Basket of Figs
Published 2001-09
Bud Powell
Trinity Covenant RCUS, Colorado Springs
Prayer to the God Who
Is.
Magic? Or Faith?
True
prayer is to the true God and not to idols. Idols are figments of men’s
imaginations and can do nothing, but can only do what men do in their names.
Idols are empowered by men’s hands and men’s ideas
because they do not have anything of their own. Even the sacrifices that
men make to false gods are things that come from God and are created by
God. (Hosea 2:8 “For [Israel] did not know that I gave her corn,
and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they
prepared for Baal.”) All things come from the true God, and even the
intelligence and strength which men expend on their idols are gifts of God and
are misappropriated to the worship of idols.
The
true God is self-existent and immutable. He has life in Himself and never
changes. [For more information on these great truths about God, see the web
page www.ureach.com/figs,
click on the “file cabinet” and look for the file folder “Attributes.”]
Jesus
is telling us as Christians not to pray like the heathen who do not know the
true God. The heathen thought that their prayers could change God.
They expended a great deal of energy in trying to find the magic formula or the
magic word that would make the gods do what they wanted them to do.
St.
Augustine said that heathen men would utter terrible threats against the gods
in order to compel them to answer their prayers. This is the reason for
incantations, noises, drawings, and other things that men imagine will compel
the powers of the universe [the gods] to obey their bidding.
Such
ideas are not to be named among Christians for we have another spirit that
moves our prayers. We do not expect to change the mind of God. That
would be blasphemy, as if we could add anything to God’s wisdom or power.
Instead, we pray because we delight in the fellowship that we have with God
through Jesus Christ. We delight in the Kingdom of God and the
righteousness of God and are content with resting in the provisions that God
has made for us. We pray because we love God and love His ways and words,
and because we have been moved by His word and Spirit to pray. True
prayer changes us a great deal.
True
prayer arises from faith and trust. God is not like an unjust judge [Luke
18] who must be compelled to hear the needy, but He delights in the prayers of
His people and rejoices in giving good things to them. His most precious
gift is the gift of the Holy Spirit given to His children that they might
believe and trust in His goodness and His grace.
God’s
children will never lack any thing that they need, for God is rich in resources
and in grace. But He will not give His glory to another, and very often
we suffer because we pray to a God that does not exist. There is no God
who is changed by our prayers. If we imagine such a god, we are praying
to an idol, a figment of our imagination. The true God is not a cosmic
vending machine who will ungorge goodies if we find the right magic words or
supply enough energy to make Him move.
The
true and living God is gracious and merciful. His children have the
precious promise that the Holy Spirit prays in them the sort of prayers that
God receives, mixed though they are with much that is sinful. This is a
good thing and as we grow in grace and knowledge we learn to pray more in
conformity with His will, because we learn more about who He really is.
How wonderful the true God is!!!
