Category Archives: Prayer

GOD IS A GOOD FATHER

Prayer, ,

Matthew 7:7, 9-11 NLT
[7] “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you….
[9] “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? [10] Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! [11] So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

As I have said before, prayer is a mystery. Why do I say that?

How is it possible that an almighty, holy God, creator and sustainer of the universe, who numbers and names every star and planet, can hear, or would want to hear the faintest whisper from one individual among billions? How can He know each one’s needs before we ask Him? How can He invite us, no, urge us to pray, to seek Him, to persist in our pursuit of His presence, His favour, and His blessing? Even more, why does He want us to partner with Him in His management of the earth and its creatures, through prayer?

Although we will never fathom the depth of His thoughts or understand the grandeur of His ways, the Bible tells us very clearly that God Is good Father.

To me, this is even more amazing, that God should want to be our Father; that He should desire a fellowship so close that we would call Him “Abba”. He wants us to live in that daddy/child intimacy that depends on and trusts Him implicitly as a little child would cling to daddy’s hand for security and protection.

How do we know that this is true? Are we creating something that our hearts deeply desire and lack because our earthly fathers have failed us? Are we stepping into forbidden territory through our undisciplined imagination, pulling God down to our level?

The Bible says an emphatic “No!” to our speculations. Jesus is the evidence that assures us that this notion is not from us but from the Father Himself.

Although the Old Covenant makes mention of God’s role as a tender and loving Father to His people…

Hosea 11:1-4 NLT
[1] “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. [2] But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. [3] I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. [4] I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him.”

Malachi 1:6 NLT
[6] The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!“

… God’s frustration with His people is the frustration of a father who does everything for his children but they persist in rebelling against his authority in return.

David, God’s model king, recognised the father-heart of God in his magnificent song of praise, perhaps through his own experience.

Psalms 103:13-14 NLT
[13] “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. [14] For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.”

However, the revelation of God’s father role to those who belong to Him came to full bloom when Jesus came to earth as His Son. He modelled the attitude and life of a true son, and taught His disciples how to respond to God as their heavenly Father.

Have you ever noticed Jesus’ powerful statement to Mary after His resurrection when He confirmed everything He had taught His disciples about the Father?

John 20:17 NLT
[17] “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and YOUR FATHER, to my God and YOUR GOD.’”

Everything about their relationship with God as Father hung on this one crucial event – Jesus’ resurrection. He died and rose again to bring Father and estranged sons together. Reconciliation is at the heart of our father/child relationship with God.

He sent His Spirit into our hearts to take up permanent residence in us and to give us a strong awareness of who we are.

Romans 8:15-16 NLT
[15] “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” [16] For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

God’s promise to Israel is His assurance to us too.

Isaiah 46:3-4 NLT
[3] “Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. [4] I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”

1 John 3:1 NLT
[1]” See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!…”

This reality brings me to two important facts about God and us as Father and sons, and prayer.

Matthew 6:9-10 NLT
[9] “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. [10] May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven….”

First, we always come to God in prayer as our Father. We recognise who He is, our HEAVENLY Father… sovereign, holy, His will supreme but… He is our Father. It’s that close, intimate, humble, child-like attitude that should characterise our interaction with God. We don’t come as shoppers with grocery-lists of demands and requests; we don’t come as orphans with cap-in-hand to beg for favours; we don’t come as strangers hoping for help when we run into trouble; we come as beloved children to a Father who takes His role of provider and protector seriously.

Second, we should keep coming to Him with everything. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you….” Prayer is not about nagging God until He responds to us. Prayer is about always bringing everything to God because He is a good Father.

Surely, Jesus said, if earthly parents, who are essentially evil, know that it’s right to give their children the good things they ask for, how much more will God, who is our good Father, give us what is good for us.

So, if God is a good Father in the way He responds to our prayers, He is a good Father in all the ways He treats us. He supervises our lives from beginning to end, from conception to our last breath. Even if we don’t understand what’s going on, we can trust Him because He is working for our good.

Good, good, good, all the time!

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His covenant love endures forever.”

LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

Prayer, ,

Luke 11:1-4 NIV‬
[1] One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” [2] He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. [3] Give us each day our daily bread. [4] Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ’ ”

Have you ever asked the Lord to teach you to pray?

As little children, many of our prayer lives began with, “Dear Lord Jesus…” That’s a good beginning for a five-year-old but, as mature believers, we should have advanced beyond the ‘toddler’ stage in our Christian walk.

