Often in movies, the location of someone’s will can change everything about the plot. The will is that all important document outlining the deceased’s wishes about who will get all their valuable possessions (since they can’t take anything with them of course). Sometimes there are surprises in the will and sometimes there is no will to be found and decisions are left up to the court. When there is a fortune at stake, the location of the will becomes all-important!
There is another type of will that can be just as important. It is the word that can change everything based on its placement in a statement. Consider the following sentences:
Will God do it again?
God will do it again!
People who believe in God and in the truth found in God’s word can say, without a doubt, that God did it. Many have unshakable faith in the past works of God. That is good and we should have that faith! But what about our faith in what God will do today? How strong is our faith in what God will do in our circumstances or surroundings or in response to our prayers? And does our faith somehow control (limit or release) what God is able to do in our lives?
God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
(Numbers 23:19 NLT)
I am as appalled by “faith healers” and abusive “word of faith preachers” as anyone. In fact, the argument could be made that no one is more offended by these charlatans than the people of faith! That said, there are promises in the Bible that we can and should believe by faith- as if the creator of the universe actually spoke them personally and individually to us. In fact, He did, does, and will!
Some of the confusion and doubt comes because we aren’t sure which promises in the Bible are applicable to us. There are ways that God worked in the past that we don’t see today in normal life. For example, God doesn’t create manna in the way He did while Israel journeyed through the desert. That was a special miracle for a specific time and a unique group of people. Though the larger premise still may apply (that God provides for His people), it would be wrong to take Moses’ words that God would “rain down food from heaven” for me literally. Also, some teachers muddy the waters by claiming everything that looks like a promise in the Bible regardless of context! I guess you could say that often we need to hold onto the premise behind the promise and not the other way around.
But, to be honest, this doesn’t always help us… What are some promises that we can be sure of? Martin Luther once declared he could come up with one for every day of the year! With that in mind, there’s a website devoted to just this task: 365promises.com. They will even send you promises via email (I’ve only looked at a couple so don’t flame me if they send you something kooky!)
Here are some promises that I hold onto with varying degrees of faith. (Lord help my unbelief!)
- When I agree with another Christian in prayer, God promises to answer
- When I’m with another believer, Jesus promises to be present
- When I ask God to send the Holy Spirit, He promises to do it
- When I believe in Jesus, He promises to save me from God’s wrath
I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. (Matthew 18:19-20 NLT)
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. (Luke 11:13 NLT)
And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. (John 3:36 NLT)
These aren’t the only places in the Bible where God promises to respond to our prayers. There are some verses that almost seem too good to be true (Mark 9:23, John 15:7, John 14:12, Matthew 21:21 to name a few). And if you ask almost any Christian from any denomination whether or not God still answers prayers, most will say “Yes, but…” What does that mean? What does that communicate?
What would it look like if you really believed those promises? Would you look crazy or are you afraid you would lose the little bit of faith you do have? Would your prayers be answered or would they be blocked because of sin and doubt in your heart? What are you afraid to ask God for right now? Get serious and fast & pray, asking God to answer specifically and unmistakably! Life’s too short to come to the end wondering “what if.”
Some might accuse me of posting an irresponsible message and I’m sure they would be correct but… can someone explain the plain reading of scripture to me if I am mistaken?
Well, Dr. Alan Cairns did as good a job of answering me as any. You can hear his (more balanced) view here: Dr. Cairns at Sermon Audio. BTW, sermonaudio.com is awesome. They have an app for your phone too so you can listen anywhere. Lots of good reformed preaching and teaching there. Dr. Cairns points out that God is revealed to us as a wise father and as parents we know that a lot of things our children ask for are not good for them. We get joy from giving them things they desire and saying no is not fun, but there are larger concerns in play that are more important.
I still think Shirley Caeser had a God-pleasing view though and I still believe in throwing caution to the wind in prayer. Why not?
You may be down and feel like God
Has somehow forgotten
That you are faced with circumstances
You can’t get through
But now it seems that there’s no way out
And you’re going under
God’s proven time and time again
He’ll take care of youAnd He’ll do it again
He’ll do it again
If you’ll just take a look
At where you are now
And where you’ve been
Well hasn’t He always come through for you
He’s the same now as then
You may not know how
You may not know when
But He’ll do it again
(imagine Shirley Caeser singing)
Where is your will today? Is it before or after God?