8 March, 2016
Topic: Prayer Changes Things, starting with
the one who prays
(Coincidentally this
week marks the beginning of the 30 day fasting prayer in the church I am
currently attending! Way to go!!)
Speaker: Anthony Petterson
God limits His sovereignty in some ways or
else we will all be robots! Does prayer change things? Why pray? If God is
totally sovereign, why should we pray? Or if God limits His sovereignty and
leaves free choice for our unsaved friends, why pray for them since it's their
own choice? We pray because it changes me? That's a selfish reason to pray! Any
theology that justifies us to not pray is going down the wrong track!
God is totally sovereign but we are
responsible! If sovereignty becomes fatalism and we use this as an excuse not
to pray, then we are going down the wrong track!
God sovereignly uses His people's prayer
for His sovereign works.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
First Paul thanks God for the people of
Ephesus.
We know God is our father by the work of
the Spirit. We are Christian because God has opened our eyes to the reality of
who Jesus is. And the Holy Spirit continues to open our eyes so we may know Him
better. Not just knowing about Him, but knowing Him relationally. We cannot
understand the Bible without the work of the Spirit in us.
Paul doesn’t pray for fresh blessings, but
to open the eyes of God’s people so they might know God better, as well as what
God has already done for them (so we realize what God has already given us).
However, sometimes we use prayer as a tool for
manipulation: about showing our devotion so God will give us good things!!
V18:
Firstly
you may know the hope to which he has called you:
Without hope and God in the world… Last
year Lifeline Australia received its largest number of calls in its history!
We might
know the riches of His glorious inheritance:
NIV translation: Our inheritance as
Christians, new heaven and new earth.
The other translation: Understand that they
are the Lord’s inheritance. We may face persecution in our age when we stand up
for Jesus. What gives us perspective in all of this is that we are the Lord’s
glorious inheritance. Therefore, we should also live in this way as well: The
rest of the book of Ephesians teaches us how.
V19:
The
incredible power available to those who believe:
The resurrection powerfully proves He
lives, but that’s not the end. The exaltation of Jesus as the risen Lord
proclaims that He reigns forever. Exalted Jesus at God’s right hand (Psalm 110,
8). This is the reality right now (not something in the future). And one day
Jesus will return and every eye will turn to Him. The power that raised the
exalted Jesus is not only the power that lead us to faith, but the power for us
to live life as God’s people! God is at work in you and me, so we press on in
faith, hope and love. Many people don’t see these realities though, living as
if there’s no judgment day, etc.
Additional learning
from today’s theology class (taught by Andrew Sloane): We need special revelation if we want to know God.
Unless our blindness is overcome, we cannot see and respond rightly to God and
the world. How do we make sense of the events in the world? It is having been
spoken to by Yahweh and responding to Yahweh that Samuel is able to perform God’s
works. For God to speak is for God to communicate in human patterns: God
stooping down to communicate with human beings.
My personal reflection:
A lot of great things do happen when we pray, such as our personal
transformation and blessings to the people and environment around us. But the
most central of it all is a desire to know God, and communicate with God! Our
relational journey with God!
No comments:
Post a Comment