out two significant functions for the believers:
1. He will teach us all things.
2. He will remind us what we learned from Him.
Praise God because He gave us the Holy Spirit so that He can speak to us. But, once He has given us His Word, we must commit to following Him because our disobedience will undoubtedly affect our prayer life. Here are two familiar passages that talk about this truth:
Psalm 66:18 (ESV)
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Isaiah 59:1-2 (ESV)
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Again, if we desire to see the mighty hand of the Lord move amid our family’s prayer requests, we have to challenge every member of the family to walk with the Lord and intentionally stay away from unconfessed sins.
III THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ABIDING IN PRAYER
Considering prayers, we can definitely distinguish between good prayers and better prayers. What makes it better is its efficiency. Do you see a lot of answers to your prayers? If you go back to our text, Jesus gave a tremendous promise whenever we abide in Him - “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
With the way Jesus has stated these words, it is apparent that He has ordained prayers as the way for us to tap into His unlimited resources. He expects us to ask whatever we need from Him. Let’s think about this for a minute. In a way, God is saying, “Don’t be embarrassed to ask from Him whatever is in our heart!” But, of course, please don’t forget that Jesus set this promise to those who are abiding in Him.
I’m sure this truth is consistent with what is taught in Psalm 37:4 (ESV):
4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
The question is: Do you believe this promise today? If you do, allow me to suggest some critical prayer requests that you and I must include in praying for our families:
Pray for the salvation of everyone.
Pray for the spiritual growth and stability in the faith.
Pray for a spiritual appetite that will make us hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
Pray for spiritual protection
Pray for spiritual productivity
After stating all these prayer requests, you might be saying, “Pastor, how come all these prayer requests seem to be for our spiritual lives? How about praying for our physical needs?” My answer is simple - Matthew 6:33-34 (ESV):
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
When Jesus said these words, the main discussion was about what people become anxious about – what we would eat, drink, and wear. Jesus’ conclusion is very strategic – Seek God first, and He will take care of all your needs. The reality is that He will always be sufficient to those who honor Him!
As I close this sermon on “Abiding in Prayer as a Family,” I hope and pray that we will seriously examine the place of prayers in our family. I know today that more distractions within our families can take away our time from praying together. I know that if we continue to take prayers for granted, if parents are not praying together with their children, they are allowing the Devil to rob them of so much joy, victories, and blessings that only God can give them. This morning, even in our passage, the clear message is that abiding in prayer can help us abide in Jesus Christ. This truth is enough reason to build a healthy prayer life for us as Christian families. Mr. George Failing has appropriately put it:
He who fails to pray does not cheat God. He cheats himself.
Let’s stop cheating ourselves by not praying enough for our families. Instead, let’s commit ourselves in being more intentional in spending more quality time praying for our families. May the Lord lead us to pray more!
-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana