What John 15:7 Reveals About Prayer: Part 4

By Ben Dickerson

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  (John 15:7)

We must move beyond selfish motives —“This is to my Father’s glory…”

Remember the words of James 4:3—“and even when you ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”  (NLT)

God has a bigger agenda than simply making us feel comfortable.  There is a real temptation to want God’s power to work through us for the sake of what it will do for us—for our ego, or for our faith, or for our reputation.  (Those were among the temptations Jesus faced in His desert encounter with Satan, and throughout His earthly life.)   As we become aware of those desires in ourselves, we need to confess them, and reaffirm our desire that:

• God receives all the honor and glory, for He alone is worthy of that;  
• That the purposes of God’s Kingdom be accomplished (as we bear fruit)  
• That others be drawn to Jesus Christ, through the miracle of His power at work in and through us, to find salvation for their own lives (we are seen to be His disciples).

“The glory of the Father must be the aim—the very soul and life—of our prayer….A distinct, conscious longing for the glory of the Father must animate our prayers."  (Andrew Murray)