If there is one scripture that has been diluted of it’s potency and misused to promote heresy, this is it. Once we truly grasp what Jesus is saying here, it will not surprise us that Satan has gone to such links to hide the meaning of this scripture from our eyes.
There are two errors when it comes to interpreting this portion of scripture: 1. Most evangelicals strip it of its power and simplicity by saying, “Well, we can’t take that literally. We have to just pray, and submit to whatever God’s will is.” They talk as if we can have no understanding of what the will of God is. 2. Many Word of Faith teachers have made this a blank check statement. They say, “All you have to do is believe what you speak, and you can have what you say! Do you need healing? Speak it! A new house? Confess that you have it! A new car? Claim it! A wife? Talk as if you got her now! All you have to do is learn how to control this force of faith, and God has to do whatever you say!” This is so humanistic and self centered, that I do not even believe that you can be a Christian and continue to believe such heresy.
Now, instead of us Christians trying to search through the muck and grime to find the pearls of truth in these scriptures, we have cast them aside. And my how we have paid the price! Satan knows that if he can keep us from a pure understanding of these verses, our lives and our churches will remain impotent of the power of God. He has done well.
To understand these scriptures, we must first consider the context. Jesus previously cursed a fig tree, brought judgment upon the temple through His cleansing it, pronounced that it should be a house of prayer, and then gave a discourse on what true prayer really is. In essence, Jesus is saying that through His coming, the Old System is now obsolete, and that answered prayer does not depend upon prayer offered as a ritual in a certain place, but upon an understanding of God.
Jesus makes the simple statement, “Have faith in God.” This means so much more than just believing that God exist. The reason so many people can never pray in faith and assurance is because they do not know God. Faith in God is only given by God as we come to know God. In essence, you cannot pray in faith if you do not know the will of God. Yet I assure you, that we can know the will of God as revealed in the scripture! Romans 12:1-2 says, “ Therefore I urge you, 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. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Knowing the will of God comes with a cost– the giving up of your life and separation from the world. A life consecrated to God will be one that is constantly coming into a deeper understanding of the will of God. The renewing of the mind will never happen until one separates themselves from every selfish desire, every worldly ambition, and every sensual lust, and gives extreme focus on obeying what is revealed in God’s holy word. Until a person does this, they will never know the will of God or be able to pray with boldness.
Once we know the will of God, it is easy to pray in faith. 1 John 5:14-15 says, “14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” The problem is with us. We are so out of tune with God, that the simplicity of such promises cause us to be skeptical. We entertain the voice of Satan, “Did God really say…”, and thus remain spiritual weaklings.
The only way we can grasp the will of God and the faith to believe in the simplicity of such promises is by abiding in Christ. If we are losing the focus of ourselves, and getting caught up in the realm of existence of Jesus; if we are letting His word abide in us and dominate every part of our lives, we will live out John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
Here it is plain and simple. As we abide in Christ, He lives the totality of His life through us. This includes His prayer life. The reason we experience so little power in prayer is that we are still in the way, praying our own will and asking God to do things along our line of thinking. However, when we get out of the way and abide in Christ, and let Jesus Himself live through us, we will both know the will of God and pray the will of God.
The only one who ever believed the promises of God fully was Jesus. Therefore, we must get out of the way and let the life of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, rise up within us and take hold of these great and precious promises. We must pray in the Spirit, which is nothing more than letting Jesus Himself express His prayer life through us. Jesus himself said that the Holy Spirit will take what is His and declare it to us. This statement reaches its zenith in application to prayer. The Spirit of God takes the prayer life of Jesus, reveals it to us, and then gives us the grace to get in line with it. This is vital, because Jesus was the beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased, and it is Jesus who always is heard by the Father because of His righteousness (Matt. 3:17; John 11:42; Heb.5:7).
Therefore, as we abide in Christ, we will know the will of God and thus be able to have faith in God. We will be able to pray with power and authority, because it will be Christ praying through us, and all things prayed will be for the glory and fame of God! So, the scripture under discussion is a simple promise with profound results. Have faith in God, and nothing will be impossible.
Get alone with God and His word. Confess and forsake your sin. Open to John 15 and study it, read it, and absorb it. The only way to learn how to pray and abide in Christ is to take time and do it. If you want to see transformation in your prayer life, that is the only way. Let Jesus teach you how to get out of the way and He will come and manifest His prayer life through you. And my, how sweet it is!