Devotional 10/9/16 – Remain in Jesus through prayer

John 15:7-8 ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’

As we allow the bible to saturate or thinking, we can pray in accord to God’s revealed will in scripture. An essential part of bearing fruit is asking for the fruit that we would like to see. As you read the bible look for commands, promises, inspiring moments and let these shape what you pray.

If we will have our eyes open, God will always invite us and inspire us to pray and worship every time we read the bible.

A few examples of how one could pray out of the scriptures:

John 15:7 could inspire us to pray:

• Prayers of fresh devotion to Jesus, “Jesus, you are my hope, I come to you, I want to remain in you, be loving and devoted to you…” etc.
• Prayers of fresh devotion to His word, “I thank you for the gift of the bible, thank you for the wisdom it contains. Help me to love your word, guide me in how I read it…” etc.
• Prayers of request, “ I thank you for the promise that you will answer my prayers as I ask in accordance with your will. I thank you that is your will that I remain in you, and that your church remains in you; Please would you keep my heart and the heart of Community Church Putney passionately devoted to you…” etc.  

Romans 1:16-17 could inspire us to pray:

•  Pray for a similar joy in the gospel for yourself, your church…
• Seek the Spirit’s empowering so you would be unashamed.
• Thank God for your salvation by grace.
• Pray for more people you know to come to Christ.
•  Etc.

Exodus 33:14-17 could inspire one to pray:

• Thank God for the promise of His presence with us.
• Pray that God would lead us into ‘rest’- resting in the finished work of Christ and pushing on into His will together.
• Specifically, this could include praying for the building work, the mission of our Community Groups etc.
• Confess your love and need for His presence.
• Pray that God would be glorified through this church as we depend on Him and display His goodness to those around us.
•  Etc.

Psalm 121 could inspire one to pray:

• Thank God and reaffirm your trust in Him.
• Worship Him and be strengthened in the knowledge that He is the creator.
• Reassert your faith that He will not let your foot slip, applying this to your current fears and temptations.
•  Thanks Him that He is watching over you and His church.
• Etc.

If you are finding it hard to pray, read an inspiring section from the bible and use it to inspire your praying.

You can catch up on all the messages in the John series at:

Audio Link