Our Daily Walk With Christ
Power Of Prayer
It was before social media, and I had compiled an extensive email list of people in the church that we called a “prayer chain.” I went home and emailed them, asking them to pray and fast for Zach – Jesus, give him a new heart! A week later, the hospital confirmed they had a new heart for Zach!
Over two years ago, Robert Conboy, Zach’s twin brother, came down with the same heart disease. The prayer chain was notified and again a new heart was found with in a day or so. We continue to pray for Zach and Robert’s sister, Brianna, in hopes that she does not have to undergo a heart transplant.
The power of prayer can be miraculous. This story of Zach, Robert and Brianna proves that when we put our trust in God, He will come to our aid, and miracles can and will happen. The power of prayer is so strong that it can even overcome direst circumstances.
Prayer is a fundamental aspect of Christian life, yet many of us struggle with understanding its true nature and its transformative power. Prayer has the power to change circumstances and transform lives. It’s not just about asking for what we want but aligning ourselves with God’s will. When we pray, we should approach God with humility, recognizing that we are on His time and agenda. Approaching God with humility is essential. Recognizing that we are in a place where we don’t belong, invited by God’s grace, helps us maintain the right attitude in prayer. This humility allows us to be more receptive to God’s guidance.
God is Not a Genie. Many people treat prayer as a means to get what they want, like asking a genie for wishes. However, prayer is about seeking God’s will and understanding His plans for us. It’s about building a relationship with God, not just making requests.
Prayer is not just an individual act but also a corporate one. As a church family, we have a responsibility to pray together, seeking God’s will for our community. Corporate prayer strengthens our collective faith and aligns us with God’s purpose.
Another popular idea is that the amount of faith we have determines whether or not God will answer our prayers. However, sometimes the Lord answers our prayers in spite of our own lack of faith. In Acts 12, the church prays for Peter’s release from prison (5), and God answers their prayer (7-11). Peter goes to the door of the prayer meeting and knocks, but those who are praying refuse at first to believe that it is really Peter. They prayed he would be released, but they failed to expect an answer to their prayers.
The power of prayer does not flow from us; it is not special words we say or the special way we say them or even how often we say them. The power of prayer is not based on a certain direction we face or a certain position of our bodies. The power of prayer does not come from the use of artifacts or icons or candles or beads. The power of prayer comes from the omnipotent One who hears our prayers and answers them. Prayer places us in contact with Almighty God, and we should expect almighty results, whether or not He chooses to grant our petitions or deny our requests. Whatever the answer to our prayers, the God to whom we pray is the source of the power of prayer, and He can and will answer us, according to His perfect will and timing.
What Is True Worship?
The apostle Paul described true worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”
This passage contains all the elements of true worship. First, there is the motivation to worship: “the mercies of God.” God’s mercies are everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal love, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more. The knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to pour forth praise and thanksgiving—in other words, worship!
Also in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” Presenting our bodies means giving to God all of ourselves. The reference to our bodies here means all our human faculties, all of our humanness—our hearts, minds, hands, thoughts, attitudes—are to be presented to God. In other words, we are to give up control of these things and turn them over to Him, just as a literal sacrifice was given totally to God on the altar. But how? Again, the passage is clear: “by the renewing of your mind.” We renew our minds daily by cleansing them of the world’s “wisdom” and replacing it with true wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed and cleansed minds, not with our emotions. Emotions are wonderful things, but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in Truth, they can be destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will follows, and so do the emotions. First Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have “the mind of Christ,” not the emotions of Christ.
There is only one way to renew our minds, and that is by the Word of God. It is the truth, the knowledge of the Word of God, which is to say the knowledge of the mercies of God, and we’re back where we began. To know the truth, to believe the truth, to hold convictions about the truth, and to love the truth will naturally result in true spiritual worship. It is conviction followed by affection, affection that is a response to truth, not to any external stimuli, including music. Music as such has nothing to do with worship. Music can’t produce worship, although it certainly can produce emotion. Music is not the origin of worship, but it can be the expression of it. Do not look to music to induce your worship; look to music as simply an expression of that which is induced by a heart that is rapt by the mercies of God, obedient to His commands.
True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how their worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth John 4:24. This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God’s Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.
It’s also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. Only He is worthy and not any of His servants Revelation 19:10. We are not to worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any false gods, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. We also should not be worshiping for the expectation of something in return, such as a miraculous healing. Worship is done for God—because He deserves it—and for His pleasure alone. Worship can be public praise to God Psalm 22:22; 35:18 in a congregational setting, where we can proclaim through prayer and praise our adoration and thankfulness to Him and what He has done for us. True worship is felt inwardly and then is expressed through our actions. “Worshiping” out of obligation is displeasing to God and is completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it. He demonstrates this in Amos 5:21-24 as He talks about coming judgment. Another example is the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but God was only pleased with Abel’s. Cain brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God.
True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although these things are both good, and we are told in the Bible to do them). True worship is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him Acts 17:23. Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.
Can I Go Though Life With Out Sinning?
The Christian life has this baffling paradox at its heart: we are simultaneously sinners and saints. We are both able to sin and able not to sin. As saints, we’ve experienced the power of new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17) and tasted “the first fruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23). Yet despite these miraculous realities, we keep on sinning, to our great dismay and shame. And if we think we don’t sin, John tells us we’re deceiving ourselves (1 John 1:8). As much as we wish it was not so, saints still sin.
Sinning as a saint can cause two opposite (and equally) wrong reactions. On the one hand, we can respond with prideful presumption in our power to overcome sin. On the other hand, we can react with helpless despair in the face of our persistent sin.
