Perceived Prayer Forums
by Pastor George D. Cutler
Grace Gospel Ministry
Unfortunately, one of the most deficient areas of Christendom lies in the fact that most of God’s people have flawed conceptions of what scriptural and proper prayer forums entail. Sadly many do not even understand what prayer really is (privileged communications with God). The misconceptions of this cogitation are based upon the failure to draw lines of demarcations between ……………………dispensations and their corresponding covenants. The conveyances of prayers in respective passages of the bible are uttered from divers’ viewpoints of what is available and understood according to the covenant contents wherein it is spoken. For instance, the appropriateness of King David’s prayer of Psalms 51:11 in which he prayed to God that the Holy Spirit would not be taken from him; is absolutely inappropriate prayer for members of the Body of Christ in the Grace Dispensation and Church age today. What is the difference? --------- different covenant information, which establishes the policy and rule of walk of God’s elect in the respective eras but most importantly, divers’ levers of understanding which dictate the flow of communications to and from God.
What has evolved is numerous erroneous doctrinal positional teachings creating divers’ perceptions of prayer that are considered orthodox and even standard but are non the less scripturally incorrect for a child of God to follow as guidelines in communicating with God when juxtaposed with the covenant (grace) knowledge of today’s economy. What have been imposed upon God’s people today are means and methodologies for verbally engaging God, most of which entail selfish motives for communicating with Him in the first place. From this evolves the notion that the only purpose in interfacing with God is for the acquiring of some accommodation or supply of some perceived need. Thus because of ill-informed or ill advised perceptions of prayer, most of God’s people do not properly communicate with Him. In this sense, most are supposedly talking to Him and even some at Him but this is far from interfacing with Him or even abiding in Him.
Correct Definition of Prayer
Accordingly, the very first rule for properly engaging God in any manner is to always be in the correct dispensation, covenant and gospel, i.e., GRACE!!!!!!! All prayer forums outside of these guide rails invariably lead to areas of distortions and perceptions that are misaligned from the instructions given to members of the Body of Christ, the Church regarding the provisions and privileges inherent within the new creation or new man. But first, in order for one to embrace a proper forum, such must understand what prayer is!
Note the reading of I Timothy 2: 1, “I exhort then, first of all, there be made supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, "for (on behalf of) all men".” Here the general premise expressed is the emphasis on the importance of prayer, which in essence is stating that we are to speak to the Lord in prayer. First it is utterly important to ascertain that the context of prayer itself engenders a dialog directly between two parties, namely God and His elect. There are litanies of instructions in verse one delineating how one should pray. Prayer is privileged communication with God as it may be in the form of:
For one to understand the relevancy of prayer, it is necessary to be totally committed to the fact that God is absolutely immutable and nothing about His divine essence is subject to nor ever could change. Accordingly, God’s immutability is established in His unchanging and unchangeable will. This knowledge is crucial in maintaining a balance in the practice of prayer.
Varies Prayer Forums
As one observes the divers’ prayer formats presently utilized by God’s people, it becomes increasingly clear that a lack of understanding pervades the outlines of their structure. In this regard, what is requested, how things are requested as well as the general sense of what is expected form the basis of unscriptural illusions, which ultimately lead to the un-fulfillment that most of God’s people experience in their prayer life. Some perceived (but unscriptural) forums of prayer units are:
1). Adoration, Adjuration and Obligation
2). Confession, Supplication and Intercession
3). Thanksgiving and Petition
There is nothing wrong with most of the above when they are properly and isolatedly applied but when amalgamated as a unit, they become components of schemes and unholy motives that are devised to function as manipulative devises. Nothing could be more insulting and disrespectful to God than this organized affront upon not only His intelligence but also His integrity. The key to comprehending the compatibility of engaging God in making requests and God hearing and answering prayers must be inoculated in ones total reliance on the efficacy of His perfect knowledge and power to effectuate the best possible workings of all things. It is a flawed perception to the intent of prayer for one to interface with Him on the premise that a request that is made and answered accordingly, requires God to bring about something as a result of the individual’s contribution into the process. The first thing one must understand is that God brings about only those things that he has unchangingly willed to bring about. If His will is immutable, then there can be no alteration of God’s will by anything on the part of the creature.
