Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 19, 2010 under Ask the Pastor | 
A visitor to our website writes:
“I am 19 years old. I am also a wife and mother. Before my husband and I got married we had twin girls. My husband and I are both Christians and we are concerned about the children being saved. We were concerned particularly about Deuteronomy 23:2. Can you please give us some insight on this?”
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Dear friend,
Thank you for writing your question to me. I have no doubt that your daughters are very precious to you (and I assure you that they are precious to God also); and so I can only imagine how concerned this question must have made you. I’ll do my best to answer it.
First, let me assure you of something that you didn’t ask about–but I suspect still needs to be said. It seems clear that you recognize that the circumstance you and your husband were in before you got married was not in accordance with God’s will. But if you have both confessed your sins and have trusted in the cross of Jesus fully as God’s payment for those sins, He has fully forgiven you both. God’s word says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Once we’ve done that, we can do as Paul said; “. . . [F]orgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
In Christ, God does not lay your sin upon you, your husband, or your daughters. I have several married Christian friends who have come from situations like the one you described; but having embraced the forgiveness of God through faith in Jesus’ cross, they went on by God’s grace to live fruitful lives of service to Him. Not only are their marriages a testimony to God’s grace today; but their children are too!
I just wanted to start off by assuring you of that.
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Now for the Bible verse you asked about.
In the New King James Version, Deuteronomy 23:2 says; “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.” These are words that the Lord gave to Moses to speak to the children of Israel just before they entered into the promised land. It’s important to remember that they were spoken to a particular people in a particular situation.
God’s purpose in giving these words was to stress to the Israelites the absolute necessity for holiness in all of life. This was essential to God’s plan for them; because they were to be an outstanding people above all other peoples on the earth. It would be them (as it says in Romans 9:4-5), “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.” Many of the laws and regulations that we read that God gave to them at this time in history were laws and regulations that were meant to keep them a very holy and distinct people on the earth. Those laws and regulations don’t necessarily pertain to all peoples; but specifically to the Jewish people entering the promised land, who then constitute “the assembly of the LORD”.
What’s more, the law that God spoke to the people at that time concerning those of “illegitimate birth” had to do with an earthly situation–that is, the “earthly” assembly of the Jewish people in its decisions and leadership of the nation. It was concerned with the holiness of that assembly, and probably also with their national purity as a distinct people born of Abraham and from whom the Messiah would come. But it has nothing to do with someone’s ultimate spiritual condition, or whether or not they may enter into heaven. After all, “illegitimacy” is a condition that someone is born into apart from anything they themselves actually did.
There is a great hero in the Bible named Jephthah. He was a mighty man of valor; but he was also born as the son of a harlot. Because of his illegitimate birth, he was excluded from the assembly of his people (Judges 11:2). And yet, later on–when his people were in danger and needed a leader–they called on him (vv. 6-11). Chapter 11 of Judges goes on to tell us that the Spirit of God came upon him, and he was used greatly by God to deliver his people from their enemies.
Being born in illegitimate circumstances does not prohibit God from pouring His grace on someone and using them for His glory. My advice is to simply raise your two daughters to love the Lord Jesus Christ and to give themselves to Him by faith. Pray for them. Take them to church. Teach them about His love. Let them come to Jesus; because the Bible assures us that He gladly welcomes them (Matthew 19:13-15). Your little girls are as free to come to Jesus and be saved by Him as anyone else is.
Thanks; and God bless you and your family.
Pastor Greg
Bethany Bible Church
(All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.)
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on under Ask the Pastor |
A visitor to our website writes:
“As a Christian, I have been struggling to find the answer to this issue. If someone has sexual relations with a woman or man that is married, it is considered adultery. But what if that marriage is between two non-Christians and is not recognized in the eyes of God? ie. civil ceremony, etc. Would that still be considered adultery?”
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Dear friend,
First, let me begin by suggesting that it’s an error to assume that a marriage between two non-Christians is not recognized in the sight of God.
Jesus was once challenged by the Pharisees with the question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” (Matthew 19:3). I think it would be fair to say that the Pharisees who asked this question were NOT believers in Jesus. What’s more, the entire debate they were having was because there were some who wanted to know whether or not they could put away their own wives without guilt. Jesus answered them by saying, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate” (vv. 4-6). They went on to ask why Moses had commanded that a certificate of divorce be given to one’s wife and that she be put away. Jesus answered, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery” (vv. 8-9).
