“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” John 14:12.

The simplest explanation of the meaning of this passage is that the words, “greater works” is a reference to the extent of the Christian ministry which was worldwide.

From Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given, to about three hundred years later, nearly every heathen temple in the Roman Empire was shut down.

And down through the nearly two thousand years of the church’s history, millions upon millions, if not billions of souls have been saved through the preaching of God’s faithful servants.

They are also greater in effect; people who were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins have been made alive in Christ.

It has been said that it was easier for God to create all creation than it is for Him to save one soul.

The reason is simple, to create the universe, all God had to do was exert His limitless power to make all of nature conform to His will and plan.

But to save a lost soul He may use that to a certain degree, depending on the individual, but He will not force them to accept Christ as their savior. They have to come to that decision themselves.

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. “ 2 Peter 3:9.

While it is true that the apostles did many wonderful miracles, which are recorded in the book of Acts during the formation of the church and others have occurred through the centuries.

It does not mean that every church in history is going to perform miracles in the likeness of the apostles, or greater than Christ’s.

Some churches today have become infatuated with signs and wonders and forgotten the preaching of Christ crucified for the remission of sins for all who will call upon the name of the Lord.

Jesus’ last instructions in the book of Matthew were straightforward and quite simple.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. ‘Amen’” Matthew 28:19-20.

While focusing on, the greater works than these, and thinking the meaning is, greater miracles than Christ, many sects have turned this whole thing into a circus atmosphere, where crowds go to be healed.

And a few may get healed others think they were healed, while a great many more go away more discouraged than when they came.

This does not serve the Lord, but it does make superstars of a few people who run these meetings. The primary function of the church is to glorify God and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If this is so, the important question for those who run these shows, is how many have had their souls healed by rescuing them from the path to hell?

I do believe in healing and miracles today, I have seen them and have talked to those who have been healed.

The church has made a grave error in teaching that healings and miracles no longer exist. When you no longer have faith in something, you cannot pray in faith for it. That is why it does not happen as often as it should.

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” James 5:13-18.

It says to “confess your trespasses to one another” in verse 16 above, this does not mean to confess your faults to one another, it means, if you have sinned against someone, you are to confess that sin to them and apologize or make restitution.

For more on this passage in James 5, see “Effectual Fervent Prayer” published on 10/20/11.

The important part in this passage in James is the words, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” verse 16b. Then it says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly…”

God is telling us here that Elijah was just like the rest of us, you and I, and he wielded great power, even to the point of bringing a drought upon an entire country.

Elijah had this great power because he was a righteous man. Righteous first and foremost because he was a believer, just as Christians today are believers, having accepted Christ as their savior.

There is no such thing as a righteous man in God’s sight who has not accepted His Son as their savior. All outside of Christ are defiled with their sin. Even the Apostle Paul who called himself blameless in the keeping of the law made this confession a confession all Christians should make.

“But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith…” Philippians 3:8-9.

Elijah was also righteous because he sought to be righteous. This is why his nature was like ours; Elijah had to fight against the sins that are so common to us all; things like lust, anger, or hatred.

Though he may not have had these problems, he was still tempted the same as all of us are.

“For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16.

To have this kind of righteousness, one has to turn away from all known sin in their lives; confessing to God and seeking His help in forsaking them, no matter how dear they are to that individual.

This is much simpler than you would think. It is not a matter of starting some sort of checklist that you keep to like a diet, but it is not all passive either.

The greatest help for Christians everywhere is to set a little time aside to read their Bibles, even for ten or fifteen minutes a day, ask God for insight before reading, and pray for whatever is on your heart after you read, then live your life.

In time it becomes clear what sins need to be dealt with; confess that sin forsake it, and then be prepared to confess it again, and again, until it is gone.

Some sins like illegal drugs might go away overnight (I know people who have lost the addiction that quickly). Other sins, like anger may drag on for a long time. This is the path to righteous living.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9.

If you are not a Christian you need to accept Christ as your savior before any of this will work. If you are a Christian, deep in sin, find a quiet place, come before God and confess and forsake the things you are doing wrong (read the verse above again).

Pour out your heart before Him, even if your friends and relatives have given up on you, God does not. In fact if you do these things in all sincerity, you have already begun to please Him, even before you rise from your knees.

