Prayer

Prayer

Prayer defined: personal communication with God

* Why does God want us to pray? God is all-knowing and all-powerful; therefore (logically speaking), our prayers would be unnecessary. Yes, God is omniscient and omnipotent, but He is also a God of love and mercy. Here are a few of the many reasons that answer this question.

           

            1. God delights in being trusted by us.

- Prayer, in its most basic form, is having faith/trust in God to answer.

- God doesn’t need our prayers to know our needs. He wants our

prayers to see our trust. 

- Matthew 6:8 - So do not be like them; for your Father knows what

you need before you ask Him.

            ** Do not be prideful (as the Pharisees were) in our prayers.

            We’re not “enlightening” God about what’s going on – He

            already knows!! In humility we are to put our trust in God

            recognizing He is the only One who can bring about any

            true change.

            2. Prayer brings us to a deeper fellowship with God.

                        - It is impossible to be in close fellowship with someone if we are not

                        in communication with them.

            3. God allows us to be involved in things of eternal importance through

 prayer.

            - We are able to be involved in the work of the kingdom in a

            significant way through prayer.

            - This shows the fact that we are made in God’s image.

            - Prayer changes the path of how things will turn out.

4. Prayer gives glory to God.

            - Praying in humble dependence on God indicates that we are

            convinced of His wisdom, love, goodness, and power.

* The effectiveness of prayer:

            - God responds to prayer

                        - Ex. 32:9-14 - The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and

                        behold, they are an obstinate people. ¹⁰ Now then let Me alone, that

                        My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I

                        will make of you a great nation.” ¹¹ Then Moses entreated the Lord his

                        God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people

whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴ So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

           * God, because of Moses’ prayer, changed His mind.

           * Jerry Falwell used to say, “Let’s changed God’s mind!” Let’s

           get down on our knees and use this tool God has given us to

           actually change things!

            - “If we were really convinced that prayer often changes the way God acts,

            and that God does bring about remarkable changes in response to prayer (as

            Scripture repeatedly teaches), then we would pray much more than we do. If

            we pray little, it is probably because we do not really believe that prayer

            accomplishes much at all.”

            - Effective prayer is made possible through our Mediator, Jesus Christ.

                        - I Tim. 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator also between God

                        and men, the man Christ Jesus.

* Can God hear the prayers of the unbelievers?

            - God is omniscient, and He “hears” everything. So yes, He does hear the prayers of 

             unbelievers. He may even respond to them in His mercy and desire to bring them to salvation.    

             But nowhere in Scripture does God promise to respond to the prayers of unbelievers.

                        - James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray

                        for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a

                        righteous man can accomplish much.

* What about Old Testament saints (saved people)?

            - Through the sacrificial system, God accepted believers only on the basis of

            the future work of Christ which was foreshadowed by the act of sacrifice.

                        - Rom. 3:23-26 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of

God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

*Why do we pray “In Jesus name?”

            - John 14:13-14 - Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the

            Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me anything in My name, I

 will do it.

- John 15:16 -  You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that

you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

- Adding “in Jesus name” to a prayer is not a magical formula that makes prayer more effective.

- “To come in the name of someone means that another person has authorized us to come on his authority, not our own.

- No prayers in the Bible end “in Jesus name.”

* Praise and Thanksgiving

            - Praise and thanksgiving to God are an essential part of prayer.

            - Phil. 4:6 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and

            supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

            - Col. 4:2 - Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude

            of thanksgiving

                        *Express thankfulness in your heart! We should be thankful in all

                        circumstances!

Model Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 –

                        Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

ACTS of Prayer:

            A – Adoration

            C – Confession

            T– Thanksgiving

            S – Supplication

Notes for this lesson were taken from Grudem’s Bible Doctrines pages 158-166.

Creation

The Doctrine of Creation

- Doctrine of creation defined: God created the entire universe out of nothing; it was originally very good; and He created it to glorify Himself.

* This is a doctrine that most Christians will agree with, though they may have drastically different views concerning the details.

- NOTHING existed other than God Himself before He began to create the universe.

            - Gen. 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

                                    ** Heavens and earth = entire universe

- Psalm 33:6-9 - By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. ⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. ⁹ For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

- John 1:3 - All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

                        ** All things = entire universe

- Col. 1:16 - For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

                        ** All things visible and invisible

- Heb. 11:3 - By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

                                    ** Everything created goes back to God!

- It is beautiful to realize that God created everything, because it means that EVERYTHING has a purpose. ** Including US!

           

            - Therefore, whenever anything in creation brings us joy, we should use it as

            an opportunity to give praise to God.

            - Understanding creation leads to humility, because of the revelation of God’s

            greatness.  We should see everything as God’s, not ours.

- The greatest opponent of the doctrine of creation is the theory of evolution. As Christians, we cannot hold to any part of this notion, for Scripture leaves absolutely no room for evolution. God created man and woman.

           

            - Gen. 2:7 - Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and

            breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

            - Gen. 2:22 -  The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had

            taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

- The primary agent in the act of creation was God the Father. The Son and the Holy Spirit were also an active part.