My point in citing these statements of Jesus is that (1) they were spoken to unbelievers; and (2) they treat marriage as sacred in the sight of God–even in the case of those who are unbelievers. Similarly the apostle Paul, when he writes to the Corinthians about marriage issues, speaks of a situation in which a believer is married to an unbeliever; and he treats that marriage as being as valid and inviolable in the sight of God as a marriage would be between two believers (1 Corinthians 7:12-16). In teaching these things, the Scriptures infer that a marriage between two unbelievers is just as much a marriage in the sight of God as is a marriage between two believers.
So, to answer your question; the violation of a marriage between two unbelievers absolutely constitutes adultery. A civil ceremony is a non-religious marriage ceremony that is not entered into in the context of a church; but it is still a legal marriage from the standpoint of the state. This would also be true in the case of “common-law” marriages; which eventually become legal marriages from the standpoint of the state, and which then cannot be terminated except by a legal divorce. Since such a marriage is recognized by the legal authority of a state, God calls us to honor it as a full marriage in His sight in that we are to honor Him by honoring the laws and authority of the state (Romans 13:1-6).
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Now; suppose a man and a woman are in a relationship with each other that is NOT a legal marriage in any respect–either in the sight of God or in the eyes of the state. Let’s suppose we’re talking about a live-together situation. If someone in that relationship were to have sexual intimacy with some third party, it obviously would not be called “adultery”; since a covenant bond of marriage had not been violated. But it would still be a sin. It would be a sin by a different name–”fornication”. (The live-together situation itself, by the way, is also “fornication”.)
It’s helpful to think of marriage as a circle. Sexuality has God’s blessings and approval so long as it occurs between one man and one woman within the commitment of that circle. When someone outside that circle steps in and has sexual relations with someone in that circle, that is called the sin of “adultery”. But when someone who is not at all within the “circle” of marriage has sexual relations with someone else who is not at all within the circle of marriage, that is called the sin of “fornication”. And both are violations of God’s standard of marriage. What’s more, both sins equally receive the warning of His judgment. Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
I would say that it would be best to ask the question, “What is the situation that God has clearly placed His blessing upon sexuality between two people?” And the answer is clear and exclusive: life-long, legal marriage between one man and one woman.
In Jesus,
Pastor Greg
Bethany Bible Church
(All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.)
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on under Ask the Pastor |
A visitor to our website writes:
Could you please tell me why in Genesis 48 verse 5 why Israel tells Joseph that Ephraim and Manasseh are his?
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Dear friend,
The old patriarch Jacob had been given twelve sons; and now in the passage you referenced, as he lay sick and dying in Egypt, he speaks some of his closing words of blessing to his beloved son Joseph. He strengthens himself on his bed and, among other things, says; “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” (Genesis 48:3-5, emph. added).
It’s important to remember that Jacob had thought that he had lost Joseph. Back in Genesis 37, Joseph’s other brothers had sold him into slavery in Egypt (which, of course, was in the hand of God to preserve the twelve tribes during a time of famine; Genesis 50:20). Now that he sees that he didn’t lose Joseph after all, he formally adopts Joseph’s two sons as his own and gives them a blessing among his other sons.
The reason that Jacob was motivated to do this may have been because of his deep love for his deceed wife Rachel. Jacob had only two sons through her—Joseph and Benjamin (35:24). He particularly loved Joseph because he was the son of his old age (37:3). And so, as a memorial to his wife Rachel (who had died giving birth to Benjamin), and probably out of gratitude that Joseph had been returned to him, he claimed Joseph’s two sons as his own.
Whatever Jacob’s motivation may have been in this, however, God’s providential hand was clearly seen. There was no tribe in Israel called by the name of “Joseph”; and the tribe of Levi was not given an inheritance of land in Israel. So, the two half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, together with the others, constituted a full twelve tribes with the possession of land (see Numbers 1:5-16).
Jacob also demonstrated a faith that God would bring him and his family back to the land of promise after their time in Egypt was over. Blessing them as he had blessed his other sons suggested his confidence that they would have an inheritance of land given to them on their return—which, of course, they did.
Blessings in Jesus’ love.
Pastor Greg
(All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.)
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 1, 2010 under Ask the Pastor |
Question:
Why does God do away with the oceans? In Rev. 21:1, we are told there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and there will be no more sea. As much as I trust God’s judgment, I have to admit it kills me to think I will never stand by the wild, free, beautiful ocean ever again—for all eternity. I grew up by the ocean, and it is my favorite place on earth. To know I’ll never hear a seagull cry as it soars over the open water makes me feel positively claustrophobic! I know I am not alone in this since so many people visit and live by the sea. Why does a loving Father take away something that so many of His children hold so dear?
