God as Father and Our Prayer

God as Father and Our Prayer

By Erik Raymond

When you listen to believers talk about the Christian life there is a common theme: prayer is important and difficult. This is not a new phenomenon, even the earliest disciples requested some classes on prayer (Luke 11:1). Therefore, it is encouraging and instructive to hear Jesus' teaching on how to pray from what is called "The Lord's Prayer."

What is interesting to me is the way he begins: "Our Father..." (Matthew 6:9). In this Jesus calls us to the family room for a conversation with our heavenly Father. Before we go further, however, it is important, even imperative to acknowledge and overcome a major obstacle that this opening presents.

We all have the tendency to project a concept of fatherhood upon God instead of to receive the image that he projects.  This is obviously due to the fact that we all have fathers. Some are or were better than others but none are or were perfect.  All of our fathers had significant shortcomings—even on their best day.

As a result, we often see God in this light or at least with influence from this light. I have seen it over and over again in counseling: we project our thoughts of our earthly fathers upon our heavenly Father. As you might imagine, this causes major problems in the prayer closest. If your father was demanding and lacked grace then you see God this way. If your father was cold, distant, and uninvolved, then you see God this way. If your father was unable to deliver on his grand promises, then you see God this way. If your father did not keep his word then you see God this way. This is the spiritual equivalent of having your shoes tied together by some pesky kid before getting up from the table. It halts you at the starting blocks of the race; you are not going to go very far.

As Christians we must not project our image of God upon God but rather receive the one he supplies us in his Word. We come to the Lord's Prayer and we see that Jesus lays a heavy emphasis upon the Fatherhood of God. Evidently everythingthat follows flows out of the fact that God is a Father, and a good one at that. Therefore, understanding God as Father is essential not only to our knowledge of him but also our relationship to him.

Let me provide a few sparkling jewels from God's crown that showcase his Fatherhood. These jewels draw us to pray.

1. God's Loving Nature.

The best praise that we can give a person is to say that they are loving. It agelessly attractive to be a loving human.  However, when we talk about God being loving we are not saying that like "Joe is a generally loving guy." No, God is quite unique. God is not only loving he is love (1 John 4:8). This passage in 1 John reminds us that this love is chiefly understood not in terms of a feeling but an event! God's love is displayed through the giving of Jesus Christ for us and our salvation. If you ever doubt God's love for you then you need to remember the cross. It is the great if...then argument. If God has not spared his Son then he will give you everything you need, with abundance (Rom. 8:32). God is love at his core! Everything that God does and says flows from this glorious source. All of the rivers of his thinking and doing and saying flow from the same source water, the ocean of God' love. We should note that we can say this not because what God says and does is evaluated by some third-party source or some love-o-meter as loving, but rather it is loving because the God who is love has done it! It is this God who is your Father! He invites you to come to him to receive and rejoice in his love. This draws us to pray.

2. God's Infinite Knowledge

Many parents have been stymied by various circumstances involving their children. Our heavenly Father knows of no such dilemma. He has never scratched his proverbial head. He is the "only wise God" (1 Tim. 1:17). There is no limit to his wisdom or counsel. As a result, we can come to him with our needs (he knows them already—Mt. 6:8), our future (he ordains it Ps. 139:16), our pain (he comforts it 2 Cor. 1:3). This draws us to pray. 

3. God's Listening Ear

If God were inattentive it would stop all prayer. This is not true, however. God does hear he is listening. He hears the righteous (Prov. 15:9). He hears our pleas and accepts our prayers (Ps. 6:8-9). Solomon was told that God in fact had heard his prayer (2 Chron. 7:12-13). Elijah was someone with a frame like ours, says James, and God did amazing things in response to his praying (James 5:16-18). To embolden this truth, God also never sleeps. We learn from the Psalmist that he never sleeps or slumbers (Ps. 121:4). Wake up at 2:00 AM with a nightmare, he is there ready to listen and comfort.  Call upon him at 2:00 PM after a problem at the office, he is there. His eye is continually upon you listening and protecting. 

Sometimes we need to just remind ourselves of who we are dealing with. 

Doubtless Jesus, who knew his heavenly Father intimately and infinitely, was pulling a pretty substantial trailer filled with a rich theology of God the Father. He bids us to come behind him to learn. Learn by reading the Word and learn by experiencing his blessings. As you do continue to look at the image of God your Father as projected by the Scriptures and

not your experiences. This will bring a daily celebration of Father's Day.

Erik Raymond is pastor at Emmaus Bible Church in Omaha, Nebraska. He and his wife, Christie, have six children. You can follow Erik on Twitter @erikraymond and read his blog at ordinarypastor.com.

BIBLE REFERENCES

GOD’S LOVING NATURE

1 JOHN 4:8  ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

ROMANS 8:32  ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

GOD’S INFINITE KNOWLEDGE

1 TIMOTHY 1:17  ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.                                                                                              

MATTHEW 6:8  ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

PSALM 139:16  ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:3  3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

GOD’S LISTENING EAR

PROVERBS 15:9  ⁹ The Lord detests the way of the wicked,

    but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

PSALM 6:8-9  ⁸ Away from me, all you who do evil,
    for the Lord has heard my weeping.
⁹ The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.

