DEPENDENT IN PRAYER

RELYING ON A SOVEREIGN GOD IN SUPPLICATION

Session Four

Session Four OBJECTIVES

! Answer questions about the place of prayer in God’s purposes.

! If God knows everything, and has planned everything, then why should we pray?

! If God is sovereign, is He to blame for my lack of prayer?

Two GROUND RULES

We want to be careful and accurate.

We must trust and obey clear things, even if we do not have complete understanding.

Two WRONG Approaches

We are NOT Hyper-Calvinists.

We are NOT Arminians.

The Sovereign PROCESS

The MEANS of sovereign salvation is the gospel.

The AGENT of sovereign salvation is the Holy Spirit.

The INSTRUMENTS of sovereign salvation are us!

Two PERSPECTIVES

The HUMAN perspective.

The DIVINE perspective.

Jesus uses sovereignty to urge supplication.

Matthew 6:8-9

Everyone prays like God is sovereign.

“You pray for the conversion of others. In what terms, now, do you intercede for them? Do you limit

yourself to asking that God will bring them to a point where they can save themselves, independently of

Him? I do not think you do. I think that what you do is pray in categorical terms that God will, quite

simply and decisively, save them: that He will open the eyes of their understanding, soften their hard

hearts, renew their natures, and move their wills to receive the Savior.”

~ J.I. Packer

“In prayer, then (and the Christian is at his sanest and wisest when he prays),

you know that it is God who saves men; you know that what makes men turn to God is God's own gracious work of drawing them to Himself; and the content of your prayers

is determined by this knowledge.” ~ J.I. Packer

What about THOSE passages?

Exodus 32:14 ; Jeremiah 26:19, etc.

• God uses means, and planed the means of the Moses and Hezekiah’s prayers.

• From the human perspective, it may seem as if God changes, but there’s no reason to question other clear passages. (cf. Numbers 23:19)

• Each of these examples should spur us to pray more!

A SUMMARY

1. According to Scripture, God is omniscient, sovereign, and loves His glory.

2. According to Scripture, God commands us to pray.

3. According to Scripture, God delights to hear and answer our prayers.

4. Even if we don’t fully understand how it works, we are to worship God by praying because it maximizes His glory and our joy.

TAKE-AWAYS

• Study to know God more.

• Pray according to His revealed will. Give thanks to Him for whatever happens as His sovereign will.

Grunts Warriors• Don’t dull the sword of

God’s sovereignty because it cuts.

• Don’t dishonor God with weak praying. In other words, don’t allow theology to make you smarter than the Bible.