            - Creation “through” the Son:

           

                        - John 1:3 - All things came into being through Him, and apart from

                        Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

            - Holy Spirit was present:

                        - Gen. 1:2 - The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over

                        the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over

                        the surface of the waters.

- God is distinct from creation, yet creation is always dependent upon God.

           

            - He is not part of creation as Pantheism suggests, but He rules over it.

- God created the universe for His glory. ** Including US!

            - Is. 43:7 - Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for

            my glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.

            - Psalm 19:1-2 - The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse

            is declaring the work of His hands. ² Day to day pours forth speech, and night

            to night reveals knowledge.

            - Rev. 4:11 - Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and

honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will

they existed, and were created.

- The universe God created was very good. Even though there is sin in the world, creation is still good in God’s sight, and we should delight in it!

           

            - Avoid the mindset that it is wrong to enjoy creation!

- Scripture and true science AGREE!

            - For example: the age of the earth. We hold to the young earth theory that states that creation took place in a literal seven days. The old earth theory states that the seven days of creation could have been thousands of years.

                        - Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, states, “If you started

                        with the Bible alone, without considering any outside influences

                        whatsoever, could you ever come up with millions or billions or years

                        of history for the earth or universe? Absolutely NOT!”

                        - The Bible gives us NO reason to believe the old earth theories. The

                        only reason Christians support this theory is because they try to bend

                        Scripture to agree with popular science (i.e. evolution).

                        - Theories do not matter; only God’s Word matters!

God’s Word is the final authority for our lives!

Notes for this portion of our study were taken from pages 124-140 of Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrines. 

            

The Necessity of Scripture

lesson 5

Why Do We Need Scripture?

1. For  Knowledge of the Gospel

    -Without the Word...how do we know?

    -Without the Word...how will they know?

Romans 10:13-17

¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

     

     It is a chain reaction- To be saved, someone must call upon the name of the Lord- to call,  they must believe- to believe, they must have heard- to hear, someone must tell!- to tell, there must have been a message...and so on.

    Saving faith comes by hearing the gospel message!

                      *The gospel message is the information that Scripture has provided for us that

                        the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to salvation.

                       *The word "gospel" is literally translated "good news"! 

John 3:18

 "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

John 14:6

" Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

      -But how then, did people get saved in the Old Testament?

           Still by saving faith in Christ- theirs was a forward looking faith. The prophets
           promise of a Redeemer that was recorded and spoken to them from God's Word

           they saw their need and looked ahead for His salvation- they BELIEVED Him

           to set them free from sin.

Hebrews 11:13

"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth."

 

** On the topic of this subject- see also the book "GOSPEL" by J.D. Greear- excellent resource...excellent admonishing words!

2. For Maintaining Our Spiritual Life

Matthew 4:4

 But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Isaiah 55

 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
     come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
²  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
     hear, that your soul may live;"

1 Peter 2:2

  "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—"

     In these passages we glean the idea that Scripture- the Word of Truth is to be viewed in the same light as our food... we must have it to be nourished, we must have it- to SURVIVE. We absolutely cannot and will not grow without it!

Colossians 3:9-10 

"...seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."

Romans 12:2

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

     Here we learn that it is through the Word of God that we are able to transform. In order to put on the new man- we must have a pattern to follow, that pattern is ONLY found in Scripture.

1 Corinthians 14:20 

^"Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature."

Philippians 3:15
 "Let those of us who are mature think this way..."
 

Hebrews 5:14

"But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

      Scripture and the truths found in it have the power to bring about maturity. Maturity of mind and thought- attitude and actions- strength, discernment and comprehension- like no other source ever given to man. The only way a believer may mature, the only way to BE mature is through study and "constant practice" of the God's Word, the Bible.

** note... look around you and observe our culture, take note of the lack of maturity, compare the areas of immaturity to what God's Word says and how we as students of the Word have the ability to learn otherwise... and you will begin to see the evident truth in this fact.** 

Mark 7:21

 "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery.."

On our own... without Christ, without His Word... we are wicked indeed. Seek truth and adorn it about you, changing you from the inside out.

3. For knowledge of God's will

Jeremiah 17:9

 "The heart is deceitful above all things,
    and desperately sick;
    who can understand it?"

Romans 2:14-15 

  "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them"

It is too easy for us to gain faulty reasoning on our own, because of our sin nature. God's Word is the guide that directs us to know what the perfect will of God is. Let us not be confused- God's will is NOT a person, place, or thing...GOD'S WILL IS that we KNOW HIM, LOVE HIM, OBEY HIM and SEEK HIM. His Word also contains a set of certain ideas that we are to remain obedient to...yet we have been set free from the law! When we are walking in God's will (knowing Him, obeying Him, loving Him) the  person's, places, and things that we need to know specifics about will be made clear to us by the ministry of the Holy Spirit and through the power of the Word.

As we continue to study the Scriptures- we will be conformed to them and do as He pleases with a willing heart.

Deuteronomy 29:29

 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

Psalm 1:1-2

"Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night"

Psalm 119:1

 "Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!"

 We can see very clearly through these passages that the will of God is that we walk blamelessly and are careful to observe what He commands.

