Hezekiah was one of the great kings among God's people, and there is an incredible story in 2 Kings 20. Isaiah the prophet comes at God's command and informs Hezekiah that he needs to put his house in order because he is fixing to die. Hezekiah weeps and prays before God, and before Isaiah gets out of the palace, God stops him and says, "Go back and tell Hezekiah that I have seen his tears, and I have heard his prayers, and I am going to heal him." (v. 5)
It is truly an incredible story about the power of prayer. I read today that when we pray rightly, God answers our prayer before we finish praying. That is based on the promises of His word. Jesus told us that anything we ask in His name will be done. So when we pray God's will in faith, He answers before we finish our prayers. Wow.
But my question today, is "Does God change His mind?" We know the scripture teaches that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So does that mean there is no real need to pray because God has already decided what will happen? Is the outcome so pre-determined that our prayers are just mechanical recitations that have no impact? Of does God never changing have to do with His character, and in fact He does change what He is going to do in certain situations based on our prayers.
Offer your opinion. No matter how radical you are, let's seek the truth.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Stop it. (Devotion)
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be t ransformed by the renewal of your mind..." (Rom. 12:2)
When this text speaks of this world, it is talking about the "world order" around us, which would mean the standards and ethics of a world system under the control of satan. One paraphrase says, "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold." In the Greek text the command is literally, "Stop being conformed." In other words, don't let the standards of the world system guide you in your lifestyle. Instead, let God transform you.
One of the difficulties is sorting through what is our responsibility and what is God's. The scripture does not teach that the Christian life is lived by imitating Jesus. It is not thinking hard, "What would Jesus do" and then trying to do it. The Christian life is about reproduction. It is staying so connected to Christ that the Holy Spirit produces the new life in us.
Our responsibility then is to cooperate. We are to daily choose to not adopt the world order, but to stay yielded to Christ. We are to stop letting the world squeeze us into its mold. We are to actively allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. That means, "We say 'Yes' to His promptings, and "no" to temptation when it comes.
God has promised in I Cor. 10:13 to show us the way out of every temptation that comes, if we will look to Him. Paul wrote to the Phillipian church that we are to work out what God has worked in. So today, cooperate with God. He wants to transform our character.
When this text speaks of this world, it is talking about the "world order" around us, which would mean the standards and ethics of a world system under the control of satan. One paraphrase says, "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold." In the Greek text the command is literally, "Stop being conformed." In other words, don't let the standards of the world system guide you in your lifestyle. Instead, let God transform you.
One of the difficulties is sorting through what is our responsibility and what is God's. The scripture does not teach that the Christian life is lived by imitating Jesus. It is not thinking hard, "What would Jesus do" and then trying to do it. The Christian life is about reproduction. It is staying so connected to Christ that the Holy Spirit produces the new life in us.
Our responsibility then is to cooperate. We are to daily choose to not adopt the world order, but to stay yielded to Christ. We are to stop letting the world squeeze us into its mold. We are to actively allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. That means, "We say 'Yes' to His promptings, and "no" to temptation when it comes.
God has promised in I Cor. 10:13 to show us the way out of every temptation that comes, if we will look to Him. Paul wrote to the Phillipian church that we are to work out what God has worked in. So today, cooperate with God. He wants to transform our character.
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