Power in Prayer #2-The Secret of Power John 15:7

“POWER IN PRAYER #2-THE SECRET OF POWER”
JOHN 15:7

INTRO: Last week as we began this series we considered Hebrews 4:16 where
we read—“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” What a
privilege is ours that we can come to the throne of God's grace at
anytime, any place, and for any reason. But the question is “when we
approach the throne of grace will we be able to approach having power
in prayer or weakness?” “Will the prayers we offer there reach the
heavenly throne or will they die as quickly as we offer them?” Tonight
I want us to consider, THE SECRET OF POWER.
In John 15:7 Jesus said—“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”. Charles
Spurgeon said, “Prayer comes spontaneously from those who abide in
Jesus. Prayer is the natural outgushing of a soul in communion with
Jesus. As the leaf and fruit come out of the vine branch without any
conscious effort and simply because its living union with the stem, so
prayer buds and blossoms and fruits out of souls abiding in Jesus.
As stars shine, so do abiders pray. They do not say to themselves, 'It
is time for us to get to our task and pray.' No, they pray as wise men
eat—namely, when the desire for it is upon them. They do not cry out
as under bondage, 'At this time I ought to be in prayer, but I do not
feel like it. What a weariness it is!' They have a glad errand at the
mercy seat and rejoice to go there. Hearts abiding in Christ send
forth supplications as fires send out flames and sparks. Souls
abiding in Jesus open the day with prayer; prayer surrounds them as
an atmosphere all day long; at night they fall asleep praying. They are
able joyfully to say, 'When I awake, I am still thee.' (Ps. 139:18).”
(Charles H. Spurgeon. The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life. p. 30).
Friends, ABIDING is THE SECRET OF POWER in prayer. R. A. Torrey
wrote concerning our Lord's words in John 15:7: ”The whole secret of
prayer is found in these words of our Lord. Here is prayer that has
unbounded power...”.(R. A. Torrey. How To Pray. Bible Explorer 4.0.Copyright 2006.

WordSearch Corp.). I want us to look tonight look at ABIDING which is THE

SECRET OF POWER in prayer by considering three things. Abiding

means:
(1) INTIMATE CONDITION
JOHN 15:7a—“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you...”
*This comes by:
A. OBEDIENCE—“If ye abide in me...”. A condition here is given. If we want to
have power in prayer we must abide in the Lord by obeying Him. Friend
you cannot live in disobedience to the expressed will of God and expect to
have power in prayer. To cling always to God and to the things of God--this
must be our major effort, this must be the road that the heart follows. –
John Cassian. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 3. In 1 John 2:3-6—“And hereby we do know that

we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and

keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But

whosokeepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby

know we that we are in him. He that saith he abidethin him ought himself

also so to walk, even as he walked.” The Bible recognizes no faith that does

not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not

spring from faith. The two are at opposite sides of the same coin. –A.W. Tozer.

Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 4. If we fail to abide in Him:

WE CANNOT BEAR FRUIT (vv. 4-5). As we abide in Him, His life flows through us and produces fruit. It is possible for a carnal Christian to produce “works,” but only the spiritual Christian can bear lasting fruit. (Warren W. Wiersbe. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines On The New Testament. p. 252). Someone has said, “The fruit of the Spirit grows only in the garden of obedience.” -- Terry Fullam, Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 3. To bear fruit we must obey! We cannot bear fruit through our disobedience.
WE CANNOT BE HIS FRIENDS (vv. 10-15). A friend of God believes God and obeys God.

B. OBSERVANCE—“and my words abide in you.” The second part of the
condition of this promise is that we abide in the Vine by having His Words
abide is us. Not only MUST His Word be remembered but also they must
remain in us as a LIVING PRINCIPLE. A principle that motivates our
obedience and our love. If we are to obtain from God all that we ask from
Him, Christ's words must abide or continue in us. We must study His
words, fairly devour His words, let them sink into our thought and into our
heart, keep them in our memory, obey them constantly in our life, let them
shape and mold our daily life and our every act. (R. A. Torrey. How To Pray.Bible Explorer

HIS WORD BRINGS ASSURANCE. Most of us, in our desire for meaningful faith, seem to be saying to God: "Show me, and I'll believe!" This approach never works. God has made it very clear to us, in the life and teaching of his Son Jesus, that the process must be reversed. He is saying to us: "Believe in me, and I'll show you." -- John Powell, S.J., in Through Seasons of the Heart. Christianity Today, Vol. 31, no. 2.
HIS WORD BECOMES OUR AUTHORITY. When we observe this command the question is not, “what saith the experts?” but ”What saith the Lord?”

