Luke 15:11 – And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
As we are looking prayer from the perspective of our Lord Jesus, I will like in this write up to point us to one of his popular story about the prodigal and pick out some points here that depicts his perspective on prayer.
Point number 1: Learn to ask no matter what. Philippians 4:6 (paraphrased) ‘Do not worry about anything, but pray about everything. There is nothing you cannot pray about. The younger son had thing that he needed to do and despite how horrendous or incomprehensible it might sound, he still summoned the courage to ask the father. Don’t be afraid to ask him for anything. I will rather ask than worry because worry will not yield any positive result.
Point number 2: Approach and ask the father with confidence. The son was not afraid to go to the father to ask, he was full of confidence when he approached his father. I believe it’s only a servant that will fidget when making a request from his master not a son to his father. So if we are his sons and he is our father, then we should learn to approach and make our request with confidence knowing that he hears us and will attend to our request. 1 John 5:14.
Some facts that can boost our confidence in prayer are enumerated below;
1.Knowing who you are in Christ (relationship with the father). Understanding our identity in Christ, know that we have been adopted into Sonship will give us confidence to approach the father in prayer. Jesus taught this in all of his prayer, he always approach the father on the platform of their relationship. The younger son knew his identity and his right to the father’s inheritance, he knew everything the father has belongs also to him by the virtue of their relationship unlike the elder brother who for lack of understanding acted like a servant in this story.
2. Knowing Who’s you are. That is knowing who your father is, his ability to meet your request, Knowing that no matter how big your request may be, it is not bigger than the father. Knowing how wealthy he is, knowing the limitless resources at his disposal, knowing he has everything and can give anything. The younger son had a knowledge of the possession the father has and that gave him confidence to request for his own portion. Gods ability to meet our needs is not in doubt but we still need to approach and ask in confidence
3. Knowledge of his will concerning the request. That scripture in John 5:14 says whatever we ask according to his will, he hears us, so when you have a request, you need to first find out if this request is consistent with the will of God and if that is the case, you are guaranteed that when you ask, you will have and this will of course boost your confidence in the place of prayer.
4. Confidence comes also from faith. Hebrews 11:1, faith is the assurance you have that you will have whatever you ask. This is an important ingredient we need to have before going to pray. It gives confidence to your prayer and this is very evident in the prayer of the prodigal son he had no doubt in his mind that the father will attend to his request. Mark 11:24, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Further scriptures to study
Matthew 7:7, Luke 18:1, Luke 11:1
Personal declaration
I know my identity and I pray on the platform of my identity in Christ
Question for you to reflect on
Do you know the extent of the resources available to God to meet all your needs?
Is the any need you have that the Word of God has not made provision for?
Comments & Testimonials