More thoughts...

More thoughts that kind of flow from my thoughts from the last post...

I think it is a popular thing to believe that whatever happens is God’s Will and is what God desires to happen in our lives.  It is an idea almost like fate… we are completely out of control and uninvolved in the happenings in this world.  That whether we speak up when the Holy Spirit prompts us to speak or not… it won’t affect what happens.  Because God is sovereign therefore what’s going to happen is going to happen regardless of what we do.  This ideology flows into prayer as well… Because we feel this way in regards to our role on this earth, we don’t feel an urgency to pray… Because what God wants to happen will happen regardless of what we do, what we pray, whether or not we’re faithful or perseverant in prayer.  

We say that a lot because we don’t want to make people feel bad about messing up, not speaking up, or not following the prompting of the Holy Spirit… we want to say, “don’t worry about it.”  Your actions won’t affect those around you... that person will get warned by someone else… or will be encouraged by someone else.  This way of thinking takes all responsibility off of ourselves…  Nothing we do or don’t do matters.

When we have this mindset… our purpose isn’t really a purpose.  We say we have a purpose to further God’s kingdom; a purpose to make his glory known in our lives.  But if we do anything about it… well… it doesn’t really matter because what will happen will happen.  After all, God’s sovereign.  

I am going to argue that this is false… in fact I think this mindset is a lie from Satan to keep us from being effective vessels in bringing more of God’s kingdom here on earth.  Satan wants us to think that our faithfulness and that our actions won’t affect others, that our prayers aren’t necessary.  He doesn’t want us to labor in prayer; he doesn’t want us do everything that the spirit leads us to do.

Ezekiel 33:8-9   If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.  9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.  

The Watchman was put in charge of seeing the sword coming and warning the people…  If he warned the people and they didn’t do anything about it, they died for their sins, but the watchman didn’t have guilt on his hands.  However, if the watchman did not do his duty and warn the people, the people still died for their sins.  The watchman’s actions had an impact on the lives of the others.  It was his role to warn the people and when he didn’t… the people didn’t get warned and they died.  Sounds like our actions can positively or negatively affect others.

When we act in disobedience, our disobedience can hurt other people.  We like to think that we won’t affect people… but I think that this is so false.  The watchman’s actions sure did affect people.  If he had warned people, some people might have turned from their sin, but he didn’t do his duty and didn’t warn them. 

This idea is uncomfortable.  We want to think that we have nothing to do with anything.  That we don’t have any responsibility.  In James, he talks about how Teachers will be judged more strictly… why???  Again, because what they do and say can lead people closer or farther away from Christ.  Their obedience and disobedience can positively or negatively affect those around them. 

James 3:1  Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

So just as our prayers have weight, so do our actions.  God has given us that freedom.  Not only are we hurting ourselves when we don’t live in step with the spirit, but we also are not showing the glories of Christ in our lives to others around us.  Having this in mind, I think, dramatically changes the way that we live.    

Thoughts on Prayer

Jesus teaches us to pray that “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The fact that Jesus is telling us to pray like this tells me that implies that God’s will is carried out differently in heaven than it is on earth.

We are praying that God’s will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Heaven is everything how God desires and everything how he wills.  And by praying that God’s will might be done on earth as it is in heaven we are praying that things on this earth would be as God desires like they are in heaven.  We are praying that things would happen here as they would in heaven.

God desires all men to come to repentance and live (Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 33:11, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).  However, we know that all men do not come to receive salvation.  So we can see that in regards to salvation, God’s desires do not always equate with what actually happens here on earth. 

WHY????

The element of human choice.  He does indeed want all men to be saved, but not all men are because he gives each man the ability to choose.  Salvation is offered to those who come to him for it.  And not everyone decides to come to him. 

So God’s desire for all men to be saved does not come to pass because not all choose to respond to his call and come to him for the salvation that he offers.  He wants us to seek him, and then he promises that we will find him.  We have to knock, and then he promises that the door will be opened.  He responds to our asking, to our seeking, to our knocking.  He doesn’t just give salvation to all because he wants all to be saved.  He only gives it to those who come to him for it; to those who choose him.

I think that this thinking can be expanded to include more than just salvation.  God has desires for the way he wants things to happen and desires for things to be a certain way, but they don’t always happen that way on earth. 

He gives men into their desires whether it is for him or anything else.  (Romans 1:24)  So he may desire for things, but if we don’t also want those things he won’t force it on us.  He wants us to come to him and ask him.

So in the same way that his desires regarding salvation for all do not come to pass because not all choose to come to him for it, I think that not all of his other desires come to pass here on this earth because we do not choose to come to him for it.  We don’t come to him in prayer and ask.  We do not seek him, desire for his kingdom to come, and ask for his kingdom to come. 

I believe that our prayers do really effect what comes to pass on this earth.  Because God is waiting for us to ask before he gives.  He wants us to choose him.  He wants us to acknowledge himself as the giver of all gifts as the one who can bring things to pass.  So it is not enough for us just to desire things.  It is not enough for us to desire revival or desire that God works in people’s heart or that God would act in certain ways.  By desiring things but not going to God with those desires we are not confessing him as the one who could fulfill those desires.  We are not acknowledging him as the LORD of all creation and the one who can bring those things to pass.

 

I believe that our prayers really do have weight.  God may not bring some of his desires to come to pass if we don’t ask him for them to come to pass.  Just as in salvation, he is waiting for us to come to him.  In coming to him for it we are expressing our faith in him and our dependence on him. 

We NEED to pray.  Don’t think that our prayers don’t matter… that God will do what he wants regardless