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Dear friend,
Excellent question! And it’s one that I used to wonder about quite a bit too—since I have also lived near the ocean most of my life.
I think you have begun this question rightly—that is, by affirming that you trust God’s judgment. I think that, when we read something like this in the Bible that we don’t fully understand, or that doesn’t fit-in with the way we think things ought to be, the best way to begin is by trusting God’s greater love and wisdom. He is God, and we are not; and there’s most likely aspects to the things He is preparing for us that we—in our limited understanding or narrow focus—can’t understand or see. I take a lot of comfort in the fact that the heavenly Father, who is fitting me to live eternally in this glorious new heavens and new earth, is the same One who created the heavens and earth we now occupy. The Lord Jesus—through whom the Father made the vast beauty we enjoy now in just six days (Colossians 1:16)—is the same One who has been preparing our future home for us since He left us (John 14:2-3), and who has given His own life to make it possible for us to be there. If His word says that there will be “no sea”, then—even though I love the beauty of the sea in this present, fallen creation—I can trust that what He has in store is far more wonderful than I can imagine.
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In seeking to understand this, we need to keep in mind what else the Bible tells us about the new heavens and the new earth. Though it says that there will be no sea, it also affirms to us that there will be lots of water. In fact, Revelation 22:1-2 says, “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” How there could be a continually flowing river with no sea is as much a mystery as how the source of the river could be the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of the city. We can’t measure what we read of the new heavens and the new earth by what we know of the earth we now dwell in. The differences will be beyond our understanding. But we need to keep in mind, in any case, that though there will be no sea, there will be water—even a great river of water!
The verse you’re referring to says, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea” (Revelation 21:1). One explanation that some commentators have given for this is that the sea—as we now know it—will no longer be needed in terms of its provision to the earth of water. This present earth’s ecological system is water-based; and the oceans of the earth are essential to its hydrologic cycle—providing the earth’s surface with water through the processes of evaporation, cloud-covering, and rainfall. In the original language of that verse, it says, “and the sea is no longer”—with a definite article before the word “sea”. It doesn’t say that there will be no more “seas” or “oceans”; but specifically that THE sea will no longer exist. And perhaps this is meant to specify that “the sea” as a property of the ecological system will no longer be needed in the new created order, because the river of water of life provides all that is needed.
Some commentators have argued that “the sea” is meant to be understood symbolically. They understand “the sea” as another way of describing the multitudes of people on the earth in this present, ungodly world system—the people of the Gentile nations who are in continual turmoil with one another. And there’s some biblical support for this idea in the book of Revelation itself. After all, we’re told that ‘the beast’ (that is, the antichrist) is said to rise up “out of the sea” (Rev. 13:1)—the clear implication being that he rises up from out of the midst of the turmoil of the nations. What’s more, the vision of “the great harlot who sits on many waters” is given to us in Rev. 17:1; and we’re told in verse 15 that “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Others have pointed out that “the sea”—in the minds of ancient peoples—was not viewed as favorably as we view it today. It was, to them, a place of great mystery and danger. It was sometimes associated with death and judgment (see Jonah 2:3-6 as a possible example of this.) But the problem with this view is that, if we symbolize “the sea” in this way in Revelation 21:1, then we’d have to symbolize much of what else the passage tells us about the new heavens and new earth. John doesn’t seem to me to be speaking symbolically in this passage.
One possibility—a view that takes into account both the literal feel of this passage, but also recognizes that “the sea” is connected to the multitudes of people on the earth—is that the absence of the sea suggests the gathering together of all people under one great King. Just think of how, in this present world in which we live, the nations and peoples of earth are divided from one another by the fact that a “sea” separates them. The sea delineates nations and separates cultures and people from one another. Perhaps the fact that, in the new heavens and new earth, ‘the sea is no longer’ means that the redeemed people of all the nations of the earth will finally be one great people ruled by one King: Jesus. Perhaps it’s meant to show that that the glorified people who dwell on the new earth will no longer be divided one from another as they have been in centuries past on the old earth.
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Now; I know that all of that doesn’t perhaps take away the frustration you and I might feel right now over the idea of our beautiful ocean not being in the new heavens and the new earth. But something I read once by C.S. Lewis comes to mind. He once wrote, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far to easily pleased” (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory [New York: Collier Books, 1980], pp. 3-4).
