Category: Prayer

  • IF GOD KNOWS AND SEES EVERYTHING, WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?

    IF GOD KNOWS AND SEES EVERYTHING, WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?

    IF GOD KNOWS AND SEES EVERYTHING, WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?

    If God knows everything and is all-powerful, then when a prayer is answered, was it really answered—or did we simply pray for what was already God’s will? Put another way: if God already knows, why are we praying at all?

    Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer, and we pray it because He taught us to pray that way. Through prayer, God invites us into His story, His life, and His world.

    PRAYER IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE GOD

    We often begin with the wrong idea of prayer. Prayer is not an attempt to change God or manipulate Him into doing what we want. It is not asking God to step onto our stage, where we are the main character and He plays a supporting role.

    Prayer invites us to step off our stage and enter God’s story, where He is the center. Prayer transforms us. It draws us from God, make this happen toward Father, not my will, but Your will be done.

    That is where peace begins to settle into our prayer life. We remember that God is good, powerful, wise, and loving. He wastes nothing. Even when His first answer and His final answer are not what we wanted, we can say, I trust You, God. That is not a flippant statement; many believers have learned it while walking through the darkest seasons of life.

    PRAYER IS WORSHIP AND ALIGNMENT

    Prayer is first and foremost worship. Jesus taught us to begin, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Prayer aligns our lives with God’s purposes: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

    Prayer is not merely submitting a wish list. Prayer is submitting myself to God. Yes, I have a prayer list, but the prayer beneath every request is, Father, not as I will, but as You will.

    JESUS PRAYED, ‘YOUR WILL BE DONE’

    Before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed in the garden, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Some Christians have told me that this is not a faith-filled prayer. But if Jesus prayed it, and Jesus is God and is perfect, then I am safe praying His prayer.

    Jesus honestly expressed His desire to be spared the suffering of the cross, yet He entrusted Himself to the Father’s will. There is tremendous peace, power, rest, and freedom when we stop wrestling with God and simply say, Not my will, but Your will be done.

    Prayer exposes the illusion that we are in control. We think we are in control, but that is a mirage. God is in control. Prayer is not our way of seizing control from Him; it is the place where we gladly surrender control to the One who knows, loves, and rules perfectly.

    Bible References: Matthew 6:9-10 (ESV); Matthew 26:36-44 (ESV)

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  • IS GOD OUR CONSCIENCE? HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN GOD IS SPEAKING?

    IS GOD OUR CONSCIENCE? HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN GOD IS SPEAKING?

    IS GOD OUR CONSCIENCE? HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN GOD IS SPEAKING?

    Is God our conscience? The short answer is no. God is not your conscience, although the Holy Spirit can use your conscience.

    Your conscience is like a GPS or a tuning fork. It is a God-given capacity for self-evaluation and moral awareness. The New Testament word is syneidēsis, and it describes the inner awareness by which we evaluate whether our actions agree with what we believe is right.

    YOUR CONSCIENCE RESPONDS TO YOUR VALUE SYSTEM

    Your conscience reacts positively or negatively to your value system. I hope that your value system is shaped by Scripture. When you believe what the Bible teaches but act against it, you experience guilt, anxiety, and inner conflict because your behavior contradicts your convictions.

    For example, a person may say that adultery is wrong while committing adultery. That contradiction creates what is often called cognitive dissonance. Eventually, the person must do one of two things: change the behavior to agree with the belief, or change the belief to justify the behavior.

    God can use the conscience to help us examine ourselves and bring our lives under Scripture, but not everyone has the same conscience. A conscience shaped by culture, habit, or personal preference will not necessarily give the same guidance as a conscience trained by the Word of God.

    THE CONSCIENCE CAN BE TRAINED—OR DAMAGED

    The conscience can be trained, but it can also be weakened, numbed, warped, or seared. A person can repeatedly push down the conscience until its warnings are barely heard. This is why the conscience by itself is not an infallible voice from God.

    For a follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to guide and shape the conscience. Our feelings must be tested by Scripture, because sincerity alone does not guarantee truth.

    HOW DO WE HEAR FROM GOD?

    The primary way to hear from God is not a psychic hotline, a tarot-card reader, or an attempt to consult the dead. Scripture explicitly warns us against those practices.

    The best way to recognize God’s voice is to read the Bible, learn the Bible, and allow the Bible to wash over your mind and heart. As you become familiar with God’s Word, you will increasingly understand His character, His commands, and His wisdom.

    Second, become part of a Bible-teaching church that values and faithfully teaches Scripture. Third, build relationships with mature, godly believers who can counsel you through difficult questions. God is not your conscience, but He can form your conscience through His Word, His Spirit, and the wise community of His people.

    Bible References: Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (ESV); Romans 2:15 (ESV); 1 Timothy 4:2 (ESV); 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

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