January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
what is god really like? / Part 1 of 4: The God w
Bad church experiences lead to distorted view of prayer
As a result, they not only rejected the church, but, sadly, they rejected God as well.
In speaking with them there emerged two main reasons why they came to a point of rejecting spiritual things. Many have grown up with so many religious rules and regulations focused on what it means to be spiritual that they were left with a wrong or incomplete view of who God really is.
They then assume all churches are controlling and burdensome. The other reason why many have a distorted view of God is based on how they grew up. It seems that God has wired our minds such that our earthly fathers have a great impact of how we view our heavenly Father.
Many Christians who feel that their father is distant and detached seem to feel the same way about God. They find it hard to get close to Him.
Others who grew up with a judgmental and extremely strict father tend to see God as the One who will send a lighting bolt from heaven when they do something wrong.
The greatest challenge for anyone is to obtain a proper view of God from the Word of God rather than bad experiences encountered while growing up in a family or even the church. So, what is His heart really like?
Let's start His Son's description in Matthew 7:7-11:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
The words above - ask, seek and knock - in the original language of The Bible (Greek) are written in the present imperative tense; Jesus encourages us to ask, seek and knock constantly!
This means persistent prayer; it also means patient prayer - and this point can be a stumbling block for some. Because people do not 'get" what they want the first time they ask for it, many view prayer as a waste of time or a 'twisting of the arm'.
They conclude that God does not care because He does not answer immediately. Because you ask for something once and may not receive it, don't give up. Jesus teaches to continue asking, seeking or knocking and God will answer in His time. Note that Jesus uses the word "will" - not 'might'; there is no uncertainty about God answering. As we continue in the passage, Jesus' teaching describes the heart of God more fully, and He uses an example known as the 'lesser to the greater'.
If his son asks for bread an earthly father will not give the boy a stone; if he asks for fish his dad will not give him a snake. Jesus points out that if these fathers, who are not at all righteous and good like God, but are instead described as evil, and yet know how to give good gifts to their children, then how much more will our heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him!
The striking point that Jesus makes is that the Father offers love, compassion and provision to them who take the time to ask Him, seek Him and knock on His door.
It's important to understand that your view of God determines your view of prayer. Where there is a wrong view of God, there is wrong view of prayer.
Prayer may be a chore and a useless exercise until you realize you are praying to God who, because of His love and compassion, delights in giving to you. Then we look forward to talking to Him and being with Him.
I want to encourage you this week as we begin the month that we celebrate the birth of Christ to consider this: if God the Father gave the world His one and only Son so that all who believe in Him will have eternal life, why do we doubt His heart is pure? Why are we so reluctant to give our all to Him?
As painful as your past may be it should not be an excuse to give up on God. Remember these words... "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?" Romans 8:32 NLT.
Pastor Gary C. Simons serves as the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Bible
Fellowship.[[In-content Ad]]
Comments:
You must login to comment.