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good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans by the Book Lesson
62
Hello,
and welcome to HBS. In case you missed
it we’ve been studying the often repeated word “groan” in Paul’s teachings these past few weeks. In the last two sessions, we’ve taken a good
long look at what our apostle Paul meant when he said, “the whole creation groans” and compared this to the pains a
woman endures in the course of childbirth, and then we studied his statement, “we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves…”
This
week we’re going to examine Paul’s phrase, “the
Spirit Himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words…” helping us in our weakness for we do
not know how to pray “as we
should” – or communicate with God which is all prayer is basically.
Let’s
begin by reviewing the Bible passage.
Please open your Bible at Romans, 8.
There’s
a lot of ground to cover and we’re going to proceed slowly.
Romans 8
26: In the same way
the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not
know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27: and He who
searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He
intercedes for the saints according to the will
of God (Psalms
139:1; 1 Corinthians 2:10).
As
I said earlier, prayer is communicating with God the Father in the
purest sense.
It’s
a well known fact that communication is vital in establishing relationships and
in maintaining a healthy relationship. Human
history reveals that we lack appropriate communication skills. Many of man’s problems can be traced back to
this single issue. Multiple Studies have
shown a lack of communication may result in confusion, misunderstandings, and
the development of poor communication patterns.
Many
a business, corporation, family, and marriage suffer today because of poor communication or the lack
thereof. I’m not so old that I’ve
forgotten the communication gap between my parents and myself when I was a
teen-ager. We were speaking but we
weren’t “talking” to one another. Likewise,
nations today are speaking to each other but they’re not communicating
to one another…
Yesterday
I received a phone call from somebody representing someone’s company.
I
couldn’t tell you who it was or what they wanted. English was not their native tongue. Although they tried to communicate with me they failed to get their message across. This incident brought to mind a phrase from
the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is a failure to
communicate.”
The
problem concerning communication in our marriages is certainly no different
from these other examples. Someone is
talking but the other party isn’t hearing or they aren’t listening to the
message - for various reasons.
Companies
have been formed for the sole purpose of helping people improve their
communication and “listening” skills in the business environment. Psychologists and evangelicals keep busy
helping people who are struggling in their marriages due to poor communication. We have a problem!
All
of this brings me back to Paul’s statement:
the Spirit also helps our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we should…
God
has said that we do not know how to pray, -“as we should.” This brings
us to a tender place in the book of Romans and an area where many a
Believer struggles. If we’re honest with
ourselves and with each other everyone needs some help with their prayer
life. Hopefully, by the end of this
lesson, you will be encouraged, because what Paul is saying in these verses is
this: knowing that the Holy
Spirit lovingly prays for us in our weakness should encourage us to pray
with thanksgiving.
I
wish I could adequately convey to you the number of times I’ve heard a Believer
say something like, “Why should I pray; God never answers my
prayers?” or “How am I supposed to know God’s will for my
life?”
Does
God want me to: “attend this school,” “get
married,” “get a divorce,” “buy this home,” “move to Ohio,” “be a missionary,”
“go on a diet,” or “accept this job?”
First,
God has outlined His will for all of us in this book. It is clearly given.
This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and
to come to the knowledge of the truth (1Timothy 2:3-4).
As
to these items mentioned above, and others, these decisions belong to the
individual.
Nowhere
in Scripture does it say that God is going to micromanage our lives. By this I mean to say you won’t find anything
in the Bible about whether or not you should accept “the new job,” or “go on a
diet” specifically.
But
God has given you the ability to make choices (free will). Bearing in mind that you are now, justified
by faith, the choices you make need to line up with His will.
For
example: if the new job you’re applying
for is a get-a-way driver for a bank hold-up team, then that’s not in God’s
will. If you’ve seen a medical provider
and were told you need to lose weight than yes, you need to go on a diet. This is God’s will for you. Be
cautious of the refrigerator. Don’t you
know you’re body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Are
you interested in the personal affairs of your children? I’ll assume you said yes.
