Aaron presents a very interesting and, truly, important question. What do our prayers actually accomplish? There seems a precipice that is walked where on the left are daunting cliffs falling to a view that man's prayers have no effect on God, and, on the right, are inspiring heights climbing to a view that the prayers of men have an exaggerated effect on God; one where God is the puppet-master, and on the other, the puppet. One may say, "The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]" (James 5.16). Another may respond, "all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives" (Romans 3.23).
There are your two conflicts; but here is the arbitrator: "But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]" (Romans 8.10). Our prayers, though outside Christ are made dung, become righteousness inside Christ. Our prayers then, in Christ, avail much.
As men and as believers, words have to be guarded and governed with grasping hands and particular eyes. God is very particular and articulate; in a manner, Christ manifests this as He says "For truly I tell you, until the sky and earth pass away {and} perish, not one smallest letter nor one little hook [identifying certain Hebrew letters] will pass from the Law until all things [it foreshadows] are accomplished" (Matthew 5.18; see also Revelation 22.18-19).
As an aside, it is interesting to read and study the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas from 1858. In them, each man claimed he desired to return the United States to "as the fathers made it"; in regard to slavery, Douglas meant this to interpret "all men are created equal" to be speaking of all white, European-descended men, while Lincoln interpreted it to be speaking of literally all men. Because our founding fathers were not specific (or were they?), an inch was stretched into a yard. We must be careful with words.
I say all this because we must be clear with Aaron's words. In concluding, he asked us to "Consider Philippians 2, where Paul tells the church that God works in them, both to 'will and to work,' his own will (12-13)"; in context, Paul wrote "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." That final clause is translated predominately as "for His good pleasure" (http://bible.cc/philippians/2-13.htm). In I John 3.21-22, John writes likewise, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him." There is a theme here of pleasing God in our decisions to obey Him; and man becomes a creature with choices. So where is the distinction between being a slave to righteousness and being freely willed?
This interested me, and gave me both an observation and a realization regarding God's will. The observation is, regarding our free will in Christ, that we are given a choice to obey or disobey God; and so even Christ in the desert (Matthew 4, Mark 4) was given a choice. All that we do is not according to God's will, as also it was not God's will for Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery; however, God's goodness is so mind-alteringly good that even evil is clay before Him, and so He recasts evil into good. The realization is, from this, that God also shows nothing hinders His ultimate will; even should all men disobey Him, what He has planned will come to fruition. However, by His grace, there has never been a time when all men disobeyed Him, and a remnant of faithful children has always been living; and it is for them that God planned all His graces through the Old and New Testaments, and plans His return.
Aaron continued, "Can we ascertain from this that God works in people to shape and conform their prayers? Or what are we to make of verses such as Matthew 16:18 where Jesus tells Peter that he will build his church, 'and the gates of hell will not overcome it?' Clearly the church's growth (in this context) is not contingent on prayer." I believe that God's ultimate will and plan can not be changed or hindered. God will build His church, and this will never change. Perhaps, however, the means to the end, barring anything which contradicts Scripture, can be affected by prayer. The Christian can pray for strong leaders, for pure leaders, for bold leaders; for faith, for devotion to good doctrine; and so the church can be built in a way that honors God all the more. God has chosen the destination, and allows us to help plot or pave the path there.
Yet we must be assured, our confidence in the efficacy of our prayers is that they are according to His will (I John 5.14-15); that we ask in His Name (John 16.23-24), and the Father will then be glorified in the Son (John 14.13-14); that we do this by abiding in Christ and letting His words abide in us (John 15.7), and we only receive because we keep His commandments (I John 3.22) and call on Him in truth (Psalm 145.18-19) with faith (Matthew 21.22).
God will indeed answer our prayers! And He does so when our prayers honor Him by desiring what He desires.
As Christ has taught us to pray, "Our Father, Who are in Heaven; hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come; Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." The effectual prayer is that which seeks God's will above our own; even the Son of God prayed that the Father's will, and not His own, be done (Matthew 26.39). Therefrom we ask, "give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Here we change through prayer our situation; God hears this prayer, and gives us bread, forgives us our debts, leads us away from temptation and delivers us from evil. "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever." So we then couch our desires and needs within a profession that God's will is greater than all others, and that He is God. "Amen."(Matthew 6.8-13)
D.A. Carson asked, "If prayer changes things, how exactly are we to trust God's sovereignty?" I answer, by God being the One hearing prayers and changing things.
May our prayers daily grow more and more in and from our dear and sovereign, magnificent Trinity, dear family.
"Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]--
To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever" (Ephesians 3.21-22). "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him.] To Him be glory forever! Amen (so be it) (Romans 11.36).
If I have erred, please let me know; surely I am prone to fail.
What say you?
John Piper on Prayer
John Piper on Prayer ii
Thanks for the thoughts, Sean. I plan to offer more later in the week.
ReplyDeleteSo I have an interesting case study.
ReplyDeleteAs I read in Genesis 25 this morning, I read (v.20-21):
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Yet we must also remember that, although Rebekah was barren, God promised Abraham that:
Genesis 22.16-18
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
and
24.7
7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
So God's ultimate will and promise was that Abraham's descendants be multiplied, eventually leading to Christ, and this done partly through Isaac. So it was God's will that Rebekah bear children; and when Isaac prayed for Rebekah to bear children, it was according to God's will, and He opened her womb.