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.”

Dear Grands,

Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

If we allow the Scripture verse above to be true –and I do!—then what is to be said about earnest and sincere petitions that are offered by earnest and sincere believers, but appear to not be answered? My late wife and I prayed for her healing, but despite excellent medical care, the LORD, in His wisdom, took her to be with Him.

Many Biblical personalities received no divine response to their prayers. Careful examination often reveals that where no response results, the character of the inquirer may be out of step with the will of God, his Creator.

One of the most notable such instances occurs in the life of King Saul. Saul’s life had slipped to a less-than righteous level when in vain he sought the LORD.

When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him,

either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets (I Samuel 28:6).

In similar fashion, the LORD Jesus refused to respond to Pontius Pilate when asked to respond to the accusations against Him.

And He (Jesus) did not answer him (Pilate) with regard to even a single charge, so that the governor was quite amazed (Matthew 27:14).

Again, when standing before Herod, Jesus refused to respond.

And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing

(Luke 23:9).

Reason, based upon these few passages alone, would demand that we believe these men to have been righteous men in the eyes of our Heavenly Father; otherwise, what they prayerfully requested would have been forthrightly denied.

May we not, therefore, also conclude that it is not the wording of one’s prayer that arrests the attention of God, but rather the rightness of one’s life, giving vent to the indwelling Holy Spirit’s request that produces answered prayer?

Nor is it the physical position we assume that arrests the attention of the Father. Some persons are of the opinion we must be kneeling, while others believe we should bow our heads or fold our hands. All are respectful, and true prayer must be offered respectfully. Still, a study of the prayer lives of Biblical personalities, who lived righteously before God, reveals that there is no single, physical position assumed before God that affects a Divine response to prayer.

“…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).

Let the reader be here reminded –and in no uncertain terms– that it is the righteous life of the born-again believer that alone knows the indwelling of Holy Spirit. Further, all true prayer originates with the Spirit and is addressed to the Father through the agency of the Son, Jesus Christ.

How many times I asked things of my earthly father before he responded “yes” to my requests! Can we not allow our Heavenly Father to answer according to His Divine will?

Don’t give up on prayer! And don’t give up on God! He is our only true and righteous hope!

I am earnestly praying for you.

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.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 11:1, “…’LORD, teach us to pray…”

There are several fundamentals we need to understand about prayer. First, all prayer that reaches the Father, reaches Him through Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit has already initiated all prayer that reaches the Father through Christ. Thus, the only prayer a lost person can pray to the Father that the Father hears and answers is the prayer: “God be merciful to me a sinner,” or a meaning to that effect. The prayer must come from a sincere and repentant heart.

When a lost person offers a prayer confessing sin, believing upon Jesus as the Father’s sacrifice for one’s own sin, the LORD saves that person by affecting the covering of his sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. Immediately, with the life cleansed of its sin, the Holy Spirit enters and takes up residency within the individual.

From that instant onward, the Holy Spirit is the Person who burdens the believer to pray. A believer’s burden is the Holy Spirit’s call to prayer. A believer, who is living outside the realm of the Father’s perfect will, hinders the divine power of the Spirit in the initiation of prayer and all else that is spiritually and righteously potential in the individual’s life.

Therefore, for you or me or anyone. true prayer is the outgrowth of a righteous life before the Father. Christian prayer is not a mantra that is repeated over and over and over again with the hope that what is requested will be given. In fact, Jesus seriously warned against “vain repetitions.”[1] Prayer may be and ought to be persistent. The Father wants to know that we’re serious about the things we bring before Him. But, being persistent in praying is quite different from empty and meaningless phrases that become mindlessly, continuously repeated.

Examine the multiple prayers in the Bible –prayers of Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Elijah, David, Solomon, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, to name but a few. All of these men, while inherently sinful from Adam, were supported by righteous lives that led to their prayers being answered.

The Psalmist saw a connection between the incense on the Altar of Incense in the Tabernacle’s Holy Place and the prayers of those who loved and served the LORD. David wrote:

May my prayer be counted as incense before Thee; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering (Psalm 141:2).

Another of the more interesting facets of prayer comes to us from the Book of Revelation. It is there that we learn from the Apostle John, who was caught up into Heaven, that true prayers are never lost to God.

And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8,

Indeed, the LORD hears all of the prayers of the righteous. Being initiated by the Holy Spirit, the Father answers with “Yes” or “Wait.” All petitions that lack the Holy Sprit’s impetus or initiation, the Father does not hear with the intent to respond. Such petitions result in a, “No,” from our perspective.

