prayer and proving the will of God

this is in a sense the continuation of another previous post on history, human agency and the will of God.

if no one resists God's will, then why do we still need to believe? what difference does it make? this is the danger of holding on to the extreme that God's foreknowledge is independent of our faith.

on the other hand, if we can resist God's will, then why do we still need to believe? why don't we just save ourselves? this is the danger of holding on to the other extreme that God's foreknowledge is dependent on our faith.

God's foreknowledge is not independent of our faith or dependent on our faith, but simply in accordance with our faith.

proving the will of God

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." - Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)

this verse nicely captures the dynamic of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. proving the will of God is not for God's sake, far from it. God acts from eternity and is not bound by time or space. above all, God does not alter His eternal decree.

rather, proving the will of God is for your own sake (even as your proving of the will of God is in accordance with God's foreknowledge - everything is).

"You will certainly carry out God's purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John." - C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

so what's the difference?

if no one resists God's will, then why do we still need to pray? what difference does it make? that's like asking - if no one resists God's will, then why do we still need to believe?

"Prayer is the means by which God's infinite wisdom, infinite power and perfect purpose are brought together to accomplish His will. You can't be saved without believing, you can't be sanctified without obeying, and you can't enjoy the goodness of God in this life without participating in His unfolding purpose through your prayers and through your service to Him." - John MacArthur, Pray Boldly

prefaced with prayer

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles." - Luke 6:12-13 (NIV)

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."" - Matthew 26:36-39 (NIV)

every move in the life of Christ Himself is prefaced with prayer, from the choosing of the twelve apostles to the final hour before His arrest.

by prayer and petition, in accordance with God's purpose

"In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

"'This is the LORD's sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.'" So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down." - Isaiah 38:1-8 (NIV)

the point is not whether God delivered Hezekiah only because he prayed, or whether God would have delivered Hezekiah if he had not prayed. the point is that Hezekiah did pray and God did deliver him.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." - 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

our prayers are not independent of God's purpose or dependent on God's purpose, but simply in accordance with God's purpose.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

let's pray.