CHAPTER 4
"...Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son." -- JOHN 14:13
Jesus revealed His purpose in answering prayer
when He said, "...That the Father may be glorified in the Son." In order to
achieve His exalted purpose to glorify the Father, the Son has bestowed on His
redeemed people the inalienable right to ask anything in His Name. In the
clear light of this remarkable truth it is not difficult to perceive that the
possibilities in prayer are as great as the purpose of the Son of God. It is
likewise apparent that every prayer offered in the Name of the Son must be
offered for the specific purpose of obtaining the things which glorify the
heavenly Father.
The Saviour was near the close of His public
ministry with His disciples when He delivered His parting address preserved for
us by John. In His closing address He speaks to the men whose training time
has about ended. He instructed His messengers in the "Sermon on the Mount" to
pray, believing and trusting the Father to give them all good gifts; but in His
closing discourse He points to something higher to be accomplished through
prayer and faith. These faithful men were to go and perform His works, even
greater works than He had achieved during His ministry in the world. The
Master disclosed to them that praying in His Name was to be the channel through
which the enabling power was obtained to perform the works which glorify the
Father in the Son.
When Jesus said, "...I go to my Father," He was
obviously speaking of His ascension to the right hand of God. His exaltation
to the right hand of the Majesty on high began a new epoch in the praying and
working of the disciples. The Saviour had imparted power to His chosen
disciples while with them in the world, and He now purposes to enable them to
do greater things for Him. He has promised to impart the power from heaven to
accomplish greater works for Him in the world. He ordained His chosen apostles
to go and bring forth fruit, saying,
"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my
disciples." -- John 15:8
The indomitable courage they had to witness for Him, the miracles performed in
His Name, and the sufferings endured for His sake, were living testimonies of
the power received through the fervent prayers offered in His
Name.
What is true regarding the Saviour's works
achieved by His faithful disciples is likewise true regarding His works to be
accomplished by His faithful people in this present age. The same Christ who
worked in them and through them in that day, is the same changeless Christ who
wills to work in and through His people in these last days. If the people of
God expect to perform the works of Christ which shall glorify the Father, they
must believe on Him for the very work's sake, and pray in His Name.
We can perceive our responsibilities to Christ
when we consider His words regarding the greater works to be accomplished for
Him in the world. Apparently the greater works to be performed are not works
more excellent in quality, but works greater in quantity. Perhaps the ministry
of Jesus did not extend beyond the borders of the land where He lived and died.
But it is obvious that He fully intended that the whole world should feel the
spiritual impact of His invincible power through the preaching and praying of
His ransomed people. Therefore He filled His faithful witnesses with the Holy
Ghost and power and sent them unto the uttermost part of the earth to perform
the works which glorify the Father in the Son. Let us ever be mindful of the
fact that power to achieve the greater works for Christ is obtained through
prayer and faith. A man cannot achieve the works of Christ through his
eloquence And education; he must fervently pray in the Name of Jesus, and
receive power from Him in order to accomplish the works of God in this pleasure
loving age.
As long as Jesus was in the world, He performed
the works of the Father; devils fled at His word of command, the sick were
healed, and the poor had the Gospel preached unto them. When He returned to
the Father, His works from the throne of grace must be performed through His
praying and trusting people. The oneness between the Lord on His mediatorial
throne in heaven and His people on earth is so divinely perfect, that He meant
it as the literal truth when He said, "...Greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father."
It is for the express purpose of accomplishing
the works of Jesus in this present world that such great promises regarding
prayer have been given to His people. But His people are not at liberty to
claim the Saviour's promise, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do
it," in order to obtain something very special for themselves. His certified
promise does not authorize us to make him a servant of our own comforts in
life. The Master has assured us that the Father is mindful of our personal
needs, and wills to give good things to His children, but our creature comforts
are not the things which matter most in this life. Our chief concern should
always be to obtain power through prayer to achieve the greater works for
Christ.
A careful study of the Saviour's words reveal
that it is His purpose to glorify the Father through the life and love and
labors of His redeemed people. When once we fully comprehend this amazing
truth it will not be difficult to understand the meaning of the praying that
glorifies the Father in the Son. When Jesus said, "...He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also...," He revealed the obvious fact that a
man has both the mental and moral capacity to perform the works of God in this
world. It is apparently true that all men do not have the same natural
abilities to serve God in this world. The Master disclosed this truth in His
parable relating to the Kingdom of heaven.
"Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every
man according to his several ability..." Matt. 25:15
Jesus would have us understand that each man shall be rewarded according to his
faithfulness in performing his assigned task. The Master will not require more
than any man is capable of doing for Him. It is impossible for any man to
accomplish the works of Christ unless he first possesses the works of Christ in
his own heart. We must not overlook the fact that moral character and moral
conduct are so intimately related that one does not exist apart from the other.
A man's character is always exemplified in his conduct. The Saviour said,
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which
is good..." -- Luke 6:45
Jesus revealed the effective cause for achieving
His works when He said,
"...The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." -John 14:10
Paul stated this sublime truth when he said,
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure." -- Phil. 2:13
It certainly is possible for Almighty God to impart the inherent qualities of
His divine nature to a redeemed soul, seeing that He did impart His image and
likeness to the first man in the original creation. When Jesus said, "...I go
to my Father," He was speaking of His death on the cross and His ascension to
the throne in heaven. If we sincerely believe in the provisional sacrifice of
Christ on the cross, we must believe that the inherent graces of mercy, truth,
and holiness together with the fruit of the Spirit can be produced in the heart
of mortal man.
When we request Christ to perform His works in
our hearts we are devoutly praying that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
We must open the doors of our hearts and extend to the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit the right to rule us for ever, when we truly pray that the Father
may be glorified in His Son. Jesus assured us that the heavenly Father would
make His abode with us in answer to prayer. Surely a people so signally
blessed would be able to exemplify the greater works of Christ in their
diligent labors. It is apparent that our Lord has not limited the power made
available to His people through prayer in His Name. When He said, "...I will
do it," He placed His unlimited power at our disposal. He reveals himself to
be an Almighty Servant standing ready and willing to do anything and everything
pertaining to His works in answer to prayer. While meditating on these amazing
promises it is necessary to keep in mind that the primary purpose of Christ in
answering prayer is, "That the Father may be glorified in the Son."
The measure of our faith and the fervency of our
prayers determine the effectiveness of our labors for Christ. If our faith is
weak and our praying passionless we cannot expect to achieve much for Him. A
man can ease his accusing conscience by explaining that he failed to accomplish
the works of Christ because of adverse conditions where he lives and labors.
When a man is willing to face the facts, he may discover that he failed because
he had not believed in Christ for the very work's sake, and prayed fervently in
His Name. We cannot justify our failures by pleading our lack of natural
ability. I am persuaded that God does not impart a greater measure of natural
ability to us when we are saved by grace, but I do firmly believe that He
releases the powers of our souls when we give ourselves to Him. Only the
Creator knows the latent forces and inherent potentialities in an immortal
soul. When these spiritual powers are released by the indwelling Spirit of God
the whole world can feel the dynamic force of a living Christ.
When Jesus said, "...Believe me for the very
works' sake," He was pleading for a faith that would not fail to give the
message of redeeming love to the whole world. He was thinking of the
generations yet unborn when He gave us the right to ask anything in His Name.
While Jesus was in the world, mankind could see His miracles, hear His
messages, and be blessed by His ministry. The astonishing fact is that the
people of yesterday saw Him crucified, dead and buried, but cared very little
about Jesus of Nazareth, the penniless preacher of Palestine. They were too
engrossed in their own affairs of life to be impressed by a suffering Saviour.
The world of today is too busy to be bothered with thoughts of life eternal.
It is God's will to reveal the Son's works to a perishing world. He has willed
that the works of His Son shall be accomplished in this present world through
the labors and consistent living of His people.
Let us heed the pleadings of the Christ, and
believe His promise to answer our prayers that the Father may be glorified in
His Son. Let us continue to believe on Him for the very work's sake and pray
in His Name for power to achieve the victory for Him on earth. No matter how
sorely we are tried, nor how dark the hours may seem in times of sufferings, we
must continue to pray that the Father may be glorified in the Son through our
services and sacrifices in His work. Let us ever keep in mind that the
countless years which have fled into the dateless past have not outmoded the
works of Christ, neither shall the oncoming ages overthrow them. His glorious
works of grace performed in our hearts and exemplified in our living and labors
shall glorify the Father in the Son throughout all ages, world without end.
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