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NASB | Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Philippians 4:19 And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. |
Bible Question:
Authority to Ask God for One's Needs "We believe in the authority of the believer to ask freely of the Lord for his needs." Do you agree with the above statement of belief? Please include biblical references for why you do or do not agree. Grace to you, Kalos |
Bible Answer: Hello Kalos, A thought provoking question. I'm not necessarily comfortable with the wording. "authority" and "freely" seem to suggest a tone of "Word of Faith". The bible gives good examples of the proper attitude of prayer as well as those where one's prayers may be answered with a NO. To begin with, as you know of course, all request should be with an attitude of understanding that God's will should (not to mention will) prevail over our own. Romans 1:9-10 (NASB95) 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you." Paul is very much aware here that his prayer may or may not be answered, "if perhaps now at last".. And of course, the most famous prayer spoken by our Lord as he taught the desciples made a point to stipulate... "Matthew 6:10 (NASB95) 6:10 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. What we want, and even what we think we need, will not always be in the will of God. Paul certainly learned to appreciate this. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NASB95) 12:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." Often people will quote a very famous verse James 1:6 and use it to argue that we can ask for anything and receive it if only we do not doubt. James 1:6 (NASB95) 1:6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. But they fail to render it in context with Scripture as a whole. I will leave it at that for now and watch the replies of others. Thanks for helping us to think, Jeff |