As I was contemplating those simple truths, today, I mulled over the following line of questioning in my mind: Why does God INSIST that we must come to Him in believing prayer and in obedience to His will, in order to receive God's mercies and grace to save, heal, and deliver us ~ not only from our own fallen (sinful) nature but moreover from every evil thing wherewith the devil desires to assail us? If God is the God of love, who perfectly loves His own Creation, then why would He not just take it upon Himself to protect all of His creatures from every harmful thing? Why does God need anyone to pray?
Those are the sort of questions, I suppose, that have challenged men's minds ever since the beginning of time.
And I believe I know the answer....
We know, from Scripture, that the Son of God gave His life for the whole world (Calvinists' foolish objections notwithstanding). Why, then, is not every person "saved"? that is to say, why is not every person going to live happily forever in the Presence of God? Does not God love His creatures? Sure, He does. God's love for His creatures is what compelled Christ to come and to suffer the punishment of death, for each and every one of us. Still, multitudes shall suffer the torments of hell, forever.
We must then conclude that, because God invested man's nature with the power of volition (or "will," that is the ability to make choices), God also holds each individual accountable for what choices he or she does make ~ including, preeminently, the choice of whether or not to submit oneself to the authority of God in Christ.
So, it is not at all a question of whether God truly loves every creature He has made. That question has been forever settled by God's offering of Christ.
The answer we seek evidently hinges upon man's will, rather than upon the fact of God's love to humanity. Man can reject God if he wants to ~ and thus end up separated forever from God and His Creation. God will not coerce anyone to avail himself or herself of the wealth of benefits God has provided in Christ Jesus ~ and only in Christ.
Importantly, the fact, that each person has a will, has profound implications not only for those who choose to reject Christ but, also, for those who are "in Christ." God's "salvation" is not a rubber-stamp type of program (even though multitudes of professing Christians appear to believe otherwise). I like to say, that God has an incentive program; as the Scripture succinctly puts it: "He [God] is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
God gives rewards, but those rewards are conditional. The greatest of which, rewards, is, "the knowledge of God." It makes sense that one would be rewarded with the very thing that he or she seeks. God has promised to "reward" those who "diligently seek Him [God]". What shall be their reward? They shall be rewarded with that which they seek after, namely, God Himself; that is to say, the knowledge of Him.
According to God's own will, man also has a will. Those who choose to ignore or outright reject God are largely left to their own devices. Worse still, they thus leave themselves vulnerable to be preyed upon and abused by the devil. Yet, God is merciful. He "causes it to rain upon the just and the unjust." He extends grace even to those who continually resist the Spirit of God; though not indefinitely will God extend grace to such persons.
The reason there is so much suffering and corruption in the world, is because every person has a will and most people choose to reject God.
But what about those who choose to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? How does God deal with those? Answer: God still deals with each person according to his or her own will. Although God is not a respecter of persons; yet, not every professing Christian enjoys the Lord's Presence and power in the same measure. Individuals differ with respect to their desire and dedication to seek and to serve the Lord.
What does all of this mean? It means that: a) God wants to be known unto man (individually); b) God is willing to reveal Himself more and more, according to the measure that one will seek God; and, c) God uses the very process of one's seeking God, as the means whereby God increasingly reveals Himself to that individual.
The question posed in the title of this brief essay, "Why prayer?" is thus answered. God wants to be known ~ as He is. But because God has endowed man with a will, God will only reveal Himself in accordance with how this or that individual chooses to respond to God.
God is willing and interested to go deeper and deeper in a one-on-one relationship ~ with "whosoever will". He is perfectly willing to reveal Himself more and more, in keeping with each one's expressed interest and efforts to receive more and more of the knowledge of God.
God is fair to all. More than that, God is the one who takes the initiative with man, in mercy. I can possess more and more and more of the knowledge of God: more of His manifest Presence; more of His love, peace, and joy; more of His power; more understanding of His will and purpose; more assurance of your own salvation; more confidence in prayer; more happiness in life; more hope for the future ~ if I am willing.
Willing ~ to what? Willing to seek God. Willing to obey Him. Willing to serve Him. Willing for Him to use me to serve others, in His name.
What ever happened to "gifts of healing," in the Body of Christ? What ever happened to the working of miracles? to true prophecies? to the "gift of faith"?
God has not changed. However, the culture of the contemporary Church has changed drastically. The Apostasy, as I have often explained, is now in full bloom, as it were. I believe that every Christian in America (and elsewhere throughout the developed nations) has been adversely affected by the pervasive impact of the Apostasy.
Nevertheless, God in great mercy has been working to raise many up and out of the morass of unbelief and unfaithfulness that has resulted from the deadly religious culture spawned by the Apostasy.
God loves His Creation. God is perfectly willing for His wisdom and power to be brought to bear, through His Spirit, upon this generation's most pressing needs ~ as well as upon my own personal needs; but, only as I may be willing...
To pray.
To obey.
To "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
Do I, truly, desire to witness and be a part of a "move of God"?
Am I, then, seeking to move closer to God? Am I allowing Him to move in me, to purify my heart and sanctify all my will?
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