Prayer Thought: Saved to Pray

Have you ever realized that one of the main reasons you and I were saved by grace through the death of Christ was so that we could pray! Check out Jesus’ words in John 15:16,

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

Did you catch that? Read it again in the shorter version…”You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you…SO THAT whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?! This is incredible! God the Father chose you and me to be before Him in love, as we already know (Eph. 1:4). Therefore, we have the ability to understand that we are always in God’s presence even hear on earth. But then we are also able to be before Him in love when we come before Him through prayer, praise, and worship (Ps. 100:2; Ps. 68:4; 1 Jn. 5:14). Read what Milton Vincent says in his devotional book, A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love,

“Prayer is not simply something I am allowed to do as a Christian; prayer is actually one of the great purposes for which God chose to save me.”

Have we been saved to glorify God and be satisfied by Him forever? Yes. Have we been saved to make disciples of all nations? Yes. Have we been saved to show a dying world without Christ what they can have, if they put their trust and hope in Christ through the power of the Gospel? Yes. 

But let us not forget about all the passages that tell us to draw near to the Father (Heb. 4 and 10), pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17), enter the courts of the Lord with singing and shouts of praise. When we pray, we are at the pinnacle of God’s holy design for us in this life. We were made for community. Many people say this in regards to fellow believers…and they are right in doing so. But, God made us alive in Christ SO THAT we can have community with Him through prayer, petition, thanksgiving, and supplication. 

I don’t know about you, but this is pretty convicting and convincing to go deeper in my lifestyle of prayer. Is there any wonder why it’s such a hard discipline? This is vital to the health, joy, and overall countenance of all believers. We have so many missionaries who need prayer, who have prayer meetings, who are focusing their attention on ministry and life through the lense of prayer. However, I do also wonder how many of our missionaries, much like myself, sometimes lose sight of the power and zeal they would find if they would adopt this kind of attitude…we were chosen, saved, redeemed, FOR PRAYER! So may we continuously act like it and thwart all the Enemy’s plans for us to stay prayerless. Let’s pray like we were created for it; because we were!

Prayer Action:

In your time of prayer this week, pray boldly! Look up John 15:16 again and meditate on the fact that you were saved to PRAY. Let this concept saturate your thanksgiving, your requests, your supplications. Glorify God for how He created you to draw near to Him. Enjoy communing with the Lord who hears and answers your prayers.

Blessings,

 

 Clay

 

Clayton J. Elliott, Kontaktmission USA
Director of Pastoral Ministries and Prayer
clay@GoKMUSA.org