The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

James 1:5-6a, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting…”

Do you remember when you used to “play” your mother against your father in the attempt to get what you wanted? One of the two was “softer” and easier to give in to you than the other. Remember? Well, prayer doesn’t work that way. How does prayer work?

Previously, I have said that all true prayer originates with the Holy Spirit and is addressed to the Father through the agency of His Son, Jesus Christ.

If the above be true –and it is!– then how can the Heavenly Father, whose desire it is “to give what is good to those who ask Him” refuse to give what the Holy Spirit asks? Simply put, He cannot. Disharmony cannot exist within the Godhead. It is theologically impossible.

This is what the Apostle John meant when he cites Jesus’ argument,

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish,

and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).

Had Jesus simply said, “Ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you,” some credence could be given to the “name-it-and-claim-it” theology. But Jesus prefaces man’s receiving upon two factors: first, man must be abiding in Christ. That is, man must settle down and make his home in the LORD and within His will. He must be a righteous person, having been born again in Christ; and he must live in the Word so that the Word – the Scripture– lives in him!

For several years I ministered as an itinerant evangelist. In the smaller church meetings, I often stayed in the homes of church members. It was there that I discovered the true meaning of abiding. In some homes, I was told, “We want you to be ‘at home,’ just as if it were your own.” That sounded reassuring until I heard the rest: “The only thing… please do not set any soda pop bottles on the coffee table. It’s an antique that belonged to my great-grandmother, and…” – well, you get the idea. Before the index of things I was not to do was completed, I felt very much not-at-home.

On the other hand, there were hosts who said, “Look, we keep a busy schedule. We’ll have some meals here, and they will be on time. But, if you get hungry, you know where the refrigerator is. Help yourself. If you don’t, you’ll have only yourself to blame. The house is yours. We’ll see you at 5:00 P.M.” Wow! In those homes I relaxed and I abode!

The “if” in Jesus’ word is conditional; that is, maybe one will abide in Him, maybe he won’t. But, if he does abide in Christ, and the Holy Spirit is allowed to guide and mold his life into Christlikeness, he can count on receiving whatever he wishes because what the Spirit wishes for him will be what he wishes for himself.

Timing is something that is certainly involved. Just remember that while time seems very relevant to us, with God there is no such thing as time. Oh, He is absolutely aware of what time means to us, it’s just that we’re not so aware that it means little if anything to Him. Be patient. Don’t get discouraged if the prayers the Holy Spirit led you to pray are not answered as quickly as you would like. He may be testing your faith, your belief that He is both able and willing to answer your prayers.

One of the shortest and most memorable speeches Winston Churchill ever gave was,

Never give in. Never. Never. Never. Never.

Let that apply to your prayers. I am praying for you; and may our LORD bless us all as we pray for others who are worse off than ourselves.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”