2 CHRONICLES 7:12-13  ¹² the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³ “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,

JAMES 5:16-18  ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

PSALMS 121:4    ⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

TABLE TALK

• 1.      WHAT WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FATHER?
• 2.      HOW DID THAT INITIALLY SHAPE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FATHER GOD?
• 3.      WHAT WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER?

10 Keys to Witnessing to Cults

10 Keys to Witnessing to Cults

(An excerpt from a piece by Ron Rhodes, Th.D.)

June 12, 2013

A cult of Christianity would be a group that claim to be Christian yet hold to “a particular doctrinal system” set forth by a leader, group of leaders, or organization which “denies…one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith.

                        Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Zondervan, 2001

Christianity’s central doctrines include:

GOD (Trinity)

The deity and work of Jesus Christ on the Cross

 Humanity’s sinfulness

Salvation by grace alone through faith

 The authority of Scripture

Cults of Christianity are groups whose claims about these central doctrines contradict what the Bible teaches including …  Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Christian Science, The Family/Children of God, Unification Church, Christadelphians, Oneness Pentecostalism

STRATEGIES TO WITNESS EFFECTIVELY

         I.      Know Basic Bible Teachings

THE TRINITY:

·         There is only one God -

Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:21-22; 46:9; John 17:3; 1 John 5:20-21

·         Father is God –

1 Peter 1:2; Philippians 2:11

·         Son is God –

Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 20:28; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13

·         Holy Spirit is God –

Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:17

THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST:

·         He is eternal and uncreated –

Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 7:3; Micah 5:2; John 1:1-3; 8:58; Colossians 1:15-19

·         He retained his deity while becoming a man –

Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:19; 2:9; Hebrews 1:3-8

·         He is equal in nature to God the Father –

John 5:18; John 19:7

·         He receives the same honor and worship as the Father -

            John 5:23; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:11-14; John 14:14

THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION:

·         Salvation is a free gift –

Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11-13;

·         Salvation is by faith alone apart from works –

Acts 16:30-31; John 5:24; 6:28-29, 47; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:28; 4:4-8; 8:1; 11:6; Galatians 3:1-3; Philippians 3:9

·         Works are the natural result of saving faith –

Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14

       II.      Don’t Assume Every Cultist Believes the Same Thing

QUESTIONS TO OPEN A DISCUSSION:

God:

·         Who do you believe God is?

·         Do you believe there is only one true God?

·         Do you believe in the Trinity: God in three persons; Father, Son, Holy Spirit?

·         Do you believe God has always existed?

Jesus Christ:

·         Who do you believe Jesus Christ is?

·         Do you believe Jesus has always existed, or was he created?

·         Do you believe Jesus is God?  Is he equal to the Father in his divine nature?

·         Do you believe Jesus earned his Godhead or has he always been God?

·         Do you believe Jesus physically and bodily rose from the dead?

The Gospel of Salvation:

·         What do you believe a person has to do to be saved?

·         Do you believe a person has to join your religion to be saved?

·         Do you believe a person will lose salvation if that person leaves your religion?

·         At what point do you know that you’ve done enough to be assured of eternal life?

                    III.      Cultists are Trained to Answer Objections

Many who have talked with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons would say that they seem to have an answer for everything.

So what is the solution?  Simply move the discussion back to the Bible.  Don’t worry if they are giving you rote responses that they have memorized.  Just keep presenting evidence that their leaders are not telling them the truth and keep taking them back to the Bible.

   IV.      Check The Scriptures

When cultists quote a verse it is typically out of context.

Remember these things when interpreting Scriptures:

·         Always examine the context of the verse quoted by cultists.  Ask: Who is speaking in this passage?  What is the setting?  Who is being addressed?  What is the main point of the passage?  Look to the context for answers to these questions.

·         Interpreting Scripture is about drawing the meaning out of the Bible verses, not putting a meaning onto the verses.  Ask the cultist: Where does this passage clearly teach what you are claiming?

·         If a verse is unclear, examine it in light of clear passages.  Bible verses are not disconnected fragments, but are embedded in the whole Scripture.  Ask: What does the Bible clearly teach in other places?  How does the overall teaching in the Bible on this subject help us understand what this particular verse mean?

       V.      Define Terms

There is a communication block between the cultist and the Christian that can be removed by defining key Christian words and ideas.

Jehovah’s Witnesses will say:

·         “Yes, Jesus is the Christ” – but they would argue that Jesus was not the “Christ” at his birth, but became the “Christ” at his baptism.

·         “Yes, Jesus is the Son of God” –but the view the term “Son of God” as a lesser “god” than God the Father because they claim Jesus was created by God.

·         “Yes, Jesus died for the sins of mankind” –but they would say that his blood covers one’s sin only if one proves oneself worthy through door-to-door activity.

