Greater Works

At the beginning of the year, our church had a week of prayer.  It was entitled Greater Works: Asking for a Decade of Growth in Grace!  Josh really wanted us to begin the year asking God for greater things in this year and the next 10 years, as we just started a new decade.  The desire for this prayer week grew out of John 14:12-14:  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works that these will he do, because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  Those are some truly powerful words!  Whatever we ask in His name, He will do it.  Do you believe that?  When Josh preached through the book of John last year and came across this passage, I really had to stop and ask myself, "Do I pray believing that God will answer my prayers?" 

The key to this prayer is "whatever you ask in my name."  What does that mean?  Josh explained that to ask something in Jesus' name is to pray according to His will and His character.  We know what God's will and His character is by reading the Word.  For instance, we know that the Lord desires for His people to worship in Spirit and truth and so we pray that our church would worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  These are some of the "greater works" Josh listed in his sermon:

• More people repenting of sin and trusting in Christ
• More lives changed by the gospel
• More hatred of sin
• More hunger for the things of God
• More families studying the Word together
• More evangelism taking place at home and work
• More people called and sent as missionaries/pastors
• More people embracing biblical manhood/womanhood 

Since this sermon on January 3, and our week of prayer, my prayers have changed and I see evidence of God moving in my life, my family, and our church.  Do you pray with dependency and expectancy?  Do you long for God to move in your life and in your church?  Your church can have a wonderful preacher (of course I think we do!) and have the best worship leader and Sunday school teachers, but if we aren't depending on God and expecting Him to move, then we are trying to accomplish spiritual things in our power and it will fall flat.

I hear so many people say, "I wish God would change our country" or "We just need another revival to get people saved."  What we need is for believers to be on their face before God asking Him to save people and to change us and our churches for His glory.  May it be!