At this point, it is important to affirm the necessity of prayer as components of the process that are inherently decreed by Him and caused it to be a function of the proceedings of His will. The fact that every occurrence is predetermined does not deny the usefulness of prayer when it (prayer) in itself is understood to be part the decree. Ones prayer (privileged communication) should not be submitted in the view that they constitute the determinant cause. One should never pray in order to dominate or change the decree of divine providence, but conversely to impetrate (obtain through request) those things, which God has already determined. Thus the function of engaging God should never be viewed as a determining factor but only as a part of the design of actions previously ordained.
Careful considerations should always be applied to the historical aspects when assessing the mode and methodology in communications with God. From this it is established that all dialog would encompass the terms of the grace doctrine including the truth of the mystery. In this view, enlightened ones should be adamantly concerned that all communicative functioning are always in strict adherence to the gospel of the grace of God (I Timothy 1:3; 4:6,13,16; 6:3; II Timothy 4:2,3; Titus 1:9; 2:1). In this light, it is inconceivable that any communication with God would be couched in language contradicting the sovereign grace of God in Election to salvation or the foreordination of the eternal choice of God’s people in eternity. Also, one should never conceive that any action could possibly originate from other than its exclusive actuation-source, i.e., God’s eternal decrees.
In fact, nowhere in any of Paul’s epistles are there any references of God’s desire to act contrary to His eternal plan, will and purpose or in any manner outside of the boundaries previously set apart for His glory in eternity. In observing the directives to the Grace church, all of the revelations in the Mystery conclusively support the exclusivity of all not preordained. In fact, none of the scriptures of the other dispensations, when rightly interpreted, expressively speak of God’s will being unfulfilled or modified in the eternal realm. Those specific records of testimony only exude mankind’s interfacing with God on the basis of the horizontal, earthly viewpoint and information that was available at that designated time in history according to its dispensational and covenant arrangement. It is for this reason that it is improper to assess these proceedings as guidelines for communicating with God in the Grace Church age. The bottom line gage for correct and scriptural compliance to the proper prayer forum in the Grace age; lies in the comprehension that ones exclusive motive and expectation should be that God’s will is done or manifested according to all that is actualized in His divine eternal decrees.
Unscriptural Employment of Prayer Forums
1. Adoration, Adjuration and Obligation Forum
This type forum is very popularly foisted as the key to “getting God’ to move on behalf
of his elect. It is commonly taught that this combination of approach to God entails the prescription to obtaining ones request as submitted.
Scriptures utilized by those who employ this forum:
Scripture: Ps 66:1-4 “Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.”
Advice given by those who employ this forum:
Spend some time adoring, praising & boasting of the Lord because He is… GREAT!
Plead one case to let God know of ones sincerity (fast if necessary). Make sure that ones performance of all obligations is currently fulfilled.
2. Confession, Supplication and Intercession Forum
This type forum is usually recommended for those who lives are supposedly not currently acceptable to God’s requirement and need assistance from those whose lives are. It is suggested that this covers those who are having problems getting a “prayer through” to God.
Scriptures utilized by those who employ this forum:
Scripture: 1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world”
Lam 3:40-41 “Let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the LORD; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven”
Ps 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And you forgave the iniquity of my sin”
1 Timothy 2:1 “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone”
Advice given by those who employ this forum:
Spend time confessing sins as an individual, as a church, as a nation...confess poor stewardship of time, laziness, disobedient to God’s Word, etc. Confess not sharing the gospel, trusting in self, and lack of humility / modesty. Those assisting will lift every need and concern before your Heavenly Father...
3. Thanksgiving and Petition Forum
This type prayer forum seems like the most correct one but yet it can become the most damaging due to its misapplication of motives and reason for interfacing with God.
Scriptures utilized by those who employ this forum:
Scripture: Ps 95:1-2 “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.”
Col 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Advice given by those who employ this forum:
Thank God for all He has done, is doing, and has promised to do (don’t forget to thank Him for all the “bad” things as well)...
Note: Any forums of prayer that does not recognize and respect the sovereignty of God’s decrees and the fact that He is perfect, infinite, omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (everywhere), absolutely in control and the creator of all things, will ultimately fail in their attempt to impose their will in the pursuance of healing, salvation, peace, hope and joy for others that are outside of the will of God.