RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-08-19	Are My Prayers Pointless, Since God is Sovereign?
		Why should we pray for things we want if we know in the end God's will, will be done? Do you struggle praying for what you want, when you know God's plan will happen anyway? God knows better than me because He is sovereign. Does this thought inhibit your prayer life? It seems pointless to pray for what I want. There are so many good questions we can ask concerning prayer. • What does it mean to pray in God's will (1Jn.5:14)? • What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus (Jn.14:13)? • What does it mean NOT to pray for the sin that leads to death (1Jn.5:16)? • What does it mean to pray without ceasing (1Th.5:17)? • What does it mean to pray in the Holy Spirit (Ep.6:18)? Prayer is one of the most astounding privileges given to us, but it seems shrouded in mystery. The Creator of the universe (with infinite wisdom, goodness, and power) is telling us (fallible and sinful creatures) to ask Him to do things that we think would be good for the glory of His name. 3 Reasons Why You Should Pray For Things You Want: 1. God Commands Us To God tells us to pray for what we want. But our wants need to be shaped by His Word (Jn.15:7). Joh 15:7  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. We are not supposed to try to divine the sovereign will of God, and ask God to “do that”. We do not know ahead of time the sovereign will of God that governs all things. We are supposed to let the Word abide in us and shape our wants by the revealed will of God. The revealed will of God are the things taught in the Bible. For example, the revealed will of God is to “seek peace and pursue it” (1Pe.3:11). The way the sovereign will of God may work itself out in our life, we do not know. The sovereign will of God may work out as persecution or suffering. We do not know. We pray toward what He tells us to pursue, not by trying to figure out what He sovereignly decrees. 2. If We Do Not We May Not Get It We should ask for what we want, informed by the Word, because if we do not we may not get it (Ja.4:2). Jas 4:2  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. There is a real causal reaction between our asking and God's giving. The absence of asking is the cause of the absence of receiving. 3. God Plans Our Prayers As Surely As He Plans the Events That Come From Our Prayers Remember Jesus' prayer for Peter's repentance after his denial (Lk.22:32) Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." Jesus foretells Peter's denial, which Peter denied he would do. God had planned for Peter to deny Jesus. That is why Jesus says “when” not if. And God had planned for Jesus to pray for Peter's repentance. And God had planned in answer to that prayer that it would cause Peter to repent. And he did repent. So it would make no sense to say God's will for Peter is going to happen no matter what Jesus prayed. In fact what Jesus prayed is part of what God willed. This is the way it is with all prayer. God does not plan the world and then wonder if anyone is going to pray for part of His plan to be changed. God plans the world, and part of His planning for the world is the praying of His people for what He planned to do. Eze 36:36  Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it." Eze 36:37  'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. God says “the house of Israel will inquire of Me”. That is, they will ask God to do what He already intends to do. God intends to restore and increase Israel. And so He purposes their prayer for this to happen. God is granting to us the dignity of joining with Him in glorifying Himself, as part of the cause of all that He does. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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