A great little excerpt from a John Piper sermon (1985): 3.1. Prayer 3.1.1. Compare Ezekiel 36:9–10 with 36:37. On the one hand the re-population of Israel is promised. And on the other hand God says that he plans to (literally:) be asked of by the house of Israel. In other words, God wills that prayer be the occasion for the fulfillment of his promises. 3.1.2. It is not logically inconsistent to say that God will answer prayer and that he has decided before the world what shall take place. For the prayer itself is one of the things he has foreordained as a means of bringing about what he wills. He wills to do things through prayer so that we will be more conscious of our reliance on him and of his intimate involvement in the world (John 14:13—that the Father may be glorified in the Son). 3.1.3. If God did not have the right and power to call effectually, what would you ask him to do for your unbelieving friends and family? How can you pray if you DONT believe in the sovereignty of grace? 3.1.4. The persistent burden to pray for something, like revival or the conversion of a friend, is a good sign that God is moving to do something special. A movement of prayer usually precedes the great works of God, not because enough people have the power to twist the arm of the Almighty, but because God is pleased to prepare us to behold his work as a gift of grace and to cherish it dearly by having us plead for it so fervently.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:46:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015