JOHN 5

We talked about religious frauds and how they entice followers by telling them what they want to hear. In this chapter Jesus is making a case for himself in terms the Priests will understand and with evidence people will remember after he is risen. 

We considered verses 38 and 39 which reminds us to realize God dwells in us, not just when we are in church or when we pray or read the scriptures; all the time. We tend to appeal to God when things go bad and perhaps we forget about him when things are going well and we are successful.

Prayer

Today, instead of reviewing scripture, we discussed prayer; how to pray, what to pray for, and how to recognize the answer. It has been said that "God answers all prayers but sometimes the answer is no," but given John 5:14-15, 

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 and if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him, 

it is hard to image God would say no. Also consider John 15:7,

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Perhaps God answers with what we need rather than specifically what we ask for and we image the answer was no.  If you look at John 5:14 it says “according to his will” which might suggest that we can’t pray to win the lottery but we can pray for things that advance God’s plan.

Research: One of our study team, Chuck Kinney, researched this topic and found twenty bible verses concerning unanswered prayers. Please see Unanswered Prayer

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree / The Power of Prayer

We felt that the fig tree represents Jerusalem; it no longer bares fruit. When asked about his power to curse the fig tree, Jesus told them about the power of prayer and said that if you had faith you could move a mountain. Some of us felt that, while it was true, would a true believer waste their prayers on trying to win the lottery? No; a true believer would pray for the healing, protection, and spiritual growth of loved ones and others and how do we know those prayers aren’t being fulfilled? Remember; however, before you seek to examine the success of your prayers (and therefore the strength of your faith), Jesus said (Luke 4:12), "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."