December 31, 2021In the past two weeks, we have looked at two assurances that the Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples: the assurance that those who repent of their sins and trust Christ as their Saviour will live forever with Him in heaven and the assurance that believers in Christ know the Father right now. Dr. Warren Wiersbe, in “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary” gives a third assurance: “You have the privilege of prayer.” He writes: “‘Why worry when you can pray’ asks a plaque that I have seen in many homes. One of the best remedies for a troubled heart is prayer.
However, if God is going to answer our prayers and give us peace in our hearts, there are certain conditions that we must meet. In fact the meeting of these conditions is a blessing in itself!”
In studying the Lord Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 14, Dr. Wiersbe notes the following:
- We must pray in faith (v. 12)
- We must pray in Christ’s name (vv. 13-14)
- We must pray in loving obedience (v. 15)
Love is an important theme in the gospel of John; it is used as a verb or noun a total of fifty-six times.” Lord willing, we will continue our study of the assurances of Christ to His disciples (and to all who trust in Him) next year (or next week!). As we look forward to the first day of a new year tomorrow, let’s strive to put Christ first in all that we do and ask Him to help us to walk by faith and to pray in faith.
Scripture for the weekend: “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:22-23 (NKJV)
Thought for the weekend: “Believers can hold fast to the security of their salvation (full assurance of faith) because it is based in the promises of their faithful God. (Deut. 7:9; 1 Cor. 1:9; 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3).” – Dr. David Jeremiah (from his Study Bible)