Greetings to you – chosen, called, redeemed, forgiven, equipped, empowered – in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! This beautiful morning has been made by the Lord so that we can rejoice and be glad in it…so, take a moment right now- lift your eyes towards the heavens and say: Thank You for life today…Thank You for my home and my family and my friends…Thank You for You! – Okay that was a good warm-up, try it again with a smile. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to reveal Himself to you today as…The Lifter of Your Head – The All-Sufficient One – The Restorer – The Healer – The Hiding Place, and The Comforter.
This morning I want to share another aspect of praying Scripture for someone going through “stuff”. In John 15:1-2 we read these words: I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will bear fruit so they will produce even more. NLT.
If we pray – “God, please accomplish Your purpose in my friend’s life” as they are navigating some “stuff”…or maybe it is a personal prayer, then according to Jesus’ words in John…the ‘purpose’ is so that they/we my bear more fruit. The question is – what does “fruit” mean? – and I have heard many answers but I believe the best answer is found in Galatians – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience (long-suffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 NLT.
I think that most of us understand that we wouldn’t be the people we are today without the difficult times of life that ‘pruned’ us so that we bore fruit…and more fruit. So when we are praying for someone or ourselves – and we ask God to accomplish His purposes, one of the underlying truths is that we are asking to use the ‘stuff’ of life do some transformative work that will be visible through our character.
Think about that the next time you tell someone you are praying for them…or someone says they are praying for you — have a blessed day!