The disciples saw something in Jesus’ prayers that fascinated them. They recognised an intimacy with the Father that was missing in their own lives.

Why did they want to learn from Jesus what John was teaching his disciples about prayer? Was John doing more to train his followers than Jesus was doing for His? This cannot be so, there must be another reason for their request.

What did John teach his disciples about prayer? We don’t know. However, since John had disciples, followers who lived with him wherever he went, and learned to imitate him as their rabbi (teacher), he must have passed on to them what he had been taught from childhood. The ‘tanach’, their Old Testament Bible, was their textbook, and its written prayers, which there are many, was their pattern. They would have recited set prayers from the tanach on many different occasions and for many situations and reasons.

However, I think that intimacy with the Father may have been foreign to them and missing from their prayers. This was something unusual and compelling that Jesus exemplified in His prayer life.

Sometimes, Jesus went out alone before dawn to pray, sometimes all night, for example, before He chose His disciples.

‭Luke 6:12-13 NLT‬
[12] “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. ‭
[13] At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles…

Sometimes, He prayed in His disciples’ hearing, for example, before His death.

‭Mark 14:35-36 NLT‬
[35″+ He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. [36] “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Our Scripture, quoted at the beginning, reveals Jesus conversing with the Father in His disciples’ presence. Prayer was such a significant part of His life that He spoke to the Father anywhere and everywhere in any and every situation.

What He saw, heard, and learned from the Father, as a Son, He put into practice in His earthly life.

‭John 5:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. [20] For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing…”

The Iove and unity between Father and Son was so strong that Jesus did everything He could to protect that bond by the intimacy He shared with the Father, and miracles happened.

Before He fed a crowd of hungry people, Jesus thanked the Father for the food…

‭John 6:11 NLT‬
[11] “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.”

and everyone had enough to eat!

When He stood outside Lazarus’ tomb, He thanked the Father for hearing Him…

‭John 11:40-44 NLT‬
[40]” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” [41] So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. [42] You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” [43] Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” [44] And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

and Lazarus came out of the tomb, alive!

What does this witness say to us?

Prayer is not about getting God on our side. Prayer is, at best, getting ourselves onto God’s side. When we look carefully at Jesus’ reponse to His disciples’ request, it’s all about where we fit into God’s plan. This requires humility, submission, and intimacy with the Father.

Jesus gave His disciples a pattern prayer, not so much to be recited but to guide them and to help them understand how to experience intimacy with the Father.

Why, then, did Jesus wait to be asked, on this occasion, to teach these men to pray? Did He want to arouse a desire in their hearts, to show them, first, through His own life, that prayer is the expression of union with the Father?

Jesus lived out the prescription of Solomon…

‭Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT‬
[5] “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

That’s true prayer in a nutshell, perfectly modelled by Jesus and given to us as the only way in which to live the life here and now that prepares us for the life to come.

STAMP YOUR AMEN ON GOD’S PROMISES

Prayer, ,

From time to time, we have examined what the Bible has to say about prayer. We have looked at some of the recorded prayers of Old and New Testament saints, tried to copy them, and probably still struggle with what prayer is really meant to be.

Prayer has so many facets that we find it difficult to embrace every detail, and end up getting stuck on a few, like praise, – perhaps, – thanksgiving, – if we remember, – asking God for things or to do stuff, – a whole lot, – and praying for others, – if we are alerted to a crisis or need. This list probably sums up much of our praying.

However, God made prayer simple. We can sum prayer up in one word, fellowship! Yes, God intends prayer to be, in all its many facets, fellowship with Him.

There is a difference between fellowship and relationship.

We have a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus. This means that we are His beloved sons and daughters, and He is our perfect heavenly Father. There is no greater or more wonderful relationship than this, God’s forever family.

There are many spin-offs from this relationship, as there are in human families, but perhaps the most comforting and secure is that of belonging.

‭1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for GOD BOUGHT YOU with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

‭1 John 3:1 NLT‬
[1] “See how very much our Father loves us, for HE CALLS US HIS CHILDREN, and that is what we are!…”

‭1 Peter 2:9 NLT‬
[9] “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, GOD’S VERY OWN POSSESSION . As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

There are many Scriptures that affirm our belongingness to God which secures a life-long connection with Him that nothing or no one can break.

