02/27/2024
This morning in my devotional reading E.M. Bounds made the general statement that "God's promises are dependent on our prayers." Although I believe that prayer is powerful, important, and allows us to communicate our needs to God, I don’t think that He is limited to them, and only acts when we ask Him to. We should pray without ceasing, and within the will of God, and we should ask to receive His promises, but I don't feel that God's promises are necessarily dependent upon our prayers. To say this limits God.
There have been many prophecies and occurrences in the bible where God lived up to a promise even in the absence of specific prayer. God always stands by His Word, even when we haven’t known to pray for something. How many times have we found ourselves thanking Him for something in our lives that occurred which we never saw coming… a near accident that was miraculously avoided, or a set of circumstances that led to a happy ending that were later seen to have been by His hand?
The way I would have stated what I believe Bounds was trying to say is "God's Word and promises live in us and through prayer we can acknowledge Him and bring them to action in our lives."
I am not discounting our prayer because it is powerful, wonderful, and funnels the very essence of God into our lives and beings; I just don't believe that God's promises are necessarily bound to our prayers or desires... I believe we are bound by His will. Now, having said this I want to clarify that our prayers should embody His will and promises, and that if they do so He will answer us when we call out to Him, but He also knows what is in our hearts and the beginning from the end. Do we always make our children ask us for something? Do we only give them the gifts they ask for at Christmas, or on their birthdays? No, we often surprise them, and give them things we think will help them in their lives. God is our Father, and He does the same… We stumble across a vine that is loaded with blackberries that add wonderful flavor to our next meal, or provide us with sustenance when we are working in a field a long way from home. The Lord loves for us to come to Him in prayer and ask Him for His provision, or His protection when we are threatened, but we shouldn’t limit Him. Sometimes we receive these things simply because He loves us, and wants to care for us. He answers our prayers….
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Mark 11:24 KJV
And He independently takes care of us by His own desire to do so, like He did for Elijah…
“And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.”
1 Kings 17:2-6 CSB
There is nothing that destroys a relationship faster than a broken promise. This is just as true of our relationship with God as it is in our human ones, but one thing we can absolutely depend on is that God is faithful and true to His word. He will hold to that word and His promises despite our commitment in prayer. Any doubt we have regarding our walk with Him should be in our own ability to honor our own commitment and word... Not His.
So, as we pray for the promises of God to be realized in our lives we should have unwavering faith in three things, He will hear our prayer, He will answer our prayer, and that His word will remain true just as He promised us. The boundaries of our prayers are always set by His will, Word, and promise... but, God is not bound by the act of our praying; He is only confirmed by them. Prayer, and Answered prayer, strengthens our faith and relationship with God, but so do our prayers of thanksgiving for those things we have received without our having asked. Both show us the love of our Father.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Word, your will, and your promises, but thank you most for the love with which you have offered them to us. Thank you for every answered prayer, and thank you for those things you provide us without our knowing or asking. We realize that prayer is a Holy endeavor Father, and we also know it is just as powerful when we pray it for things that were, as those that are, and each thing that will be. You tell us to be holy because you are holy, and being as you are is our greatest desire… Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy Spirit help us to pray as we should in all of these. Help us as we give thanks for those things we have received, offer praise for who God is, and pray to our Father for those things we need and desire. Increase our faith Holy Father, as we witness your love, mercy, kindness, and grace in our lives. Help us in our unbelief when we pray, asking for you to do so, and even when we witness a miracle that has come without our asking. Jonah didn’t ask to be swallowed by a whale, and spit out again, but he was, and it changed him… change us Lord, and bring us closer to you in the process. Pour the blood of Jesus over us and wash us clean of every sin, even those we have committed without knowing, then change us, transform us in ways we can’t yet imagine. This is our prayer… that you are with us always, and that you love us in our prayers yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We pray all day long for each encounter with your divine will, incredible goodness, and amazing grace. We thank you in all things you do for us whether they are known, or unknown; our everyday needs, or those which are miraculous in nature. All our lives are spent in the palm of your hand and we give you the glory for this, and praise your name for every promise fulfilled, and gift received.
““I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.””
John 10:28-29 CSB
Amen
Rich Forbes