Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How do I make sense of the context? | Acts 8:13 | cwade | 69860 | ||
David, my dear brother, do you pray for the lost? If you do, do you expect that your prayers will be answered? If so, are you not (in effect) asking God to override that lost person's "freedom to choose"? | ||||||
2 | How do I make sense of the context? | Acts 8:13 | EdB | 69863 | ||
cwade This may be off the subject but let me inject a thought here. You pointed out a big problem with our prayers. Too often we pray the solution rather than praying the problem, thus we attempt to tell a sovereign God how to handle things.. In your example: “David, my dear brother, do you pray for the lost? If you do, do you expect that your prayers will be answered? If so, are you not (in effect) asking God to override that lost person's "freedom to choose"?” Your right if you pray that someone be saved, your asking God to violate their freedom. We should be praying that God will bring His Holy Spirit into their lives to convict them of their sins and someone to tell them of Jesus, opening their eyes to the truth. Whether they accept salvation is then their problem. If on the other hand you believe God chooses who to save and they have to accept that call, then it really doesn’t matter how you pray. That is unless you think you change things established from the foundations of the earth, or appear pious by praying for someone. Personally I think salvation is offered but man has to accept … “believe” Be blessed this Christmas Season! EdB |
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3 | How do I make sense of the context? | Acts 8:13 | Reformer Joe | 69867 | ||
Here I respond, as expected! :) You wrote: "Your right if you pray that someone be saved, your asking God to violate their freedom. We should be praying that God will bring His Holy Spirit into their lives to convict them of their sins and someone to tell them of Jesus, opening their eyes to the truth. Whether they accept salvation is then their problem." I guess someone forgot to tell Paul: "Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation." --Romans 10:1 "If on the other hand you believe God chooses who to save and they have to accept that call, then it really doesn?t matter how you pray." Nonsense! "That is unless you think you change things established from the foundations of the earth, or appear pious by praying for someone." No, because many things were established from the foundations of the earth as answers to prayers which were also established from the foundations of the earth as means. God ordains not only the ends, but also the means. Seriously, Ed, sometimes I think that your love of autonomy really gets in the way of you thinking clearly through the arguments of your opponents. John Piper has given a very good illustration of how prayer and predestination work together: http://www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/prayer/prayer_pred.html Along with a longer exposition which addresses your very accusation: http://www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/prayer/sovereignty_and_prayer.html And here is a guide to what the NT church prayed for: http://www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/prayer/nt_prayers.html --Joe! |
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4 | How do I make sense of the context? | Acts 8:13 | cwade | 69871 | ||
Joe-- thanks for posting those websites. I'm sure they will be very helpful to me. For now, I'm turning this discussion over to you. My tiny little brain is tired:-) Your brother in God's Sovereign Love and our eternal salvation, cwade |
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