Craig Hazen is a good friend of mine and the head of the Apologetics department under the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, where I received my MA in Apologetics. I have had the privilege of living close to Biola so I have been able to get to know Craig over the last 5 years, and I can tell you if you’ve ever heard him speak, you would probably agree that anyone would be hard pressed to find someone who speaks and delivers with the finesse of Craig Hazen. His talks draw you in, and his analogies and stories are not only entertaining but drive the point home.
So with all this in mind, when Craig told me he was writing this book, I couldn’t wait to read his thoughts on this topic. He writes the way he speaks—in a practical fashion to a reader that is taken captive from the first page.
Fearless Prayer is about John 15:7, which recounts Jesus conversation to His disciples when he says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” The book is about our response to that verse, why we don’t ask, why we don’t believe it, and why we should.
Hazen asks the question that many of us probably ask in secret when we read this, “Is this really true? Can I take this to the bank?” This seems too good to be true.
He dives into doubt, as a barrier to answered prayer and reasons why we shouldn’t doubt. He talks about some misgivings people have about the person of Jesus Christ, and how we have excellent reasons to believe in His resurrection, confirming that Jesus wasn’t just some wise prophet and why we can trust His promises. On page 58 Hazen explains, “It is crucial that we have confidence in the fact that a personal God exists and that he loves us and hears us.” He continues that if we want to be used by God for kingdom purposes, that we should know that “The Lord’s important work will have significant trouble being accomplished through us if we are not confident in the basic teachings of Scripture.”
Because this promise spoken by Jesus is a conditional, if—then kind of promise, Jesus used the vine and the branches as an analogy to his disciples, which shows how we are to abide in Him. Hazen explains what the significance of this means to us, what abiding really looks like, and how we can be realistic about knowing if we are abiding.
Most importantly, Hazen wants to make sure that the reader understands that the kinds of prayers that God wants to answer with a resounding Yes!! are those prayers that are for the purpose of furthering His kingdom. In addition, he answers many objections including some from those who say prayer didn’t work for them, or that Jesus was only speaking to His disciples in that passage and that the promise isn’t meant for them.
Some think we shouldn’t believe John 15:7 because that verse is abused by teachers of the Prosperity Gospel. Hazen claims that because of PG advocates, that he can understand why some mainstream pastors wouldn’t want to be associated with a movement like this, so they shy away from passages like this one that may come off as sounding like a PG passage. But he reminds us that we shouldn’t miss out on a true promise of God because of some misguided teachers.
Carl Sagan said, “Nature is all there was, is or ever will be.” This ideology is called Naturalism. Naturalism is a barrier that has crept into our lives subconsciously, and it is in extreme opposition to orthodox Christianity, because Naturalism is an ideology that sees no need for God in the world. Hazen gives some examples of how Naturalism has crept into our culture and explains how this ideology has kept us from believing in the promises of God like the one in John 15:7.
Finally, Hazen talks about the whole point of the passage—to bear fruit. What that fruit looks like, and how much Jesus loves to answer prayers that will help us bear fruit for the kingdom. So we should ask because, Hazen explains, “God enjoys blessing us with good gifts, and it’s part of building valuable communication with the Father.” But he also reminds us that when we pray God is searching our hearts and asking, why do we want this? Does it align with His will? Asking with the wrong motives provides an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to correct us.
Bottom line, pray and ask with expectation.
I really enjoyed this book. It hit home with me, and answered some of my question in a very practical way. Most importantly, it showed me an even clearer glimpse of who Jesus is, and how important we are to Him. It’s an easy, but compelling read.
I hope you are blessed with this book as much as I was. It’s available on Amazon.