So
then, yes, He is.
Will
our Father answer our prayers? My
response is: God is sovereign and is
capable of addressing any need at any time.
But
since most people fail to rightly divide Scripture and because
of the way they were taught they sincerely believe God will
respond to all their prayers in one of three ways: yes, no, or not right now.
But
if we rightly understand the Bible’s teaching on prayer in this
dispensation of grace and other matters, we will soon see our confusion,
misunderstandings, and poor communication patterns disappear.
Some
of the misunderstandings on this issue include that God is omniscient,
perfectly good, and perfectly just, and He is working all things for good to those who love Him.
But
none of these guarantees that
we won’t endure trials, and suffer here and now.
Because
God the Father is just, everything He does is fair (Job 38-42).
The
other issue is the mistaken teachings on prayer that set people up for disappointment in their prayer lives. The most prominent of these is that God has
promised to give us whatever we ask for, if only we ask rightly and have
enough faith – in Jesus’ name.
This teaching is based on passages found in
Mark 11: 22-24 and John 14:13-14.
Digging Deeper:
Jesus
gave His apostles this assurance specifically and only to the apostles
on the night of His arrest. It was an
assurance of the apostolic gifting and authority, meant to strengthen and
encourage them after Jesus was taken away.
The
phrase, “In my name,” does not mean
we add Jesus’ name to the end of our prayers rubber stamping them with His “authorized
signature,” nor does it mean praying according to His will. Rather, it meant “as my authoritative
representative” here on earth. Likewise,
you could hear a police officer shout out, “Stop, in the name of the law;”
the police officer being an official representative of the law.
Only the apostles, who
ministered to the Jew only (Matthew 10:5-7; Acts 11:19) under the
dispensation of the Prophetic Program, were vested with Christ’s authority in this
manner. So, only they
could rightly claim and appropriate this guarantee. I could no more assume this assurance from
Christ Jesus than I could assume a promise from my parents to my older brother;
it is his and his alone.
This teaching is in the Bible to preserve the
uniqueness and authority of the apostolic witness, not to encourage us
to expect positive answers to our prayers.
It
is difficult to set aside traditions and preconceived notions but this is what
we must do in discussing the issue of prayer, and other matters, from a
dispensational viewpoint. Please turn to
1 Corinthians, chapter 14.
1 Corinthians 14
15: What is the outcome then? I will pray (how) with the spirit and I will pray with the
mind (or understanding -KJV) also; I
will sing with the spirit and I will sing with mind also.
From
this passage we see two ways to pray:
- With the spirit
- With the mind (or understanding)
When
Paul says we are to pray with the mind,
he means to say we are to have “the same mind” or understanding as the person
speaking. We are to have a common
grasp of ideas. In other words, our
apostle Paul wants us to pray intelligently, knowing what God has
said. Therefore, prayer is a
dispensational subject.
Scripture
reveals there are three time frames in history:
time past, but now, and ages to come (see Ephesians 2:11, 13, and 7).
In
this Age of Grace, we cannot go back into time past and appropriate
doctrine for our prayer life for today.
We can learn about praying, persistence in praying, and consistency in
prayer from reading about how people prayed in that era. But the people in time past
prayed for different reasons and expected certain things to happen when
they prayed because of what they had been told.
Remember,
prayer will always function in accordance with the dispensational program that
is in effect. For instance, in time
past blessings were promised for obedience and curses for disobedience
(Deuteronomy 11:26-28); these were promised under the dispensation of the Law.
If
you’ll examine Scripture, you’ll find in time past, sin separated
Israel from God (Isaiah 59:1-3; Psalms 66:18; Proverbs 15:29) and this will
resume in ages to come (Micah 3:4).
All
of these Bible verses speak of “sin” restricting the prayer life of a Jewish
Believer when it is to function in accordance with the Law. But this is hardly the case for you and me
today, as Believers, in Christ Jesus.
