Powerful Words?

I was a bit surprised this week as I studied this lesson. The first verse of the first two sections talk explicitly about “doing” something. Last week I mentioned we can know that God hears our prayers because we are His children. Well this week, we have a very clear indicator of what it looks like to be one of His children.

Both verses, John 14:12 and 15:14, provide the mirror for us to examine our lives in. Do you believe in Jesus? Are you His friend? The easy answer is also a difficult one. The real answer is found in how you live. Do you do the acts that Jesus did? Do you do what He commands you to do? I think this is a great camping spot for a few minutes. Don’t pass by these verses in your personal time or your teaching time. Focus on these questions and have your class do the same. If you really want to know why your prayers don’t seem powerful, or if you are questioning if He evens hears your prayers, this is where it starts. There is no way around these two verses. Who we are is truthfully stated by how we live.

Macie, my daughter who loves Scooby Snacks, lives differently because she is my daughter. If she was born somewhere else or to different parents, her life would be different. Because she is my daughter, she uses certain words and doesn’t use others. She gets in trouble for things that other kids don’t. I expect her to live a certain way, and since she is only 3, her options for rebellion are slim. Later on, I pray she will continue to live the way we have taught her to.

In much the same way, Jesus expects us to live a certain way because we are His children. We don’t act our way into being His child, but we are absolutely supposed to live differently once we are His. Prayers are directly impacted by this. If one of Macie’s friends at school asked me for something, my response would be very different than if Macie was the one doing the asking. Why? She is my daughter and I love her.

I couldn’t get past these two verses this week. Their truth is simple yet convicting. This is not one of those areas where we can talk around it or debate if Jesus meant it literally or not. Jesus said it in these verses and a multitude of other places this truth is taught—if we are His children we will live like it. Are your prayers powerful? Is your life Christ-like? Spend some time this weekend thinking about these questions and your answers. Talking power is intricately linked with living power.