‭John 10:27-29 NLT‬
[27]” My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
[28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand”

However, belonging to God and being a member of His family is only the beginning. How precious it is when a baby says its first words and begins to communicate with the family. So it us with us.

That’s what we call ‘fellowship’. Fellowship is the interaction between people who share a common life, be it in the intimacy of a family or outside the family in common interests and activities. Our greatest and most meaningful fellowship happens in the ‘God-family’, with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and within God’s human family.

‭1 John 1:3, 7 NLT‬
[3] “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that YOU MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ….
[7] But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

We build our fellowship in God’s family by sharing our growing knowledge and experience of God and His ways, and by doing life together in loving service and ministry. So, fellowship happens through COMMUNICATION. Fellowship is built on the foundation of the knowledge of one another, honesty, transparency and trust.

Likewise, communication (prayer) is the way we have fellowship with the ‘God-family’ – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, built on the same foundation as we build fellowship in the human family.

So, if prayer, in its simplest form, is about communucation with God, (and remember that the three persons of the Trinity are the God-family we talk to), how do we communicate?

Communication happens when two people talk to one another with verbal and non-verbal language. If one dominates the conversation, that’s not communication. Speaking and listening are both included.

So, learning to listen is equally as important as learning to speak in the right way to God.

In this short meditation, I want to focus on one important way in which we ‘listen’ in this conversation with God.

God’s promises form an important and major way in which He speaks to us. The problem is that we come to Him with our issues but, before we stop to listen, we rush off to sit in our ‘worry rocking chair’ and get nowhere but deeper into despair.

When we stop to listen, God’s Word begins to speak. The Holy Spirit quickens promises that provide understanding and hope. Sometimes the promise comes in the form of a ‘pattern’, what God wants the person or situation to be in His original plan. Take, for example, His pattern for marriage in Ephesians 5:22ff.

‭Ephesians 5:22, 25, 31-33 NLT‬
[22] “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord…
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church….
[31] As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” [32] This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. [33] So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.“

If your marriage, or any other for which you are praying, is out of line, you have God’s ‘ blueprint’ and intention which are in His promise. So, how, then, must you pray? Once again, the Bible has the answer.

‭2 Corinthians 1:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.”… and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. [20] For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, OUR “AMEN” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

So, instead of whining, and crying, and pleading with God… stop, listen… the Holy Spirit will provide the promise from God’s Word, a solid foundation on which your faith can stand, and you can stamp the AMEN on that promise!

Done! Finished! Guaranteed because “he always does what he says.”

Now all you need to do is to believe and wait.

‭Hebrews 6:12 NIV‬
[12] “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Amen to that!

When we follow this principle, we quickly deal with issues so that we can enjoy the fellowship, the sharing of our lives with God and He with us, in the conversation we have with Him called ‘PRAYER ‘.

So, in the end, prayer is much more than communication, conversation, and even fellowship. Engaging in real communication with the God who has pledged to be our heavenly Father includes strengthening our faith in Him. Trusting in Him and His interventions for us, moves us along the way He has planned for us to prepare us for our eternal life with Him.

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 24

Prayer, ,

PRAY FOR GOD’S MESSENGERS

‭Ephesians 6:19 NLT‬
[19] “And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.”

Perhaps we should conclude our thoughts about prayer with a focus on those whom God has called to sow the seeds of His Word all over the world, in cities, towns, villages, and remote areas everywhere, to the ends of the earth.

Paul was acutely aware of his own weaknesses as well as the enormity of the task God had entrusted to him. He was commissioned to take the message of Jesus to the Gentiles but he was up against relentless opposition from Jews and Gentiles as well as living and travelling in the dangerous world of his day.

He constantly entreated his fellow believers to pray for him. He was as human as they were, subject to the conflicting emotions stirred up by his circumstances.

He speaks of fear, anger, tears, anguish as he struggled with ex-pagans who were raw and new in their faith and walk with the Lord, and with Jewish believers who were still powerfully influenced by the demands of their Jewish religion.

His life was constantly in danger and once almost extinguished by over-zealous pagans who wanted to worship him and his companions as gods.

‭Acts of the Apostles 14:11 NLT‬
[11]”When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”

Paul was aware that he faced opposition from two sources, from without and from within. His old nature stirred up attitudes and reactions to his opposition that desired revenge, but the new nature required submission to God’s will no matter what it cost him.

‭2 Corinthians 11:24-29 NLT‬
[24] “Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. [26] I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. [27] I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. [28] Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. [29] Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?”

