Friday, November 30, 2007
Luke 11:9-13 ask and ye shall receive
you knew this one was coming, didn't you? the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. that is a good thing. the response jesus gave is highly instructive to me. but then, he got to that 'ask and it will be given' idea. i don't know what to do with that. it seems plain enough. i don't have to open up a new mineshaft into the scriptures and dig deep to find that idea. i don't pluck verses out of context to construct that notion. it is right there. it says God knows how to give good gifts, even the holy spirit, to those who ask. it gives every indication that God has, does, and will give answers to prayer. and the recipients will obviously, absolutely, and in all other ways know they have received an answer. ask dad for the car keys to go on a date; how do you know if he answered or not? he says no, or says yes, or maybe hands you the car keys in silence. a normal human being expects no less.
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4 comments:
Just for the record, here are some of the strongest verses in the New Testament on this bewildering concept:
Mark 11:24 (ESV) "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Matthew 6:6 (ESV) "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 21:22 (ESV) "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
1 John 5:14-15 (ESV) And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
Here are some of the possible answers to this dilemma:
1. God does not exist. (No wonder we get no response.)
2. God does exist, but he never authorized these statements.
3. God does exist, and he inspired and approved of all these statements, but he never intended for us to apply them to "every" request.
4. These verses mean exactly what they say, but you and I (and several million other Christians) are actually faithless slobs who don't deserve to be heard.
Which of these four do you prefer? Or do you have some other possible options?
option 5: those statements on prayer were meant for a specific place and time - theirs, not ours.
there is also a part of me that asks this question: given the absense of answers from God, do we look as silly as a muslim who believes HIS scriptures when they tell him to kill infidels?
what do you think about my 'option 5'?
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