Could it be that we’re too eager to hang on to the idea of the beauty of the ocean of this present creation, because we’re “half-witted creatures” who cannot imagine what is meant by God’s glorious offer a new heavens and a new earth? That puts us back into the position of trusting God’s greater love and wisdom; doesn’t it?
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
(All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.)
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 8, 2008 under Ask the Pastor |
A visitor to our website writes:
The Bible talks about more than one heaven. Please help me to understand where the first heaven and second, third, fourth heavens are at.
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Dear friend,
The passage of Scripture that I believe you’re drawing this question from is 2 Corinthians 12:1-6. Most New Testament scholars agree that Paul is speaking of himself in this passage; and is making reference to something that happened to him in which he was given a vision of heavenly glory. (I have often wondered if it was the stoning that he experienced in Acts 14:19-20; but since he doesn’t elaborate on it, perhaps its best not to speculate too much.) He was writing to the Corinthian church—seeking to defend his authority as an apostle to them; and so, it seems as if he writes in a sort of ‘back-handed’ kind of way. He writes;
It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me (2 Corinthians 12:1-6; NKJV; emphasis added).
In the original language of his letter, Paul writes here of being caught up to tritou ouranou (“third heaven”). The word “heaven” (ouranos) can have several different meanings; and the context is what determines which meaning is intended.
For example, ouranos can refer to the atmosphere above the ground and as distinguished from the surface of the earth. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air . . .”; and the word used in the Greek for “air” is ouranos. In a similar sense, the word can be used of the “air” in a metaphoric sense. Jesus uses the word in this way in Matthew 11:23 when He says, “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades . . .” In that case, the word is suggesting the idea of someone elevating themselves and boasting themselves up, as it were, into the sky over everyone else.
A second way this word can be used, broadly speaking, is in reference to what we today might call “space” in contrast to the earth—that is, that place far above the atmosphere in which the visible heavenly bodies (the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets) are to be found. The plural form of the word ouranos is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) in Psalm 8:3-4; “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” I believe the same use of this word is intended in Psalm 19:1; “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”
A third, and probably the most obvious way that ouranos is used is as the transcendent abode of God from which He rules over His creation, and in which dwells the angels and the glorified spirits of His redeemed people. Jesus says, “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool . . .” (Matthew 5:34-35). There may be some variations here or there; but mainly, those are the three different ways that the word ouranos is used: (1) in reference to the sky above the ground, (2) in reference to space, and (3) in reference to the spiritual realm in which God dwells.
In which sense, then, was Paul speaking of “heaven”? I believe that what he meant is made clear to us by a couple of clues. First, note that he wasn’t sure whether the person he was speaking of (again, probably himself) was “in the body or out of the body”; so we can eliminate the concepts of “sky” and “space”. And second, note that in the sentence after mentioning “the third heaven”, he refers to the same place as “Paradise” (which basically means ‘an enclosed garden’, a place of beauty; but which here refers to the place of transcendent blessedness). Jesus told the thief on the cross who was dying next to Him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43); and this, of course, is a clear reference to heaven in the third sense—that is, the spiritual, transcendent realm into which Jesus was about to enter in glory.
Now; it isn’t likely that Paul is speaking of different levels of “heaven” in that third sense. There are some ancient Jewish, non-biblical writings that suggest a multi-layered heaven; and our ideas today of such a thing (that is “a seventh heaven”) are drawn largely from fiction and poetry (such as that which came to us from Dante). I believe, then, that (assuming that he was speaking of an experience he had) Paul was describing an experience in which he was given a view of heaven in that third sense (whether in the body or out of the body). Why did he call it “third” heaven? There’s a couple of possibilities that make sense. One would be that he was distinguishing this ouranos from the physical realms of the sky or space. Perhaps he was in a sense saying, “I was taken up to heaven”—not heaven #1 (the sky), or heaven #2 (outer space); but all the way up to heaven #3—the place we know as “Paradise”. Another possibility—and the one that I believe makes the most sense—is that he was saying “third heaven” as a way of saying “the most exalted, the most glorious, the highest all heavens”. The Bible sometimes uses the number “three” as a way of expressing the most exalted and perfect form of a thing (see Isaiah 6:3 for example; and the angelic cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts . . .”).
