The Force Of Faith.
Part Two Continued. The Operation Of Faith.
Installment Eleven.
By Phil Scovell.
B. Praying It, Continued.
When I first began to seriously study this confusing passage
of Scripture found in First John 5:14 and fifteen, and the Lord
showed me He was referring to His terms relative to petitionary
prayer, I began wondering what God's terms might be. Were they
hidden some place in the bible? Could they be found?
Breaking the verse down word by word, I sat at my desk;
thinking about everything I was learning. I was still at a loss
as to what God's terms were for asking and making request of Him.
So, I finally gave in and prayed about it.
The Lord answered me almost immediately by telling me to look
at the word "petitions" in verse fifteen.
First John 5:15
And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we
have the petitions that we desired of Him.
As I studied the passage, looking up the word "petitions,"
the Lord led me to another passage which clearly outlines God's
terms for asking Him in prayer concerning anything we might ask.
Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God.
The word by the King James translators rendered "requests,"
is the same Greek word translated "petitions" in First John 5:15
which says, "That we might know that we have the PETITIONS the we
desired of Him."
I again began to exegetically examine every word in the passage,
comparing Scripture with Scripture, to make sure there was a
definite connection between First John 5:15, which uses the word
"petitions," and Philippians 4:6, which uses the word "requests."
I can find no other reason to believe that Philippians 4:6 is not,
indeed, God's terms He requires us to use when bringing a request
or a petition before Him in prayer. They are clear for everyone
to see. I call them God's Three Steps To Answered Prayer and I
have written a booklet by the same title. The three steps are:
Prayer, Supplication, and Thanksgiving. Lets briefly consider
each of these elements of petitionary prayer.
Step One. Prayer.
Again, may I be repetitive? We are discussing petitionary
prayer and no other form of prayer. This is extremely important.
So with that in mind, what does the word "prayer" mean in this
context?
Remember what First John 5:14-15 says?
And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask
any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know
that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of Him.
The word "confidence," in this passage means boldness. Is
that how you pray or do you pray, Thy will be done? Frankly, the
word "prayer" in this context means one thing and that is, God
expects us to "ask" Him. Praying is asking God, that is,
presenting your request, or petition, before Him in prayer.
I am going to stimulate your memory by taking time once
again to quote Mark 11:22-24 because we need to be reminded of
exactly what Jesus said concerning faith and prayer; believing and
receiving. So please forgive my redundancy but I believe it is
important to keep all these spiritual concepts in mind as we
study.
Mark 11:22-24
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and
shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things
which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he
saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when
ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
What is so often overlooked when attempting to explain how
faith works, is that Jesus taught it is done in combination with
prayer. I personally believe the prayer comes first and then the
confession or what I used in my outline as "Say It," is the result
of our prayer.
Step Two. Supplication.
In my opinion, the word "supplication" is grossly misused by
many who attempt to teach how we are to pray and make request of
God. Admittedly, growing up in the Baptist church, I didn't hear
as much teaching on the subject of prayer as others may have, for
example, in a Charismatic church. When I did here sermons and
teachings on prayer, and when that teaching was restricted to
petitionary prayer, the word "supplication" was often referred as
the begging required to get God to answer. Yes, that is an over
simplification of what was taught, but it's how it came across to
me. Most people I knew in those days wouldn't know how to tell
someone to pray what I call, will of God prayers, if their life
depended upon it. Sometimes, unfortunately, their life, or the
life of someone else, did, in fact, depend upon it.
If you take the time to look up all the passages of New
Testament Scripture where the Greek word for supplication, as it
is rendered by the King James translators, you will learn they
employed it 19 times. Prayer, is used 12 times, supplication is
use 6 times, and request is used once. However, it is always wise
to compare usages to gain insight as to exactly how the word was
employed.
The Greek word can mean several things. It can, as some
often suggest, mean (to beg). As you compare the other uses of
the word, however, a clear picture surfaces of what the Apostle
Paul was teaching.
As Prayer is asking God, supplication is agreement with God.
It is praying but it is a more focus and targeted form of prayer.
The only way I personally know of remaining focused is by agreeing
with God and the Scriptures.
Step three. Thanksgiving.
Some Charismatic bible teachers, when trying to explain how
faith works in prayer, tell us our demonstration of faith is only
evident if we bring our request once before the Lord and then
never repeat that same request again. Repeating the request, they
say, demonstrates a lack of faith. I do not hold to this teaching
because I don't believe it is necessary. Furthermore, the Bible
clearly teaches otherwise. What I do believe is necessary is
recognizing who God is when it comes to answering our petitions we
are bringing before Him in prayer.
Thanksgiving is appreciating God for who He is and what He
has promised He can do in our behalf according to His Word.
CLARIFICATION.
Step One. Prayer. Asking God.
This is conception, giving birth, to our request in the
spiritual realm. The moment we pray, our prayer, although it may
be spoken in the physical or natural realm, leaves this world and
penetrates the spiritual.
step Two. Supplication. Agreement With God.
Supplication, in its most basic of forms, is nothing more
than a commitment to believe God. In reality, it is the covenant
we have with God through His Word. If you do not know the
elements of your covenant relationship with God, getting an answer
to any prayer is going to be difficult.
Step Three. Thanksgiving. Contentment in His Power.
The way most of us pray and ask God, you would think God has
very little power left to help us. Being content with His ability
to work in our behalf, on the other hand, brings us deeper into
agreement with His will.
In my next installment, I will bring some practical
applications to these statements made in this lesson.
Keep in mind that we are not looking at a formula to follow.
That is, Steps one, two, and three and, bang, there's our answer. These
three elements are God's terms for asking when we pray petitionary
prayers; prayers of request. All three elements are present at
the same time. Again, I will, in the next installment, bring
Biblical evidence in order to illustrate the principles discussed
thus far.
End Of Installment Eleven.
I flew Kites With Jesus
www.safeplacefellowship.com
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