sokin's devotional 52 - prayer moves the heart of the Father
"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation of kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned."
Jeremiah 18:6-8
"You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. you quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
James 5:2,3
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I haven't gotten all the theological kinks out of this statement, but I remember John Piper preaching a sermon once where he said in effect, "prayer makes things happen that would not have happened if you did not pray!"
Now, on this end, I know that Piper is a firm believer in the complete, total, absolute sovereignty of God and that all men are predestined under the will of the Father. But at the same time, the bible makes clear and John Piper also makes clear that prayer makes things happen. It can literally move the heart of the Father.
If you see the passage in Jeremiah, you see how ultimately, our prayers moving God's heart does not neuter or remove the absolute power and sovereignty of God ultimately. He is still in utter control and we, the clay, are under the weight of His fingertips. He is still and always will be in control. Nothing is a surprise to Him.
But our prayers can make things happen. That is why we can pray in faith. That is why we can know our God loves us because He listens to us.
Why does He listen to us though? What can prompt God to even consider our prayers? Why should Almighty God listen and actually move to our requests?
Because of Jesus. It is only because of Jesus we are able to. When in sin, we were eternally separated from the love of the Father...that same love was greater and able to conquer sin and death and reached down to us to not only save us, but to cleanse us and give us complete access into the throne room of God - the holy of holies.
We can say and utter words to God and He listens. And, he answers.
Now, He won't answer everything. Often times, the questions in your heart will always remain. But ask yourself, are you asking for the right reasons? What are your motives? Is it for your sake, or for the glory of His name? To make God receive glory in His answering of your prayers, or simply because you want something from Him?
Do you pray to simply get God ultimately, or do you pray to get something from God?
Believer, pray this day and the next, and the next...knowing that you have full assurance in that God listens to your requests and actually moves his heart. And remember Jesus...which is why we pray "in His name" because none of this would be made possible if it were not for Him.
Jeremiah 18:6-8
"You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. you quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
James 5:2,3
---
I haven't gotten all the theological kinks out of this statement, but I remember John Piper preaching a sermon once where he said in effect, "prayer makes things happen that would not have happened if you did not pray!"
Now, on this end, I know that Piper is a firm believer in the complete, total, absolute sovereignty of God and that all men are predestined under the will of the Father. But at the same time, the bible makes clear and John Piper also makes clear that prayer makes things happen. It can literally move the heart of the Father.
If you see the passage in Jeremiah, you see how ultimately, our prayers moving God's heart does not neuter or remove the absolute power and sovereignty of God ultimately. He is still in utter control and we, the clay, are under the weight of His fingertips. He is still and always will be in control. Nothing is a surprise to Him.
But our prayers can make things happen. That is why we can pray in faith. That is why we can know our God loves us because He listens to us.
Why does He listen to us though? What can prompt God to even consider our prayers? Why should Almighty God listen and actually move to our requests?
Because of Jesus. It is only because of Jesus we are able to. When in sin, we were eternally separated from the love of the Father...that same love was greater and able to conquer sin and death and reached down to us to not only save us, but to cleanse us and give us complete access into the throne room of God - the holy of holies.
We can say and utter words to God and He listens. And, he answers.
Now, He won't answer everything. Often times, the questions in your heart will always remain. But ask yourself, are you asking for the right reasons? What are your motives? Is it for your sake, or for the glory of His name? To make God receive glory in His answering of your prayers, or simply because you want something from Him?
Do you pray to simply get God ultimately, or do you pray to get something from God?
Believer, pray this day and the next, and the next...knowing that you have full assurance in that God listens to your requests and actually moves his heart. And remember Jesus...which is why we pray "in His name" because none of this would be made possible if it were not for Him.
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