Last week I was going to write out this long essay on what I thought the basis of prayer was , I tried twice to write it out and both times I felt like it wasn't what God wanted. So I'm still here at the starting line, revving my engine but don't really know which direction I'm racing towards.
My first thinking was that God wanted us to pray to Him to express our love and devotion to Him and to ask Him for things we need. I still think that is true to a point but I'm thinking there is more. Why are we commanded to pray. If God knows our thought, knows our actions, and knows our needs before we do, why is it necessary for us to pray ? If we pray to Him always like he says " pray without ceasing", we know He will answer according to His will . Its says in Prov.19:21 Many are the plans in a mans heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. To me thats saying we can have all sorts of plans but if they don't align themselves with God's will our prayers are not going to be answered they way we think or plan. God's plan and purpose for our lives here on earth are foremost not what we think we need or want.
What was Gods plan for man, it says in Gen 1 :26-29 that God put man on the earth and said we will make man in our image and let them have dominion over the earth . Ps 8:6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet. Ps 115:16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man.
Seems to me that God made man to be the ruler, caretaker, or overseer of the earth. God didn't say let us have dominion over the earth, no He said let them "man" have dominion. Man was created , given dominion or full authority over the earthly realm and God will not supercede that authority. By God doing this, men and women are essential for the accomplishment of God's plans and purposes on earth.
Simply put , God's plan is for man to desire what He desires , to will what God wills and to ask Him to accomplish His purposes on earth . We could say that prayer is man giving God the freedom to intervene in earths affairs. 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God ; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. Mat. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. When we align ourselves with God's will through the washing of His word , our prayers will release God's power on earth . Prayer is calling forth what God has already purposed and predestinated. I know there is a verse somewhere that says something to the effect that our prayers are already answered we just need to release them. But I can't find it. Maybe not ?
"When we pray in His will all that God is and all that God has can be received through prayer." Monroe. Does anyone realize what that means . I do but have way to small of faith to even comprehend it. That's my idea for the basis of prayer. God gave the authority on earth , by prayer we release His power on earth. With out our prayers God will not intervene in the affairs of the earth . So even if God know what we think and need He needs us to pray to release His blessing to us.
My condensed version of only the" basis for prayer" there is tons more as far as knowing Gods will, praising and worshipping and communion with Him. I'm I right, wrong , off my rocker , crazy, don't be scared , tell me what you think. I appreciate scripture to back up your thoughts.
Praying to understand better the reasons for praying
A lot has been written about prayer by saints of past generations who have been all but forgotten today -- a great loss because in their lives can be seen a spirituality and relationship with God the likes of which is rarely found today. Actually I derive benefit not so much from their writings on a particular topic like prayer, but from how prayer and other factors fit into and shaped their lives. In particular, I would suggest the biographies of Hudson Taylor, Henry W. Frost, James O. Fraser, and Isobel Kuhn, for starters.
ReplyDelete