Day 02

“The Key of the Greater Work”

I say to you, he who believes in Me, . . . greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”  (John 14:12 NKJV). 

Prayer does not equip us for greater works—prayer is the greater work. 

YET WE THINK of prayer as some discernment exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. Jesus taught prayer as the working of the miracle of redemption in us (our identity in Christ), which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of our new Life in the Spirit. The way fruit (Christ in us) remains firm is through prayer but remember that it is prayer based on the suffering of Christ in redemption, not on my own suffering. We must go to Him as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered, a “wise” man in his logical thinking does not (see Matt. 11:25). Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where we are in regard to our life circumstances. However, God may engineer our circumstances, our duty is to pray. We must never allow ourselves to entertain the thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because we certainly cannot be used where we have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed us and whatever our circumstances, we should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. Remember, when we’re in His name, we’re with Him! And He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do” (John 14: 13 NKJV). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must give our hearing to His voice and learn to listen. This allows faith to do its work in us by empowering us to follow Him today, and He says to pray.“Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:38 NKJV). There is nothing thrilling about “the follower” of Christ’s mission from the perspective of those uninvolved in the mission, but it is “the follower” of Christ who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the following (Spirit-led) believer who makes the Vision of his Father possible. When we engage in prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What awe and wonder it will be to see, once we can clearly see from His perspective, all the souls that have been gathered in by us, simply because we have been in the habit of trusting Jesus with His command.

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for the passion to finish Your work of redemption (Your identity) in us and revealing to us that prayer is the platform You’ve chosen. Help us to embrace prayer as You have demonstrated it. Help us to embrace prayer as Your work to form Your nature and character in us. This is the manner in which you reveal Your glory in the world.