Sin and (In)Ability
After the fall, Adam’s original sin corrupted all mankind such that all men were not able to not sin. Fallen man’s inability to live righteously is so complete that Scripture calls us dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1-2). Only by Christ’s death and resurrection are we made alive and by the Spirit newly able not to sin. The power of sin over us has been broken (Romans 6:6-7).
“Pride is a deceiver. Despair is a liar. And only grace brings hope.”
Yet the presence of sin has not disappeared (Romans 6:12). This is the present experience of saints who still sin. We are still able to sin and now able not to sin. Because of the frustrating reality of ongoing sin, we groan with anticipation (Romans 8:23) for the day when we will be gloriously not able to sin. We hope in the day when we will see Christ face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12) and when all things will be made new (Revelation 21:1-8).
But in the meantime, we can believe more deeply the indispensable truth that in Christ, we really are able not to sin.
Neither Pride nor Despair
Our experience is one of sinning saints whose fallen nature is still being renewed. In this state of simultaneous ability to sin and not to sin, we are constantly in danger of two wrong responses, depending on our individual circumstances.
First, we can slip into a pattern of presuming we can overcome our sin alone. Pride deceives us into indifference and apathy concerning the means of God’s grace. We assume that everything is under control, overlooking the subtleties of sin’s temptation and overestimating our ability to fight in our own strength.
Second, we sometimes fall into a deep despair where we feel helpless in fighting sin. Our old patterns of sin seem insurmountable. Our despair lies, saying there is nothing we can do, so we might as well indulge that desire again.
Pride is a deceiver. Despair is a liar. And only grace brings hope. So when it comes to a Christian’s ability not to sin. We navigate between both prideful presumption and helpless despair by emphasizing several truths from Scripture about our ability not to sin.
Your Ability Is a Gift
A performance mentality can lead us to take a “just do it” approach to fighting sin. If I just try harder, just work smarter, just remember better, then I’ll overcome my addiction to pornography, my ever-present anxiety, or my gluttonous eating and drinking habits. Such an approach puts all the confidence in our will. Though man’s “free choice is sufficient for evil, but hardly for good”. If we depend on our unassisted will to be good, we will end up addicted to our evil desires.
But maybe you are not like that. Maybe you recognize that fighting sin is hard and that you need a little help. To you, grace sounds like a great performance additive to get you over the hump. This mistake is subtler but just as deadly.
This thinking claims that “the grace of God is help for doing things more easily.” It suggests man’s ability is like his power to row a boat, and God’s grace is like the wind in the sails. That sounds like great cooperation, but in reality, it makes God’s grace unnecessary. We could always row on our own without the wind. God’s grace is not optional like that; it’s absolutely necessary. Jesus did not say, “Without me you can indeed do something, but it will be easier through me.” He said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we are powerless to conquer sin in a way that honors God.
“Grace gives control of us back to ourselves.”
Our ability to fight sin and do good works is a gift, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Every temptation resisted, every thought captured, every sin killed is accomplished by the grace of the Holy Spirit’s power at work in us.
Your Ability Is Real
Should we then sit back and wait for grace to quell the anger in us or calm our inordinate fears? Are we led like a droid into battle, completely acted on but never really acting ourselves? No “you both act and are acted on”. Grace renews our minds and restores our fallen natures. Grace gives control of us back to ourselves. God does the miraculous work of making us alive and the equally miraculous work of restoring our fallen nature. Therefore, when we resist sin, it is really us resisting it. The ability that God restores in us is a real ability. When you hear, As many as are led by the Spirit of God these are God’s sons, don’t slacken off and give up. After all, God is not building his temple out of you as out of stones which can’t move themselves. That’s not what living stones are like (1 Peter 2:5) You are being led, but you too must run; you’re being led, but you must follow; because when you do follow, it will still be true, that without him you can do nothing. Because it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs but on God who has mercy (Romans 9:16).
All the commands in Scripture have no meaning if our ability is fake. To take just one example: Paul says, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Paul’s assumption is that we really do act. Our ability not to sin is real. Yet that restoration process is not immediate; we are being transformed.
Your Ability Is Incomplete
Although we are able not to sin, sin still plagues us. Scripture gives no promise of spinelessness in this life; indeed, it says the opposite (1 John 1:8). We’re never promised total victory over sin.
“Every sin killed is accomplished by the grace of the Holy Spirit’s power at
work in us.”
Instead, the renewal we experience in our life is a foretaste of future glorification. We will win battles against sin in this life, but we should not expect to win the war. We have the ability not to sin, but not the ability to eradicate sin. Our ability in the fight against sin, then, is incomplete until Christ comes again.
We cannot yet rest in victory. “The life of the just in this body is still a warfare, not a triumphal celebration. One day, though, this warfare will have its triumphal celebration. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Let those celebrating their triumph say, Where, death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)
The war against sin can be exhausting. And Scripture gives us language for that: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25). The war is incomplete as long as we fight with “this body of death.” Our ability to achieve total victory over sin will never come in this life. But it will come. It will come because Christ will return.
As Christians we can live in hope — hope that God’s grace is sufficient for our fight against sin, hope that the Spirit is renewing us and restoring our ability to fight sin day by day, and finally, hope that we will one day be completely remade. It is Christ’s ability that is behind each of those hopes. He conquered sin and death to rescue us. He sent his Spirit to redeem us. And he will return again to fully restore us. Our great hope is not in our ability but in Christ’s ability.