DAILY DEVOTIONALS BY PASTOR VICTOR BORCHARD
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| The Effectiveness of Prayer May the Lord Equip Us with His Armor Part 2 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:12-13 At my second pastorate, I began serving as a discipleship pastor. To begin this ministry, I preached a sermon series from The Upper Room Discourse, Jesus’ last words to his disciples. I remember being confronted and challenged by these staggering promises Jesus made about prayer… “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” (John 14:13-14, ESV). “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:22b-24). I was confronted and challenged by these prayer promises because I did not seem to be experiencing them. “Whatever you ask… I will do it.” “Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” “Whatever you ask the Father… he will give it to you.” “Ask, and you will receive…” Either the promises had failed, or I was not meeting the conditions of the promise. I did not believe the promises could fail so I took a closer look at the conditions. I saw two conditions: (1) in my name and (2) if you abide in me. They both have to do with alignment with the will of God. Let’s say you write me a check. It says, “Pay to the order of Victor Borchard fifty dollars.” It includes your signature. I go to the bank where you keep your money. I hand the teller your check. I ask them to take fifty dollars out of your account and put it into my hand. If my request is aligned with your will and your authority (you’ve got the $50 in your account), I will walk out of your bank with your money. This led me to look for the checks that God was writing in the Bible. I found them in two places: promises and commands. When we pray God’s promises and commands, then we are asking for things that are aligned with his will. It is like taking a check to the bank. His answer is ‘yes.’ He says, “I will do it,” “It will be done for you,” “He will give it to you,” “You will receive.” I decided to start looking for those two things: his promises and his commands. I wanted to start praying for both of them. I knew he wanted to give them to me so that he would be glorified and I would be joyful. Both sounded good to me. I discovered that there’s a 3-to-1 ratio. For every three commands there is one promise. I created a tool for effective prayer. Praying the promises and commands of the Bible. I’ve been using it ever since. Ever since then, God has been answering my prayers just like he promised. I would like to share it with you. All you have to do is ask. You will receive it, because I promise to send it to you. Victor Borchard Associate Pastor victorb@tablerockfellowship.org |
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