HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div

The Fourth key: Obey

Obedience is a fundamentally important key for receiving answers to our prayers. The apostle John wrote, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).

Psalm 34:15 records, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.”

A simple definition of righteous is “doing what is right” (Webster’s New World Dictionary).

Godly righteousness then is doing what is right in God’s sight, or, as John wrote, doing “those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

God wants us to obey Him. He gave us His commandments and laws to instruct us in the principles of living that will produce the happiness we all want. God loves us and only wants us to reap good fruit in our lives. God wants us to love Him.

As Jesus said, the great commandment in the law is, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

We show love for God by obeying Him. The apostle John explained this in 1 John 5:3: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

God wants us to show Him love the same way we want our children to show us love. We appreciate the hugs, kisses and words expressing love from our children. But we especially want to see our children following the instructions that we give them for their good.

When they come asking for permission to go out with friends, we are more apt to listen to their request if they have been happily following the rules we set about safety and curfews and avoiding alcohol and drugs. All of the hugs, kisses and “I love yous” will not make up for not obeying these important rules.

The same goes for God. To truly show love for God, we must obey His commands from the heart.

If we have not been living our lives in a way pleasing to God, we cannot come “boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) expecting to receive what we ask unless we truly repent―commit to changing from the way of sin to the way of obedience.

TO BE CONTINUED ……