Results 1 - 4 of 4
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is James 4:3 completely true? | James 4:3 | biblenovice | 223262 | ||
Last year, we bought a used car because our minivan's transmission sort of quit working (making the vehicle useless unless we spent a lot of money on transmission repairs). The "new" car seemed to run fine when we bought it last summer. I checked everything I could think of on the car, to get it ready for winter. The heater was so hot it could drive everybody out of the car when we checked it in the summertime. But when winter finally came, and the weather got very cold, the heater hardly blew any warm air at all. The defroster was pretty useless, since it would not even melt INSIDE ice which was basically frozen moisture from people breathing inside the car! I prayed about it because we had to be able to take our son to and from school daily, and it was a safety hazard trying to drive a car with impaired visibility. I even "reminded" God about James 4:3, and that I could not "consume on my lust" adequate heating or defrosting of the windows in our newly acquired 17 year old car (a 1993 model with over 140k miles on it). I asked for adequate heat in that car, but I did not receive what I asked for. Why not? The ONLY reason cited in James 4:3, for asking but NOT receiving, was "... because ye ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts."! Does anyone have any idea why my prayers for adequate heat in that car were not answered, or can anyone describe how I (or any member of my family) could possibly consume adequate heat and a working defroster upon our collective lusts? | ||||||
2 | Is James 4:3 completely true? | James 4:3 | DocTrinsograce | 223267 | ||
Dear biblenovice, What you have presented here is a called a false dichotomy. You are asserting that either you asked amiss or the Scriptures are not true. There is, of course, more than two possible answers. Indeed, Scripture speaks of a number of things that can hinder prayers. Regardless, I hear very little gratitude for His having provided a car. After all, He protected you in all that driving of your son. As a parent no doubt you have experienced providing a healthy meal for your child, only to have them complain about not getting ice cream for dinner. The child is certain that if you really loved them, you would give them what they wanted. There is no third alternative in their thinking. Arguing from the particular to the general is always problematic. Furthermore, I cannot speak for God's intentions in the specific instance that you have brought to us. However, some things I do know: God is infinitely loving, so His response to you could not be out of indifference (Titus 3:3-5; Romans 8:32); God is infinitely wise, so His response to you could not be the consequence of error (Colossians 2:3); God is all knowing, so His response to you could not be the result of His lacking sufficient information (1 John 3:20; John 10:29-30); God is all powerful, so His response to you could not be from a lack of ability (Jeremiah 23:17; Luke 18:27). Remember, we do not judge God's nature by what He does. Rather we judge what He does, by His nature. In Him, Doc |
||||||
3 | Is James 4:3 completely true? | James 4:3 | biblenovice | 223272 | ||
By stating that there are more than two possible answers to the dilemna I presented, you are asserting that the scriptures are in error on the omission side, by leaving out numerous other possible reasons for the same outcome! By making that assertion, aren't you stating that the scriptures are NOT error-free, by reason of omission? How many reasons for NOT receiving what we ASK for were cited in the context of the scripture referenced, which was James 4:3? There was only one reason given, without so much as a hint of any other reasons (such as the phrase "among others"). The very next verse (James 4:4) completely abandons the subject at hand, not even involving "asking or receiving." Notice that there was no mention of "prayers" in either James 4:3, nor in my original question, but only of "asking." If you ask someone to pass the potatoes at the dinner table, are you praying to that person, or just making a simple request? Luke 6:38 states that God will supply all our need! Do you think people need heaters or defrosters in the winter? Would YOU do without them, claiming that you did not need them? Try taking your blower fuses out next winter (if you live where it gets really cold) and see how YOU fare in driving under those conditions, especially if you have loved ones in your vehicle with you! Besides, God knows our needs before we ASK. Notice He did NOT say before we PRAY! There really is a difference! | ||||||
4 | Is James 4:3 completely true? | James 4:3 | Morant61 | 223279 | ||
Greetings Biblenovice! You wrote: "Notice that there was no mention of "prayers" in either James 4:3, nor in my original question, but only of "asking."" But, in your original post, you wrote: "Does anyone have any idea why my prayers for adequate heat in that car were not answered, or can anyone describe how I (or any member of my family) could possibly consume adequate heat and a working defroster upon our collective lusts?" So, you did mention prayer. :-) Instead of Luke 6:38, I believe that you are referring to Phil. 4:19, but even that verse makes no mention of 'asking' or of 'prayer'. Is there really a difference between 'asking' and 'praying'? The word for 'ask' is used in various contexts relating to prayer. In Matthew 6, verses 7 and 9 refer to 'prayer', while verse 8 refers to 'asking'. Clearly, 'asking' is considered prayer. Matt. 21:22 says that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer. See also Mark 11:24. Col. 1:9 mentions both words together. Prayer is asking God for something! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
||||||