God has made known His thoughts and His ways in the revelation of His Word and in the Person of His Son. The medium of the revelation is experience, and the occasion is in the events of life in individuals and in history. (Google image, To You, O LORD I offer my prayer)
God has never put His thoughts into a thesis of philosophy or metaphysics. He has interpreted them in life and set forth His ways in precepts, principles, and example.
There is one incident which most gloriously tells us what God thinks of prayer. Admittedly, God's mind concerning prayer is seen in every command to pray, in every law of prayer, in every promise concerning prayer, and in every example of answered prayer: every part is part of the whole.
But every subject of Scripture has its final and complete expression, and in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9) there is a unique revelation of the mind of God concerning prayer. There are three persons in that incident of prayer.
There is the man who prayed, the God who heard, and the man through whom the answer came. God, of course, is central. It is to Him prayer is made, through Him prayer is interpreted, and by Him prayer is answered.
God speaks of prayer in terms of wonder: "Behold, he prayeth" (v. 11). The language there is that of humanity, but it is the only speech man knows, and however inadequate it may be it stands for corresponding reality in God.
Can God wonder? Can there be in Him elements of surprise and amazement? Can it be that there are things that to God are wonderful? That is how God speaks, and to Him there is nothing more gloriously wonderful than prayer.
It would seem as if the biggest thing in God's universe is a man who prays. There is only one thing more amazing, and that is—that man, knowing this, should not pray.
Behold! In that word there is wonder, rapture, exultation.
In the estimate of God prayer is more wonderful than all the wonders of the heavens, more glorious than all the mysteries of the earth, more mighty than all the forces of creation.
God interprets prayer as a sign of all that happened to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road. The event is variously expressed. To the churches of Judea, it was a conversion that turned their arch-persecutor into a preacher.
This is how Paul the apostle states it in writing to the Galatians:
"Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ: but they had heard only, He which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once He destroyed. And they glorified God in me" (Gal. 1:21-24).
That is a conversion that was the result of an experience. What was the experience? Paul says that in the experience "it pleased God to reveal His Son in me" (v. 16). That is what the Damascus road experience meant to him. When God speaks of it He sums it all up in the words "Behold, he prayeth."
That is what it meant to God, and that is what it always means to Him. Prayer is the symbol and proof and gauge of grace. All that happens in the converting work of grace whereby we receive the adoption of sons is that, being sons, we begin to pray.
Saul of Tarsus had been a praying man all his life, but it was not until then that he began to pray as God interprets prayer. The children's hymn is equally applicable to grown-up people:
THE PATH OF PRAYER
Samuel Chadwick- "There are many problems about prayer, but they lie outside the fact and experience of prayer, and apart from praying there is no solution to them. Prayer is a fact of experience, and through all the ages the testimony of those who prayed has been that God hers and answers the prayer of His children."
Your mind concerning prayer is seen in every command to pray, in every law of prayer, in every promise concerning prayer, and in every example of answered prayer: every part is part of the whole matter of prayer.
For us to consider that You actually think that there's nothing more glorious than a person praying, and that it is the symbol and proof of grace whereby we received the adoption of sons, help us to begin to pray!
It's as if You have divided all men into the simple classification of those who pray and those who do not. It is a very simple, divisive test.
We ask for grace to be busy praying for those around us, our families, our churches and our government. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's past prayer post:
#54 Your Need Appeals to God's Heart of Love
Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: "Your prayer moves Him deeply. But without faith your prayer is incomplete.
Talking to God without faith is not true intercession. Faith submits your need to the will of God and lays hold of the power of God. Faith honors God, and God delights to respond to faith."
Today's quotes-
~ Leslie Koh- "It can be hard to hear God saying no, and even harder to understand when we're praying for something good—like someone's deliverance from a crisis. That's when we need to hold on to the truth of God's good plans. We may not understand why, but we can keep trusting in His love, goodness, and faithfulness."
(Taken from Our Daily Bread®, ©12/29/2018 by Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. www.odb.org).
~ Larry Lea- "Today, in the spiritual realm, "environmentally" you are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). That's your new environment. Today, in the spiritual realm, "genetically" you are washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14); you are a child of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ of His riches in glory (1 John 3:1; Rom. 8:17).
In getting from where you are in the natural to where you are in the spiritual, you can believe that God is turning things a round. He's redesigning you and causing new things to happen within you so that the more you press into God and keep your heart believing Him and your mouth speaking a good word of testimony, God will create in you His glory. You are growing from grace to grace and moving from glory to glory in Christ Jesus."
