When We Gather to Pray…

…We Abide In God

“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

—1 John 4:16

How do we abide in God? Let’s go on a quick journey through the letter of 1 John, where it’s made very clear that to abide in God is to obey God.

  • 1 John 2:6 — “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
  • 1 John 3:6 — “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”
  • 1 John 3:9 — “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him.”
  • 1 John 3:24 — “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.”

I think this makes sense to us. In a father and child relationship, if the child disobeys the father, and continually rebels, then there is no relationship. The child is acting as if the father is not actually their father. But if the child is obedient, listening to and following the instruction of the father, then there is a clear relationship, and the father and child abide in each other. The same is true of us with God. To abide in God we must obey him.

So then, what is the command that we are to obey? John makes this clear as well.

  • 1 John 2:10 — “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.”
  • 1 John 3:14 — “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.”
  • 1 John 4:12 — “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

To love one another is the command that we are to obey. Jesus says this as well in Matthew 22 when asked what the greatest command is. He says, essentially, to love God and love each other.

But love is a tricky thing because we don’t often define it very well. We think in terms of romantic love. We think in terms of familial love. We think in terms of emotional love. But God’s love is different. God’s love is in terms of sacrifice. God loves self-sacrificially. And we know this because he gave himself completely for our sake on the cross.

And it’s on the basis of God’s love for us that we are drawn into him. We abide not on our own ability to love, but we abide fully on his ability to love us. And how do we know that we are abiding in God’s love for us? John tells us.

  • 1 John 3:24 — “And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”
  • 1 John 4:13 — “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

God’s Spirit, which is given to us when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, becomes the signpost by which we know we are abiding in the love of God. God’s Spirit is love, and so literally the love of God comes to dwell inside of us, to fill us and empower us to love as God loves.

You see how this works: God’s love enables God’s Spirit to abide in us, which enables our obedience, which enables our love, which enables us to abide in Him. Love begets love.  Praise God that our abiding in him is dependent not on our ability to love him, but on his ability to love us! What a gift we have in Jesus Christ!

Now you’re probably wondering what this has to do with prayer. And the answer is everything!

Prayer is our most powerful act of love. It is the work of the Spirit of God amongst the people of God. Prayer demonstrates our full dependence on the God of love as we seek him for the sake of others. Without prayer there is no abiding in God’s love, and in turn there is no love for each other.

All that to say that to abide in God we must pray! We must pray in the love of God for the sake of each other.

So I know you probably have a busy weekend planned, and you’d much rather spend Sunday evening doing something less religious and spiritual. But I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that there is nothing better you could be doing with your time on Sunday evening that joining us in prayer as we abide in the God of love and seek after his will for us.

We will meet Sunday at 5pm in the Commons for prayer. After which we will enjoy some pizza and ice cream. Please bring some fruit or veggies to help make the meal a little bit more healthy.

I pray to see you there.

In Christ,

Matthew Lautz

Director of Worship Arts