This is the path to becoming a righteous man or woman in prayer. When you go to pray, at a prayer meeting or at home, if you start to pray, and then realize you are still committing some pernicious sin, confess that sin in your heart, praying for victory over it (no need to confess it openly, unless it is a public sin), then you can begin to pray the things that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

When you have confessed these things to the Lord, do not worry whether He has forgiven you or not, dig in and pray in spite of how you feel.

Most folks never feel worthy, because the devil continually tries to undermine their prayer life with accusations.

When you come before the Lord in righteousness, it is, “The effective, fervent prayer” that avails much. To be effective, a prayer has to be from the heart and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Fervent prayer is not only from the Spirit but it is from the heart, in the sense that such prayer is not just quoted by rote as many do, which makes it almost what you might call a throwaway prayer. Hitting the ceiling really.

It is the prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit that are always the Father’s will and will be answered though possibly not the way you expected. Review 1 Timothy 2:1-4 quoted earlier in this study for more Holy Spirit inspired prayers.

Continual prayer for health, work, food, clothing, a place to live, and such necessities have God’s ear.

While some frivolous prayers, such as winning the lottery, no matter how sincere, are not likely to be answered. It may not be the Father’s will for you to get rich quick.

Yet prayer for wisdom and success through hard work in an honest business may be another matter altogether.

We know that God is not willing that any should perish, so praying for others is always within His will; though the accepting or rejecting of the gift of salvation is still up to the individual. They still have free will.

Pray for whoever God lays on your heart, whether family or a movie star, politician, prostitute, porn star, or a stranger on the street; dear God please save the man I saw on crutches today. God knows who they are.

Many of these folks have no one praying for them, you can make a difference. Be like the man who banged on his friend’s door at midnight for bread, Luke 11:1-13, or the widow who pestered the unjust judge until she got justice, Luke 18:1-14, heed the Lord’s advice in Matthew 7:7-11.

Be persistent, do not stop asking, bang on the door; if your heart is breaking, cry out in anguish. God has a tender heart, He is listening, but He also knows the timing of an event. That is the part you cannot dictate to Him.

Now here is a prayer that I believe should be called out daily, continually, both for salvation and health, strength and safety, for your children and grandchildren, or those you have adopted in your heart.

“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children…” Lamentations 2:19.

This is God’s will.

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14: 13-14.

“…whatever you ask in My name” these two verses above directly connected to John 14:12 which we have been studying.

Unfortunately many folks separate them from each other and believe that whatever you ask in Jesus’ name will be done for you. No, this is not, “a name it and claim it verse”, nor, again, is Christ obligated to do miracles and healings in these verses.

For years I have ended a prayer, “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” like many of us. Do not stop doing that, we receive, petition and give thanks for everything in His name.

However this verse has the meaning of, by the authority of His name. What is implied by this is that the prayer in His name is Holy Spirit inspired and has to do with glorifying God in and by the body of Christ, His church.

Anything that will glorify God the Father in the body of Christ, His church, might very well define what Jesus means when He says, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”.

One of the reasons the church is failing in America today is that we have given up on prayer. We have given up on the power of prayer because many of us do not pray in the will of the Spirit.

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:3.

So we give up because men have come to the conclusion that God does not do miraculous things today, and then they teach others the futility of asking things of God.

Some prayers are unanswered because men come before God with unclean hands and in unrighteousness make good enough requests, but have not judged their own sins.

Many prayers are unanswered because people just do not have the faith that God can answer prayer; or He is too busy, or they are unworthy to ask.

Some churches do not have prayer meetings because they do not feel that prayer is important enough! The most powerful tool available to the Christian and it is deemed unimportant.

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2.

A line from TS Eliot’s poem “Hollow Men” goes like this, “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” It is unclear whether he is speaking of the end of the world, or the end of the hollow men in the poem.

One thing is clear though, it describes the way America is ending up, with the whimper of “What shall we do? What shall we do?” as this country, and the world, sinks in the mire if filth, corruption, and greed.

All the while everyone cheers and brings in the Trojan Horse containing those who would destroy us.

Christ’s church is the only thing that can stop this and until the body of Christ comes before Him in repentance, confessing their sins, and petitioning Him to do what He has already promised to do.

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13.

The church can turn to Christ in power, or simply wait until the government robs us, our children, and grandchildren of our freedom, both to live and to worship.

Worse yet, they will take our freedom of speech and we will not be able to tell others of the love of Christ without being severely punished.

Greater Works than These, John 14:12b-14 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 3-28-13, updated on 2-2-18.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.