These hardships were like a thorn in Paul’s flesh, constantly goading him to react.

‭2 Corinthians 12:8 NLT‬
[8]”Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away…”

Is it any wonder that he needed the prayer support of Christian family to help him through his daily struggles! So, he constantly urged them to pray for him.

‭Philippians 1:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. [20] For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.”

In the midst of all these obstacles, Paul had one all-consuming desire, to be faithful to his calling and to fulfill his commission with courage and boldness. He needed to convey his message with clarity so that those who heard him would understand it and believe.

How much more do God’s fellow workers need the same boldness, courage, and clarity to declare the same message today! The threats to those who proclaim the gospel are ever-icreasing from a hostile world of people and governments that hate, oppose and suppress the truth by their wickedness.
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God promised that His Word will always accomplish its purpose but He does not guarantee a trouble-free journey for all of us. In fact, Jesus made it clear that the opposite will happen. Trouble will always be just around the corner.

‭John 16:33 NLT‬
[33] “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

What of those who in some way, walk in Paul’s shoes? Their struggles are no less real than his were.

So, let us be faithful in our prayers for God’s messengers; for safety, deliverance, and faithfulness to God’s Word and to their calling; for strength to stand firm in trials and tests; for courage, boldness, and clarity to declare the whole gospel; and for integrity and godliness that confirm their calling.

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 23

Prayer, ,

HOLY AND BLAMELESS

‭1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NLT‬
[23] “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. [24] God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

What a benediction for a happy church! After commending them for their faith, hope, and love, and encouraging them to do what they were doing even more, Paul prays for them to be holy and to be preserved blameless for the entire course of their lives until Jesus returns.

A few words in this prayer need clarification.

Paul, first, calls on ‘the God of peace’. Three attitudes pervade the atmosphere of God’s presence… love, joy, and peace. This is who He is. In a sin-soaked world of chaos and confusion, God’s peace is an oasis of tranquility and serenity, a priceless gift to those who trust Him, not only His peace but His presence soaked in His peace.

‭Philippians 4:6-7, 9 NLT‬
[6] “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus….
[9] Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

It’s this God to whom we entrust everything about our lives that will escort us to the heavenly haven of rest in His eternal presence. It’s this God who promises to keep us safe in every storm and deliver us from every threat and danger until we leave ‘down here ‘ for ‘up there’.

What could be more secure than this, especially when Paul assures us that

“God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

So, what will God do while we are here?

  1. He will make you holy.

Since God demands holiness as the qualification for seeing Him, and seeing how impossible it is for us to be holy without Him, we need this assurance that, just as salvation is His work in us, so is holiness.

‭Hebrews 9:12 NLT‬
[12] “With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”

‭Hebrews 10:14 NLT‬
[14] “For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.”

What is holiness? Holiness is God’s attitude to sin. God is holy. He is utterly separate from sin. He cannot sin; He hates sin; He calls for the judgment and death of the sinner but.. He also dealt with sin by punishing His own Son in our place.

For us, holiness has two parts…
Simply put, we are to be separate from sin and separated to God.

Part one – belonging

The essence of this separation is belonging. Holiness does not mean we must be morally as perfect as God is. In this life, we are still plagued by our old sin nature. Holiness means that we must live according to the one to whom we belong. He bought us. We belong to Him. He wants us to show that belongingness by the way we live… not perfectly but purposefully, remembering that we have an Advocate who represents us when we mess up.

‭1 John 2:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

‭1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

God bought us from the slave-market and dominion of sin,

‭1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT‬
[18]” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. [19] It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”

We belong to Him, body, soul, and spirit. We are called to live out that belongingness by being separate from everything that contradicts who He is.

Part two – living

‭1 Peter 1:14-16 NLT‬
[14]” So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. [15] But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. [16] For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

So, living by the standards of the one to whom we belong is an important part of being holy.

How is this possible?

  1. He will preserve you blameless.

We have another Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us. He provides the power, by God’s grace, to obey God’s Word when we trust and obey Him.

‭Romans 8:11-14 NLT‬
[11] “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. [12] Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. [13] For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

The Holy Spirit in us guarantees that we belong to God and that He will finish what He started.

‭Ephesians 1:14 NLT‬
[14]” The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

Since we belong to God and since He is working in us by His Spirit to separate us from sin and to Himself, will God answer Paul’s prayer?

A resounding” YES!” because God is faithful and He will make it happen!