Our church is fasting and praying these 4 prayers November 3-January 3:
- Pray Jesus will make you more obedient to Him.
- Pray Jesus will increase your love for Him.
- Pray Jesus will show you if He has called Pastor Chris to lead this church into the future.
- Pray Jesus will show you if He has called you to stay with this church in the future.
Jesus said the greatest commandment was to “love” God, not “obey” God. So aren’t the first two prayers out of order?
First, I’ve challenged our church to pray these prayers concurrently, not consecutively. It’s not like I start praying #2 after God has answered #1. I’m praying all these prayers at the same time.
Second, “love” can be confusing. I love any dessert that has cinnamon as a main ingredient. I love my wife. I love my dog. I love God. At least, I think I love God. How do I know if I love God? What if it doesn’t always feel like I love God? Do I still love him?
In the Bible Jesus said “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching (John 14:23). If we pray these prayers, and we allow God to answer these prayers in us however he wants to answer them, our increased obedience to God will increase our love for God. And our increased love for God will increase our obedience to God.
But if you’re like me, you feel you love God but you’re not always obedient. Or maybe you’re like my toddler son, who doesn’t want to obey until he’s had “one more minute” of playing. Is Jesus calling you to obey him about something? Have you ignored him or told him, “one more minute” instead of choosing to immediately obey?
Stop right now and ask Jesus if there’s something he wants you to do, or stop doing. If he shows you something, commit to obey him immediately.