(pp. 147, 148 of THE WEAPONS OF YOUR WARFARE).
Today's sermon:
Upcoming posts-
What is Sanctified Living?
12th- Saturday's post by Jean Oathout
#3 The Way God Answers Prayer
15th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick
#4 Learning to Pray
17th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick
Christ Invites Us to Draw Near
19th- Saturday's post by Rich Carmicheal
Jean's blog
In the estimate of God prayer is more wonderful than all the wonders of the heavens, more glorious than all the mysteries of the earth, more mighty than all the forces of creation.
God interprets prayer as a sign of all that happened to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road. The event is variously expressed. To the churches of Judea, it was a conversion that turned their arch-persecutor into a preacher.
This is how Paul the apostle states it in writing to the Galatians:
"Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ: but they had heard only, He which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once He destroyed. And they glorified God in me" (Gal. 1:21-24).
That is a conversion that was the result of an experience. What was the experience? Paul says that in the experience "it pleased God to reveal His Son in me" (v. 16). That is what the Damascus road experience meant to him. When God speaks of it He sums it all up in the words "Behold, he prayeth."
That is what it meant to God, and that is what it always means to Him. Prayer is the symbol and proof and gauge of grace. All that happens in the converting work of grace whereby we receive the adoption of sons is that, being sons, we begin to pray.
Saul of Tarsus had been a praying man all his life, but it was not until then that he began to pray as God interprets prayer. The children's hymn is equally applicable to grown-up people:
"I often say my prayers,
But do I ever pray?"
Prayer is the privilege of sons and the test of sonship. It would seem as if God divided all men into the simple classification of those who pray and those who do not. It is a very simple test, but it is decisive and divisive.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(Emphasis by Jean)
Used by the permission of
Let's pray-
Father, we understand that our thoughts aren't high like Yours, so we seek to learn godly direction for our lives.
Your mind concerning prayer is seen in every command to pray, in every law of prayer, in every promise concerning prayer, and in every example of answered prayer: every part is part of the whole matter of prayer.
For us to consider that You actually think that there's nothing more glorious than a person praying, and that it is the symbol and proof of grace whereby we received the adoption of sons, help us to begin to pray!
It's as if You have divided all men into the simple classification of those who pray and those who do not. It is a very simple, divisive test.
We ask for grace to be busy praying for those around us, our families, our churches and our government. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's past prayer post:
#54 Your Need Appeals to God's Heart of Love
Talking to God without faith is not true intercession. Faith submits your need to the will of God and lays hold of the power of God. Faith honors God, and God delights to respond to faith."
Today's Bible verses-
Matt. 7:7, 8 (NKJV) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Ps. 91:15 (NKJV) "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."
Isaiah 58:9 a (NKJV) "Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "
Matt. 7:7, 8 (NKJV) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Ps. 91:15 (NKJV) "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."
Isaiah 58:9 a (NKJV) "Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "
~ Leslie Koh- "It can be hard to hear God saying no, and even harder to understand when we're praying for something good—like someone's deliverance from a crisis. That's when we need to hold on to the truth of God's good plans. We may not understand why, but we can keep trusting in His love, goodness, and faithfulness."
"Lord, give me the faith to keep trusting You even when You say no."
(Taken from Our Daily Bread®, ©12/29/2018 by Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. www.odb.org).
~ Larry Lea- "Today, in the spiritual realm, "environmentally" you are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). That's your new environment. Today, in the spiritual realm, "genetically" you are washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14); you are a child of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ of His riches in glory (1 John 3:1; Rom. 8:17).
In getting from where you are in the natural to where you are in the spiritual, you can believe that God is turning things a round. He's redesigning you and causing new things to happen within you so that the more you press into God and keep your heart believing Him and your mouth speaking a good word of testimony, God will create in you His glory. You are growing from grace to grace and moving from glory to glory in Christ Jesus."
(pp. 147, 148 of THE WEAPONS OF YOUR WARFARE).
JUNE 3, 2018
Filled with the Spirit - Everyday
Speaker: Rick Sinclair
Series: Misc Topic: CFC Madrid
Series: Misc Topic: CFC Madrid
Upcoming posts-
What is Sanctified Living?
12th- Saturday's post by Jean Oathout
#3 The Way God Answers Prayer
15th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick
#4 Learning to Pray
17th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick
Christ Invites Us to Draw Near
19th- Saturday's post by Rich Carmicheal
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage.
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