In closing, let me affirm that it can be the confident expectation of any man or woman who trusts in Jesus that they will one day be in this place called “third heaven”. That was the promise Jesus made to that thief on the cross; and that thief is there even now! We may wish we could have heard more about this wonderful place; but Paul could not tell us. He “heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter”. But those of us who have our faith in Jesus Christ know from the Scriptures that we have a hope laid up for us there (Colossians 1:5); and even now have our citizenship there (Philippians 3:20). What a glorious hope is ours in Christ—laid up for us in “the third heaven”!
Blessings in Jesus’ love,
Pastor Greg
Bethany Bible Church
(All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.)
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 17, 2008 under Ask the Pastor |
A visitor to our website writes:
Does God still answer prayers and get involved in situations in our daily lives?
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Dear friend,
Thank you for writing to our website and sending in a question. I’m always gratified to learn that someone out there is sees our website and takes the time to write. And the answer to your question is yes; God DOES still answer prayer, and is very much involved in the situations of people’s lives.
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The Bible teaches us that there is an important condition involved, before we have a right to expect God to hear us and answer our prayers. We must have placed our trust in the sacrifice that His Son Jesus Christ has made for us on the cross; and we must have entered into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus. The Bible says, “But as many as received Him [that is, Jesus], to them He [that is, God the Father] gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His [that is, Jesus'] name” (John 1:12). I have talked to many people who were frustrated because they prayed, but it didn’t seem as if God was hearing them. And that was because they hadn’t taken the first and most important step of coming to God through His Son.
You see; God is a holy God, and a barrier of sin stands between us and Him. But God, in love, provided a way for that barrier of sin to be removed. He sent His Son Jesus to take our sins upon Himself on the cross and pay the penalty for them. Our sins are fully forgiven by God when we (1) acknowledge to Him that we are sinners, (2) believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for those sins, and (3) personally receive God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ by faith. Once we have done so, God gives us the right to be called His children. And He is always glad to hear from His children and to answer their prayers to Him.
I sincerely hope that you have taken that first step, and have placed your trust in Jesus Christ. I like to say that the first prayer that the Father wants to hear from us is the one in which we confess our sin to Him and place our trust in the cross of His Son Jesus. If we’ve prayed that first prayer, we can trust Him to hear the others. (And by the way; if you haven’t done so already, why not stop reading right now and pray that first, all-important prayer, and receive God’s forgiveness through Jesus?)
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Now; for those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus, and have entered into a relationship with God the Father through Him, the Bible teaches us that we have every right to bring our concerns to the Father and know that He hears them and answers them. In fact, the Bible urges us to do so. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Jesus promised His disciples that “whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14). To ask “in Jesus’ name” implies that we are praying our prayers as someone who has genuinely trusted Jesus as our Savior, and have sought to come to the Father only through Him. Only those who have done so can expect to be heard by the Father. Jesus told His disciples about the time when He would have purchased their forgiveness on the cross; and told them, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (John 16:26-27).
And there’s lots of other indications in the Bible that we who have trusted in Jesus and pray in His name–having become God’s children by faith–are heard by the Father. Jesus once taught; “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:7-11). Paul wrote, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32). 1 John 5:14-15 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
That last verse reminds me of something important. One of the things we have to always be careful of is that our prayers are requests for of things that are in accordance with God’s will for us. We cannot expect God to answer our prayers when we ask for sinful things; or ask for things out of a sinful motive. The apostle James wrote, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:1-3). It’s always important to check our motives when we come to the Father in prayer–making sure we’re truly praying as those who behave as His children; and in a way that would be in keeping with what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name”.
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One way I know that God answers prayer and is involved in the lives of His people is because I see Him do so all the time–both in my personal life, and in the life of my church family. I am privileged to pastor a wonderful church that is very committed to the power of prayer. Every Sunday, we have a major portion of our worship service devoted to bringing one another’s needs together before God in prayer. And we constantly see amazing answers to those prayers. It’s truly one of the highlights of our week as a church family to pray for one another and rejoice in God’s good answers.
We have found as a church family that He doesn’t always answer our prayers in the ways that we pray, though. Sometimes we pray wrongly; or we pray with the wrong expectations. Someone has wisely said that God answers our prayers in three ways (1) Yes; (2) No; and (3) Wait. But we have always found that He does answer–and that His answers were always better than what it was that we were asking for. He always knows what is best for us. He always proves to us that He hears us when we pray when we sincerely seek Him through Jesus; and that He moves His mighty hand on our behalf whenever come to Him in faith.
In Jesus’ love,
Pastor Greg
Bethany Bible Church
(All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.)