This is because we have something the people in time past
never had – a standing in God’s grace, total forgiveness, and the
acceptance of God in Christ.
In
time past, people prayed specifically and there were specific
results (Genesis 20:17-18; Judges 16: 28-30; 1 Samuel 1:10; 1 Samuel 1:27;
James 5:17-18). God told Elias that if
he prayed the weather would change, but God does not give us this same message
today.
In time past, signs
of the weather were an indicator the nation of Israel could look to and
measure whether or not they were being obedient to the LORD God. Israel’s crops, military endeavors, and their
physical circumstances were all indicators of their relationship and fellowship
with the LORD God and their relationship with Him was a roller-coaster ride, if
you know Scripture.
So,
prayer being a dispensational topic, we need to pray with an understanding
of the nature of our dispensation.
Please turn to Romans, chapter 5.
Romans 5
1: Therefore, having
been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ,
2: through whom
also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we
stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
The
phrase, “peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ,” is in reference to the work of the cross or what Jesus
accomplished for us on the cross.
Now
please turn to Philippians, chapter 4.
Philippians 4
6: Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything (how) by prayer
and supplication with (what) thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
7: And the (what) peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your (what) minds in Christ Jesus.
The
very nature of this age is one of corruption, suffering, and trials. God has a program to deliver us but this is
in the future. Our glory is
coming.
However,
many times, a Believer will look to deliverance for themselves or for a loved
one in the here and now and is greatly disappointed when this does not come
about. Consequently, when they receive
no answer to their prayers, they may give up on God.
I
know people who have ceased praying and given up on God for this reason.
I wonder if they
ever considered thanking God for unanswered prayers…
In
this Age of Grace, God has not promised good health, wealth, protection, or
provision. We are not told to expect
or ask for these things. We are told to expect
difficulties, hardships, and trials (John
16:33; Ephesians 6:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-17).
In
light of this truth, we need to pray understanding the nature of our
service to Him. Please turn to Romans,
12.
Romans 12
1: Therefore, I
urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and
holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which
is your spiritual service of worship.
2: And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your (what) mind, so that you may prove what the
will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Believers
need to get in step with God or we need to be of one mind.
Our
lives here and now are to be “living
sacrifices.” The issue of our
service to Him is not our comfort, ease, or convenience but our responsibility
is to do the will of God (2 Corinthians 4:11-12).
When
we pray, we pray with an understanding of God’s will (Ephesians
5:15-17).
As
Believers we are responsible to understand God’s will,
which is found in this book.
(Colossians
1:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:4).
God
desires for Jesus Christ to live His life through you and me for His honor and
His glory. How does this happen? By the Word
of Christ dwelling in you “abundantly” and the Spirit of God strengthening and
empowering you and me to live lives for Him.
The
end result is Ephesians 3:18-19.
Please
remember, we want to pray with understanding. We do not want to guess, assume, or pray on
the basis of tradition or preconceived notions.
We do not want to copy someone else’s prayer life. We do want to pray with understanding
as to what God wants us to do (Ephesians 6:18) and with like minds.
There
are no more apostles. This means that
for all of us in this dispensation who pray, our prayers are petitions
and we are not guaranteed positive answers, as they were.
I
don’t want to sound harsh by saying this, but “no” is an answer to your
prayer.
God
isn’t ignoring His children when He says “no.”
He listens, He considers, He decides, and He answers. You respond in like manner to your children’s
requests…
Our
loving Father in heaven understands that we are unable to discern His
will completely and consequently the helplessness, or “weakness,” to petition Him specifically; and the Holy Spirit
“fills” this communication gap, expressing to God those intercessory prayers according to the will of God.
When
we do not know what to pray for – yes, even when we ask for things that God
knows we should not have, we need not be anxious
for we can depend on the Spirit’s ministry, “on our behalf.” And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
We’ve
barely scratched the surface of this important topic.
We’ll
pick up on this subject where we left off in the next lesson.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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