The Society of Theophorists

Part Six: The Prayer of the Christ Bearer

The Prayer of the Christ Bearer

Introduction
Ignatius was a man of prayer. On One constant theme as he wrote to the  churches of his day was to encourag them saying, "Pray without ceasing, in behalf of other men" (Epistle to the Ephesians). He testified, "Through prayer to God I have… been granted more than I requested" (Epistle to the Romans). He was a man of prayer, who bore witness to the power of prayer.

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Mathew 6:8).  If God knows everything, why pray?

For many people, God is irrelevant and unimportant in their day to day decisions and actions in life. For many Christians, God is an incorporeal being, indivisible, spaceless, sexless, passionless, changeless, perfect and eternal. Like the mystic “Force” of modern physics and philosophy, he is not so much a person, as a magnetic power. He is for all practical purposes Aristotle’s primum mobile immotum- first mover unmoved- the somewhat mysterious power at the foundation of existence, but not the personal, relational, loving Father of Biblical Christian theology.

Many sincere believers who are evangelical, bible believing and generally orthodox, recognize the Fatherhood of God, yet they do not take advantage of it. All three of these: the unbeliever, the worldly Christian, and the ignorant Christian, share a common bond in missing out on the most exciting and dynamic relationship possible. They deny in principle the purpose for which they were created and deprive themselves in practice of the blessings they could receive.

A self-consciously honest believer asked me sometime ago, “in light of my biblical ignorance, how do we answer the question ‘If God already knows everything, why pray?’” Others offended by God’s sovereignty retort “While if God controls everything, what good is prayer?”

These principles, the omniscience and Divine rule of God, are true Biblical doctrines. And one of the paradoxes of the Christian faith is that while God does not need any of us, or any of our actions, He does use us and our actions as His primary method for converting the lost and effecting change in this world.

Why Do We Pray?

Since it is true, that God does know what we have need of, before we ask Him, why pray at all? In fact this is based on a Scriptural truth (cf. Mt. 6:8). God is all sovereign, all knowing and all powerful. What part can mere man play? It is not after all “as if He needed anything” (Acts 17:25). When Jesus makes that statement, “Your Father knows… before you ask,” what did He mean by it?

Jesus Teaching on Prayer

The context to that well known quote comes from Jesus direct teaching about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, where he explicitly instructs us to make certain requests of the Father.

First, He begins by clarifying how we ought to pray; the assumption, behind this is that we will! He says several times: “When you pray…” (Matt. 6:5,6,7). The Greek construction of Mathew 6:5 is a subjunctive temporal clause, best translated “whenever you pray.” It carries the underlying assumption that this is an expected, ongoing activity. Taking this assumption, Jesus clarifies for us, how we are to pray, commanding: “In this manner, therefore pray” (v.9).

Following this command to pray, Jesus gives us some guiding categories of requests, or petitions made through prayer: including the advent (coming) of the kingdom, the accomplishment of His will on earth, the appropriation of our “daily bread”, the forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from Satan (Mt. 6:9-11).

It therefore follows, that when Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him” (v.8), that He could not have meant it as an instruction, not to ask! What does He mean then?

His words are an injunction against the repetitious wordy prayers of the heathen, “who think that they will be heard for their many words”. Pagan gods must be “reasoned with, pleaded with, informed.” So many words and carefully crafted prayers must be made to close loopholes and convince their gods to act. Our God is sovereign, and knows all things, thus we are not to “worry” (v25). We are rather to trust in Him, conforming our prayers to the reality of His being. Meaning, we follow the guidelines found in Scripture, not in our emotion, or in our human relations. Fancy words, fancy works and repetitious acts will get us no where, but….

The Promise of Prayer

Jesus says simply, “Ask, and it will be given to you… For everyone who asks receives” (7:7,8). Now it may not be that we get the Ferrari we ask for, as Jesus clarifies in the immediately following verses, God is our Father, and if earthly fathers, “Know how to give good gifts, to [their ]children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (7:11). In this way, as the human father will not give a child his requests in fulfillment of harm, but rather steers the child to ‘good gifts’, healthy food, safe activities, etc., so will the Father in Heaven do for us.

So as we can see the objection of the lazy reader is quickly answered by context of Jesus statement. Here is (1) an assumption that we will pray (6:5,6,7), (2) the command to pray (6:9), (3) guidelines on how to pray (6:9-13), and (4) motivation (7:7,11). But that’s not all…

The Consequence of Neglecting Prayer

What if you were to miss out on the good gifts the Father has waiting for you? What would you do? Would you pray? As it turns out, many Christians are not experiencing the joys and fulfillment of all the Father desires for them, because of this foolish neglect of prayer in their lives.

James, the brother of Our Lord, under inspiration, declares, “You do not have, because you do not ask” (Jms 4:2), quickly adding, “You ask and you do not receive, because you ask amiss” (v.3). That is, not according to the pattern Christ laid down in Matthew. So again, if we want, we must ask. If you fail to pray, you WILL MISS out. It is crystal clear, not only that we have an obligation to pray, “When you pray…”, but better then a duty, we have the privilege of prayer. It is only to our own detriment that we neglect this precious privilege. Because God doesn’t need us, we need Him. And he tells us, He will only answer because we ask.

When Sennecherib, brought the armies of Assyria in mighty array against the little state of Judah, he began his psychological warfare with a letter demanding surrender, in recognition of the powerlessness of their (the Israelites) God (II Ki. 19). Here is a prime example. Does God not know the Jews are in trouble? Will He help them? King Hezekiah, received the letter while at his palace and rushed it to the temple, laying the letter out before the alter of the Lord (v. 14). God has the ability to read in the palace, does he not? He can see through paper, so why does Hezekiah go through this process? He “prayed, before the Lord… save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the Lord God” (v.19).

What reply did the King get? “Yes I know these things…” No. Instead He hears these key words, which echo through the ages to our time, “Because you have prayed to Me…  I have heard you” (v. 20). The next day Israel was supernaturally delivered from a humanly unbeatable force (v.35). What would have happened if he had not prayed?

In summary, it is not for God’s benefit that we pray, but superabundantly for our own. It is only a fool that says, “God knows it, so why pray?”!

1. We Pray So the Son May be Glorified in the Father!

Why pray? Because Jesus said: “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:13,14). You do not have, James warned, because you do not ask!

We ask rightly, we ask “In Jesus Name”, not through the magical incantation of His English transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew name “Yeshua”, but rather by asking on His behalf, “Your will be done, Your kingdom come”.  This is why we do not ask with arrogance, but rather with confidence, asking what we know to be in God’s will with certainty.

2. We Pray to Bear Fruit!

Jesus says of the person who is in tune with Him, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (Jn. 15:7). It is for this reason that we were saved, that “Christ be glorified in us.” And it is through answered prayer that the Father is glorified in the Son (cf. Jn. 14:13).

In fact as you know apart from Christ, we can do nothing! But if we abide in Him and He in us, we bear much fruit. How do we bear that fruit? Through prayer: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you” (Jn. 15:16).

3. We pray for fullness of joy!

Ask, “so that… He may give it to you.” Jesus instructs. One day, He will be gone, He warns the disciples, “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” (John16:23, 24).

Conclusion
The Christ bearer shows forth Christ through his faith and his communion with the Lord. The Christ bearer cannot bear Christ without communing with Him. This is the spiritual foundation of the Christ bearer's life.

posted by Chad @ 8:49 AM