The Principles of Prayer XX

 On the heels of having fed the multitudes with the fishes and loaves, and having mysteriously crossed the sea to Capernaum, because the people had not seen Him enter the boat with His disciples, the people came to Jesus and asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

Contrary to modern-day practices, Jesus did not refer them to his course on spirituality, hand out cards with QR codes where they could purchase an in-depth study on the topic, or ask them to become Patreon members so they too could unlock the secrets to working the works of God. His answer wasn’t long, drawn out, or needlessly complicated, and He summarized what they needed to do in no more than one sentence.

John 6:29, “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom sent Me.”’

Since Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, He knew that the message would fall on deaf ears unless those who heard it believed in the God whose gospel and kingdom He was preaching. One cannot separate God, the lordship of Christ, and the salvific power of His death, burial, and resurrection from the works of God and still present it as gospel.

There are many types of gospels being preached nowadays. There’s the social gospel, the tolerance gospel, the inclusive gospel, the good works gospel, the prosperity gospel, but only one gospel has the power to save, heal, and restore, and that is the gospel of the kingdom of God.

People can be charitable and still end up in hell. They can be tolerant and affirming and still end up in hell. They can be rich and prosperous, have everything their grubby little fingers could point to and claim, and still end up in hell. The gospel of the kingdom of God is about none of these things, but one thing exclusively, and that is the person of Christ Jesus, who He is, what He did, what He said, and the promises He made to those who would daily deny themselves, pick up their crosses, and follow after Him.

The message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God has been clear and resonant since the early church. Rarely have we seen any generation so dedicated to chipping away at it, twisting it, and dismissing it as this one.

Acts 3:19-21, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

Men with self-serving agendas will complicate the gospel, salvation, faith, prayer, and anything else they think they can monetize or funnel people into. Men whose only desire is to do the work of the Kingdom will point the way to Jesus and give Him the glory He rightly deserves.

There was never an inconsistency between the words Jesus spoke and the life He lived. He did not subscribe to the do as I say, not as I do model of faith, because He was not interested in impressing anyone, nor was hypocrisy something He was willing to consider.

When we desire to be Christlike, we are desiring true sanctification and transformation, not the ability to put on airs or pretend at being something we know ourselves not to be. It’s why so many today give off the stench of hypocrisy, whether in leadership or their day-to-day interactions with those outside the body of Christ. We talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, and it shows. The mask inevitably slips, and people get a glimpse of what lies beneath that is so off-putting as to make them recoil.

Jesus was the Word made flesh. When we believe in the words of Christ, the actions of Christ, and the character of Christ, we are actively fulfilling the work of God. We must possess all three in order to be complete. Some believe the words of Jesus but do not have His character. Others strive to do the works that He did, without believing His words. Two out of three won’t cut it, and if we do not strive to possess His character, believe His words, and do the works to which He has tasked us, we will always be stunted in our growth and incomplete.

John 5:24-25, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My words and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.”

It’s not enough to hear; we must act upon that which we hear. Faith comes by hearing. We hear the Word of God, we hear the words of Jesus, but to have everlasting life, we must believe. Only those who hear and believe will not come into judgment, because they have passed from death to life.

We hear the gospel, then submit to it, obey it, follow it, and give it reign over our hearts and minds. Hearing only, and not allowing what we hear to stir us to action, and spark faith in our hearts, leaves us as empty, hollow, and rudderless as we were before we heard the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Prayer works in much the same way. We can read the testimonies of others who prayed and what God was able to accomplish through them. We can study the theory of prayer and even read the prayers themselves, but unless we commit to pressing in and acting upon what we’ve learned, actively nurturing a life of prayer and prioritizing our time alone with God, all we will possess is the knowledge of what God did through others, or how others prayed, but it will have no effect upon our spiritual growth.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Posted on 7 May 2025 | 11:32 am