·         “Yes, Jesus was resurrected” –but they will say it was not a physical resurrection.  Instead, he was resurrected spiritually as Michael the Archangel.

·         “Yes, Scripture speaks of his second coming” –but they claim that this prophecy is already in the process of being fulfilled through an “invisible presence” of Christ in 1914.

Mormons will say:

·         “Yes, Jesus is the Christ” –but they would add that Jesus had to compete with Lucifer over who would be the savior of the world.

·         “Yes, Jesus is the Son of God” –but they would say that he is the “Son” only because he was born in heaven as a spirit baby to God the Father and one of his spirit wives.

§  “Yes, Jesus died for the sins of mankind” –but they would claim that the majority of his atonement took place in the Garden of Gesthsemane, rather than on the cross.

·         “Yes, Jesus’ blood covers the sins of mankind” –but they would add works as a requirement for entrance into the highest level of heaven.

     VI.      Ask Strategic Questions

Examples of Strategic Questions for Mormons:

·         If you’re talking with a Mormon who thinks human beings can become gods, ask; “How do you interpret Isaiah 43:10, which reads, Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me”?

·         If the Bible has many mistakes, as Mormons claim, why does the Mormon church continue to publish and distribute the King James Version to church members?

·         I noticed Mormon churches do not display the cross.  Since Paul gloried “in the cross” of Christ (Galatians 6:14), why don’t Mormons glory in it as well?  Do you believe the atonement took place on the cross or in the garden of Gethsemane?  If the Mormon answers that most of the atonement took place in the garden, ask; Why did Jesus have to die on the cross if his suffering in the garden atoned for the majority of our sins?

·         If the Mormon asks you to pray about the Book of Mormons, ask: Which Book of Mormons do you want me to pray about?  The 1830 edition?  The 1921 edition?  Or today’s edition, which has over 4,000 changes from the original 1830 edition?

Examples of Strategic Questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses:

·         If the Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only true witnesses for God, and if the Jehovah’s Witnesses as an organization came into being in the late nineteenth century (a historic fact), does this mean God was without a witness over the eighteen centuries throughout church history?

·         If Jesus is Michael the Archangel, why was Jesus able to rebuke Satan at Mathew 16:23 when Michael didn’t have the authority to rebuke Satan at Jude 9?

·         According to Acts 1:8, 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, and 13:30-31, were the early Christians witnesses of Jehovah or witnesses of Jesus Christ?

·         If there is no other Savior than God (Isaiah 43:11), then doesn’t this mean that New Testament references to Jesus as Savior point to his deity (Titus 2:13)?

                       VII.      Be Loving

It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it!

Sharing your faith isn't just about strong answers from the Bible, it’s about being sold out to Jesus Christ.  Let your love be genuine and embracing.  People can sense if you truly care about them, as opposed to merely acting like you care only because you want to convert them.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would fill your heart with love that shows itself in meaningful ways to your cultic acquaintances. (Ephesians 5:2; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Corinthians 16:14).

                        VIII.      Demonstrate Jesus’ Deity

Cultists always get the identity of Jesus wrong.

DESCRIPTIONS AND ATTRIBUTES	GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT	JESUS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Creator	Isaiah 44:24	Colossians 1:16  John 1:3
Savior	Isaiah 43:11	Titus 2:13-14  Jude 4
Shepard	Psalm 23:12	John 10:11-18
Great Judge	Psalm 98:9	John 5:21-22
First and Last	Isaiah 44:6  48:12	Revelation 1:17-18
Holy One	Isaiah 47:4	Acts 3:14  John6:69
Glory	Isaiah 6:1-5	John 12:41
Omnipotent (all powerful)	Jeremiah 32:17, 27	Matthew 19:26
Omniscient (all-knowing)	Psalm 147:5	1 John 3:20
Omnipresent (present everywhere)	Jeremiah 23:24	Matthew 28:20
Gives Eternal Life	Deuteronomy 30:20	Romans 6:23

                             IX.      Emphasize The Gospel

Cultists need to hear about God’s grace more than anything else!

Ø  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

Ø  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  Isaiah 1:18

Ø  “In [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”  Ephesians 1:7

Ø  “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”  Hebrews 10:17

Ø  “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”  Psalm 32:1

                             X.      Give Your Testimony

Cultists need to hear what God has done in your life.

KEEP THE FOLLOWING THINGS IN MIND WHEN GIVING YOUR TESTIMONY:

Ø  Describe what your life was like before you were Christian.  What were your feelings, attitudes, actions, and relationships like during this time?

Ø  What events transpired in your life that led up to your decision to trust in Christ?  What caused you to begin considering Christ as a solution to your needs?  Be specific.

Ø  Describe your conversion experience.  Was it a book you read? Were you in a church?  Were other Christians with you at the time?

Ø  What kind of change took place in your life following your conversion?  What effect did trusting in Christ have on your feelings, attitudes, actions, and relationships?

Ø  Never forget that God works through people.  He uses people as instruments to reach out and bless other people; that’s his chosen means.  Each one of us can be used as an instrument.