(2) INCREDIBLE CONFIDENCE
JOHN 15:7b—“...ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto

you”
A. THE PROMISE GIVEN—“ye shall ask what ye will...”.Christ made this
promise to be claimed by all who are willing to heed His Words—“If ye
abide in me, and my words abide in you...”.When we abide in Him we can
have an INCREDIBLE CONFIDENCE. It is vain for us to expect to have
POWER IN PRAYER if we are not abiding in HIM and His Word is abiding in
us! We have POWER IN PRAYER when the Lord's Word sinks deeply within
us and make its abode in our hearts. Someone has said, “Prayer is the
plumb line that finds its rest in the place where our hearts beat in rhythm
with the heart of God. Scripture is the weight that propels the plumb line's
fall. – Wendy M. Wright in Weavings (July/Aug. 1996). Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 12.Colossians

3:16 admonishes us—“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all

wisdom...”. If we allow the words of Christ abide in us it will awaken us to

prayer. It will stir us to pray daily. It will move us to pray often.
B. THE PURPOSE GAINED—“...it shall be done unto you.”. We learn...that it
is only when we keep the commandments of Christ - only when we live by
faith in him, and his words are suffered to control our conduct and

affections, that our prayers will be heard (Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes' Notes On The Bible.e-

prayer of faith comes from a life given up to the will and the love of God. Not

as a result of what I try to be when praying, but because of what I am when

I'm not praying, is my prayer answered by God. –Andrew Murray in With Christ in the

School of Prayer. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 8. .
THE SECRET OF POWER in prayer is ABIDING which means an INTIMATE CONDITION which gives an INCREDIBLE CONFIDENCE and finally it yields...
(3) INESTIMABLE CONSEQUENCES
JOHN 15:7c—“...ask what ye will, and it shall be done...”
*When we are abiding in Christ:
A. PRAYERS ARE UNHINDERED—“...ask what ye will...”. When we abide in
Christ we will offer prayers that are in accordance with His will. This
abiding means “to renounce any independent life of our own, to give up
trying to think our thoughts, or form our resolutions, or cultivate our
feelings, and simply and constantly look to Christ to think His thoughts in
us, to form His purposes in us, to feel His emotions and affections in us. It
is to renounce all life independent of Christ, and constantly to look to Him
for the inflow of His life into us, and the outworking of His life through us.”
When we do this, and in so far as we do this, our prayers will obtain that
which we seek from God...Such prayers will always be in harmony with
God's will, and the Father heareth Him always. (R. A. Torrey. How To Pray. Bible Explorer

ourwill and then we can claim the promise—“And all things, whatsoever ye

shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22).

Unhindered prayers are:

WHATEVER IS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.
WHATEVER IS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
WHATEVER IS TRUE TO THE WORD OF GOD.

B. POTENTIAL IS UNLIMITED. Friends, there is no limit to what God can
and will do for us and through us when we are abiding in Christ and
obeying His Word.
ILLUS: We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the
treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we
want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank, and
told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it
that he is poor? Whose fault is it that Christian people generally
have such scanty portions of the free riches of God? – Alexander
MacLaren, quoted in Streams in the Desert. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 3.
The problem is that many believers do not abide in Christ fully so their
prayers are hindered and their potential is limited. The promise of the Lord
in Matthew 7:7-8 is for those whose who have complete dependence and
trust is in the Lord—“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that askethreceiveth;
and he that seekethfindeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
They abide in HIM and HIS WORD abides in them! When Jesus says that
everyone who asks will receive, he is assuming that those who pray will be
disciples who are right with God and not cherishing iniquity in their hearts.
-- Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 4.
CLOSING: Friend, do you have POWER IN PRAYER? THE SECRET OF
POWER is ABIDING. ABIDING means an INTIMATE CONDITION,
an INCREDIBLE CONFIDENCE, and INESTIMABLE

CONSEQUENCES.
Friend, are you abiding in Him so that you will have POWER IN
PRAYER?
PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, JANUARY 28, 2007.