*1 John 5:11-15

Devo Fuel: {The Awesome Privilege of Prayer}

" God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." (1 John 5:11-15)

Something amazing happens when we reach out to our Father through prayer. We enter into God’s presence and can access His power on behalf of a lost, hurting world.

Jesus Christ made it possible for us to have communion with the Father. All of us inherited a sin nature through the first man, Adam. We’ve been separated since birth from holy God. Our sin nature placed us under a death sentence with no appeal. To give us access to Himself, God sacrificed His Son Jesus. God counted His death as payment for our sins.

When we make a commitment to Christ by receiving Him as our personal Savior, our sins are no longer counted against us. In God’s “accounting books,” our transgressions have been transferred to the Lord. His righteousness is credited to us. John chapter 14:13 says with our sins forgiven, we have a new position in Christ. We are free to approach God with the confidence that He will hear and answer our prayers.

The One who listens to our prayers also has the power to answer them. His authority is unlimited. Job chapter 42:2 confirms no individual or government is mightier. No one can stop His plans. Through Jesus’ life, we see God’s absolute power over nature, disease, and man’s plans. After the Savior’s death, God used His divine power to resurrect Jesus and bring Him to heaven. This same power is available to us when we pray.

Prayer is a key spiritual discipline in the Christian life and an awesome privilege. It opens the door for us to approach God and involve Him in our lives.