Obedience is love, fulfilling every command, love expressing itself. Obedience, therefore, is not a hard demand made upon us, any more than is the service a husband renders his wife, or a wife renders her husband. Love delights to obey, and please whom it loves. There are no hardships in love. There may be exactions, but no irk. There are no impossible tasks for love. With what simplicity and in what a matter-of-fact way does the apostle John say: ' And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.
E.M. Bounds — The Necessity of Prayer
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This passage comes from E. M. Bounds's The Necessity of Prayer (published in 1929 from his manuscripts). In the chapter on prayer and obedience, Bounds argues that God never lays impossible commands on His children, and that real obedience is simply love in motion. When we love God, doing what He commands is not drudgery or coercion. It is the same way a husband gladly serves his wife, or a wife her husband. Love moves toward the one it loves. That is why Bounds points to John's words: “Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in His sight.” Prayer and obedience belong together because both are acts of love directed toward God. And if God commands anything, He also gives the grace to carry it out. Obedience is love expressed. Love does not call God's commands harsh or impossible. It delights to please Him.
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