Many Biblical personalities received no divine response to their prayers. Careful examination reveals that where no response results, the character of the inquirer was out of step with the will of God, his Creator.

Do you pray? Is it the Holy Spirit who burdens you to pray? Are your prayers answered?

If they are, do you express thankfulness to the LORD? If they are not answered, have you looked to your life for the answer?

I am praying earnestly for you!

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.”

________________________________

[1] Mathew 6:7

Dear Grands,

Luke 11:1c, “’Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

When I am leading someone to receive Christ as LORD and Savior of his life, I always start by using Romans 6:23,

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

After explaining that “wages” is something we are given for work we have performed, while “gift” is that which God gives freely of Himself, I ultimately move to Romans 10:13,

Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved.

At this juncture, I always ask the one to whom I’m witnessing, “What does it mean to you to ‘call upon the Name of the LORD’?” Having asked this of a young girl, she looked me straight-in-the-eye and said, “It means to pray.” She was right.

But, what does it mean to pray? Simply stated, prayer is talking with God. Over the years, I’ve had many people say to me, “I don’t know how,” or “I don’t know what to say.” My response has always been, “Just tell Him you’re sorry for being a sinner and ask Him to forgive your sin –to save you.” The difficulty in praying is, in many cases, not so much knowing how or what to say as it is being embarrassed before God for our sin. And well we should be. Still, the LORD is not one of whom we should be afraid; rather, He is the One who loves us with an undying love –a true love that never weakens or wears out. With that in mind, no one ought to be afraid to come to the LORD in prayer.

Experience has taught me that, although a person receives Christ in this simple way, he often fails to realize the fullness of what has occurred until he prays and says, “Thank You” to God. Since I learned this, I have sought to lead the newly-born again Christian to recognize the LORD’s salvation as a gift and pray saying, “Thank You, LORD, for saving me.”

If you know the LORD as your Savior, and if your life is being lived for Him, you can be an effective witness and bring a lost person to faith. Just use the Scriptures I’ve noted above. Then, after the person has repented and asked the LORD for salvation, ask, “What do you do when someone gives you a gift?” They will likely say, “You accept it.” You then say, “Yes, but is there anything else?” If the person doesn’t figure it out, you can say, “What do you say to someone when you receive a gift?” They will reply, “Oh, you mean ‘Thank you.’” Let’s pray again. You pray first and say “Thank You”; then I’ll pray.

Think it through, then reach out to someone who needs Jesus. You’ll be as thrilled as they are when you see them come to Christ. I’ll be praying for you!

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.”

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 1:18-21, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.”

When I was a kid, I wolfed down food at every meal. Many times, however, I took more on my plate than my stomach could stand. My mother used to say, “See, your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” She had a lot of sayings that matched or came close to matching words in the Bible.

The Apostle Paul said things like my mother. He prayed that the “eyes of (the Ephesians’) heart (might) be enlightened.” He wanted what they saw in the Word of God to be understood. There are rich rewards coming to the ones who have received Christ as their Savior. The strength of the LORD’s might is what raised Jesus from the dead, and He is now seated at the Father’s right hand in Heaven itself. What’s more, He is Coming again to receive us!

Of all the great religious leaders, only Jesus Christ arose from the dead. Mohammed, the Buddha –all died and are in their graves. Only Jesus arose from the dead and is living in Heaven today! He is

“far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.” Those who believe in Jesus, those who renounce their own self-authority, repent of their sins, and believe upon Him, will be saved. Heaven

will be their eternal home.

We who know Him care for the souls of those who don’t. If you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ, this

short letter is my care for your eternal soul. If you have embraced Christ as your Savior and LORD, you and I have a responsibility to love and care for those who have not received Him.

But, how does one come to know Jesus? Pray this simple prayer and trust Him to save you:

Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I know I’ve done many wrong things in my life.

I’m sorry for my sin. I know that Jesus loves me, and that He died and rose again

to save me from my sin. Right now, in my heart, I willingly turn from my sin. And

by faith I receive the LORD Jesus Christ as my Savior. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Now, if you sincerely prayed that prayer, take God at His Word and believe that you are a “born again” Christian! Jesus said, “…him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (Jn. 6:37). Nor can you ever again be lost outside of Christ. Jesus said, “I give unto them eternal life: and they shall never perish…” (Jn 10:28). As a born-again believer, you are thoroughly and forever secure in Jesus Christ. May God bless you abundantly!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. If you prayed that prayer, email me and let me know. I will be praying for you to “grow

in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

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.”