“Surely I am coming soon.”
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” – Revelation 22:20
When the ascended Christ promises the apostle John that the Second Coming is imminent, John replies by turning the promise of God into a personal prayer to God. “Lord, you promise that your return is certain and soon-coming; yes, Lord, please do what you have said.”
Is this how we respond to the clear prophecies and sure promises of God in his Word?
Do we respond to Scripture in the way Scripture itself says we should?
The sure statements – the prophecies and promises – of Scripture are not meant to put an end to prayer, but to be a firm jumping off place for our prayers. Yet instead too often Christians fall into a kind of fatalistic funk when we read promises in God’s Word. We might even tell ourselves, “If God said that he’s going to do something then he will certainly do it, so it’s totally out of my hands and I’ll just sit around and wait for it to happen.”
Do we respond to Scripture in the way Scripture itself says we should?
An easy test can be applied, beginning with this very same verse in Revelation. Jesus’ prophecy is still in the future for us just as it was for John: “Surely I come quickly.” Do we pray each day, “Yes, come, Lord Jesus!”? The apostle John did.
Or we could consider other sure promises of God. Jesus says John 10:16 that “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” Do we respond with a yawn of disinterest, or with heart-felt prayers, “Lord, bring your other sheep in, let them hear your voice even now!”
Then Jesus states in John 10:27-29:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Do we react with indifference, or do we reply with urgency, “Lord Jesus, we know you have promised that your sheep will follow you and that no one will ever be able to pluck them out of your hand – Lord, please work in us a desire to follow you, and please, Lord God, don’t let anyone or thing pluck us out of your hand!”
The writer of Hebrews records this word from the Lord, that he has said “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (13:5). Do we pray, “Lord, please do not leave me, don’t give up on me, don’t ever forsake me – because I need you more than I need anything or anyone else in this world.”
Scour the pages of Scripture for clear prophecies and sure promises of God that you can then take to God in prayer.
This is how David responded, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in Psalm 38:21: “Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me!”
David did not pray this way because he was unaware of God’s promises, but rather because he knew them so well!
In fact, notice this juxtaposition of prophecy and prayer in one verse, in Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” David takes the assurance that God will never forsake him, and turns it into a prayer that God will never forsake him.
Christian, develop this habit each day as you pick up your Bible and read it. Scour the pages of Scripture for clear prophecies and sure promises of God that you can then take to God in prayer. It will revolutionize your prayer life, as well as your Bible reading. And more still, you can be sure that God will hear and answer prayers that are consciously in accord with his revealed will.