**Challenge- search the Scriptures- what does He command us specifically?**

example:   

Ephesians 5:18

"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit."

Ephesians 5:3

 "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you..."

 By God's grace and mercy, may we be challenged and upheld to live in obedience in accordance to His will. Always seeking, always trusting that He will direct us in truth and give us the strength to live for it.

2 Corinthians 12:9

   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

 

lesson 3


The Authority of Scripture

Where does Scripture get its authority? 

     - The words of Scripture are the very words of God.

         How can we know this? 

         Scripture proves itself when we look at it in its entirety.

         Throughout the Old Testament we see the repeated phrase

         "And the word of the Lord..." in various forms. The prophets

         who spoke were under strict obligation to speak the words

         which were being given them from God. They were fearful

         to preface their statements and proclamations as words that

         had come from God.

          

         Do your homework!

           *research the Old Testament- search to see how many times 

             you can find this phrase, and look at it in the context

             it is presented. Is the author aware that God is speaking

             through him?

         Some passages that we looked at in the Old Testament included:

     Num. 22:38, Deut. 18:18, Jer. 1:9, Zech 7:17, 2Kings 9:36,

  1 Sam 10:8, Ex. 24:7, Deut. 29:21, Josh 24:26, 1 Sam 10:25

 

        When we continue on to the New Testament we can see that the 

        NT authors we in complete agreement that the OT had come from 

        the Lord, and they themselves wrote with the same agreeable authority.

        In their writings you will find them quoting the OT as well as giving 

        acknowledgement to the working of the Holy Spirit in their life

        to train them, and give them the words they were scribing.

             Acts 3:18 "but what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ

                                would suffer, he thus fulfilled."

        The author of Acts is reflecting and thus calling to our attention that the prophets spake

        from the word of God... he knows that God was speaking through the prophets,

        and surely it must have been God instructing them, because who can know 

        time and future and events but for God...and all that the prophets spoke, came to pass.

Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Paul saw all of the Scriptures as a source of hope, endurance and instruction 

including the prophetic words of the Old Testament.

       Luke 24:25-27 "Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets

                                    have spoken."

         Even Jesus proclaims her the validity of what the Old Testament prophets

         spoke...He so far as calls those foolish who do not believe every word.

        Furthermore...the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are

        comprised of the retelling of Jesus' life and work on the earth. The authors

        were given special recollection from the Holy Spirit in order

        to remember all that He had done and said. Those who walked with Him

        recorded His very words and conversations, making the gospels most 

        profoundly the very words of God in the form of His son as a human 

        speaking.

        Our conclusion- 

        the words of Scripture, in its entirety are the very words of God. 

 

 

     - Therefore to disbelieve or disobey any word of 

      Scripture  is to disobey or disbelieve God. 

           

           It seems that Scripture holds a divine weight over our lives because the

           Creator of the Universe and the Author of our Salvation is the One who

           saw fit to compose it as our guide. If all the words in the book are directly 

           from Him and the commands are all seen as applicable to our lives, then 

           it is fitting to believe that to neglect it, to misuse it and to dishonor it

           through disbelief and or disobedience is to directly disobey and disbelieve Him.

           Therefore it is of utmost importance that we become students of it and surrender

           to it. We must recognize its value and the ultimate authority that is possesses. 

           This recognition comes when we are fully aware that Scripture IS the VERY WORD
           OF GOD. It is alive and full of power that is available each day for our use in 

           instruction, correction, reproof, godliness, guidance, comfort, wisdom, peace

           and fulfillment.

lesson 4 

The Inerrancy of Scripture

 

Inerrant

definition: Scripture does not affirm anything contrary to fact. Simply put: the Bible always tells the truth concerning everything it talks about. It is without error and without conflict or contradiction that cannot be resolved.

Scripture is Truthful

Proof:

• It is against God's character to ever lie. 

Titus 1:2 "Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago"

• He is immutable- unchanging- If He is unchanging then He cannot deny His words, change His mind or rearrange what has already been spoken. Making His words- and Scripture- perfect.

Hebrews 6:18 "so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us."

 

Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God is tested;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him"

 

Psalm 119:89 "Forever, O LORD,
Your word is settled in heaven" 

 

Matthew 24:35  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."

• His words (the Bible) are the ultimate standard for truth- truth does not and cannot exist outside of God's Word.

John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."

• Nothing new will ever be discovered that has not already been covered in the Word of God. No new standard of truth will ever arise that will have power to override or contradict God's Word. 

Again, we must note the necessity to claim a final authority for truth, to do so we must first believe that truth exists and that truth is capable of having a final end... a once and for all... an only standard.

* There are 2 common themes in our world's system of belief that we will find ourselves combating: the ideas that truth is relative and that it simply does not exist at all.  The first is pluralism- this world view sets a standard for no one, it is the thought that every man determines his own truth and whatever he believes therefore is true. The second is 

post-modernism- this world view says that truth does not exist at all.

Friends... truth MUST exist! Let us be prayer warriors and instruments of the Lord to 

bring about an understanding and knowledge of truth to our lost world. Truth exists and 

it exists in the Word of God. 

 

 Sources:

Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem

                                                                                  The Bible (New American Standard Version)