Following Christ Through Prayerful Dependence

By Dave Jenkins

Following Christ is not sustained by natural ability, personal resolve, or a carefully managed life. The Christian life calls us to daily faithfulness, costly obedience, perseverance through trials, fellowship with God’s people, and the ongoing putting to death of sin. Yet none of this can be faithfully pursued in our own strength.

Prayer is one of the clearest ways believers acknowledge this reality. When we pray, we confess that we are needy people. We admit that we do not have the wisdom, strength, purity, endurance, or power necessary to follow Christ apart from Him. Prayer is not a religious routine reserved for moments of crisis. It is the daily expression of dependence upon the Lord.

Jesus says in John 15:4–5, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. … Apart from me you can do nothing.” The Christian does not merely begin the life of faith by grace and then continue by self-sufficiency. From beginning to end, we need Christ.

Prayer Is the Posture of a Dependent Disciple

The world tells us to trust ourselves, follow our hearts, and rely on our own strength. But the life of discipleship teaches us the opposite. We are to trust the Lord, submit our desires to His Word, and depend upon His grace.

Prayer is the posture of a disciple who knows he is not self-sufficient. It is the humble acknowledgment that God is God and we are not. It is coming before our heavenly Father through the finished work of Christ, trusting that He hears His children and gives grace according to His wise will.

The apostle Paul understood this. He pleaded with the Lord concerning his weakness, and the Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul did not learn to rejoice in weakness because weakness itself is good. He learned that weakness exposes our need for the strength of Christ.

This is why prayer is essential to following Christ. A prayerless Christian may still be busy. He may know much Scripture, serve faithfully in his church, and maintain an outward appearance of spiritual maturity. But if he is not depending upon the Lord, he is attempting to carry the weight of discipleship in his own strength.

Christ Invites His People to Pray

Prayer is not an attempt to persuade a reluctant God to care for us. In Christ, believers come to a Father who already knows their needs and delights to give good gifts to His children.

Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). This opening matters. We do not approach God as strangers trying to earn an audience. Because of Christ, we come as adopted sons and daughters. We come reverently, because He is in heaven. We come confidently, because He is our Father.

This confidence does not rest on the intensity of our prayers, the quality of our words, or the strength of our emotions. It rests on Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. Hebrews 4:14–16 tells us that because Jesus has passed through the heavens and sympathizes with our weaknesses, we may draw near to the throne of grace with confidence. There we receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Every day brings needs that should drive us to the throne of grace. We need wisdom for decisions. We need strength to resist temptation. We need patience in suffering. We need love for difficult people. We need courage to obey when obedience costs us. We need forgiveness when we sin. We need grace to keep going when we are weary.

The Christian life is not lived by occasionally visiting the throne of grace. It is lived by continually drawing near to God through Christ.

Prayer Shapes Our Desires by God’s Will

Prayer is not only bringing our requests to God. It is also learning to submit our desires to His will.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Before we bring our concerns, plans, fears, and needs before God, we are reminded that His name must be hallowed, His kingdom must be sought, and His will must be done.

This is vital for discipleship. Following Christ requires more than asking God to bless the life we have planned for ourselves. It means yielding our lives to Him. It means bringing our desires under the authority of His Word. It means trusting that His wisdom is greater than ours and that His purposes are good even when His answers are difficult.

Sometimes God answers our prayers by giving us what we ask. At other times, He redirects us, delays an answer, or says no. These moments can be painful, but they are not evidence that God has abandoned His people. They are often part of His fatherly care.

Jesus Himself prayed in the garden, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). His prayer was not detached or emotionless. He brought before the Father the full weight of His suffering, yet He submitted Himself completely to the Father’s will. In doing so, He showed us what faithful dependence looks like.

Prayer helps us learn this posture. It teaches us not merely to ask, “Lord, give me what I want,” but, “Lord, shape my heart to want what honors You.”

Prayer Strengthens Us for Obedience

Prayer does not remove the call to obey. It strengthens us to obey.

When Jesus warned His disciples about coming temptation, He told them, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). The disciples were weak, and they did not understand the severity of the trial ahead. They slept when they should have prayed. Soon afterward, they scattered in fear.

We should not miss the lesson. Temptation is not defeated through confidence in ourselves. Sin is not put to death through vague spiritual intentions. We need the grace of God, the truth of His Word, and the strength He provides through prayer.

When temptation comes, pray. When bitterness begins to take root, pray. When you are exhausted by suffering, pray. When obedience will cost you something, pray. When you do not know what to do, pray.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:6–7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Prayer does not mean that every difficult circumstance immediately changes. It means that God meets His people in their need with His peace, guarding their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The answer to anxiety is not pretending that the burden is small. The answer is bringing the burden to the God who is sovereign, wise, present, and faithful.

Prayer Keeps Us Close to Christ

A disciple cannot follow Christ at a distance. We grow in grace as we abide in Him, hear His Word, gather with His people, obey His commands, and come to Him in prayer.

Prayer is communion with God. It is not merely a list of requests. Through prayer, we praise God for who He is. We confess our sin. We give thanks for His grace. We intercede for others. We bring our needs before Him. We rest in His promises.

This kind of prayer keeps us close to Christ because it turns our hearts away from self-reliance and toward the One who is able to sustain us. It reminds us that our hope is not in our performance, but in His finished work. It helps us see our circumstances through the lens of God’s character and promises.

A life of prayer will not make us passive. It will make us more faithful. Those who depend upon Christ are freed to obey Him with courage because they know the outcome does not ultimately rest on them. Those who pray are reminded that God is at work even when they cannot see what He is doing.

A Call to Prayerful Dependence

Perhaps you have tried to follow Christ through sheer determination. You have made promises to do better, tried harder, and become discouraged when your strength failed. The answer is not to abandon the pursuit of holiness. It is to remember that holiness is pursued through dependence on Christ.

Come to the Lord honestly. Bring Him your weakness, fears, sin, needs, and burdens. Ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him for strength. Ask Him to help you obey His Word. Ask Him to make you more like Christ.

Prayer does not make us strong in ourselves. It teaches us to rest in the strength of the One who is faithful.

Following Christ is a call to daily dependence. The branch bears fruit only as it abides in the vine. So draw near to Christ. Depend upon His grace. And pray, trusting that your Father hears you through His Son.

Continue Growing in Discipleship

For more biblical encouragement on following Christ with faithfulness, humility, and dependence upon His grace, visit the Following Christ: The Call, the Cost, and the Character of Discipleship series.

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