The Sovereignty of God
By Arthur W. Pink
Chapter
Nine - God's Sovereignty And Prayer
"If
we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14).
Throughout
this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the
creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify man and dishonor
and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are
under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the
Divine side, if not altogether ignored, is relegated to the background. This
holds true of very much of the modern teaching about prayer. In the great
majority of the books written and in the sermons preached upon prayer the human
element fills the scene almost entirely: it is the conditions which we must
meet, the promises we must "claim," the things we must do in order to
get our requests granted; and God's claims, God's rights, God's glory are
disregarded.
As a fair
example of what is being given out today we subjoin a brief editorial which
appeared recently in one of the leading religious weeklies entitled
"Prayer, or Fate?"
"God
in His Sovereignty has ordained that human destinies may be changed and molded
by the will of man. This is at the heart of the truth that prayer changes
things, meaning that God changes things when men pray. Someone has strikingly
expressed it this way: 'There are certain things that will happen in a man's
life whether he prays or not. There are other things that will happen if he
prays; and will not happen if he does not pray.' A Christian worker was
impressed by these sentences as he entered a business office and he prayed that
the Lord would open the way to speak to some one about Christ, reflecting that
things would be changed because he prayed. Then his mind turned to other things
and the prayer was forgotten. The opportunity came to speak to the business man
upon whom he was calling, but he did not grasp it, and was on his way out when he
remembered his prayer of a half hour before, and God's answer. He promptly
returned and had a talk with the business man, who, though a church-member, had
never in his life been asked whether he was saved. Let us give ourselves to
prayer, and open the way for God to change things. Let us beware lest we become
virtual fatalists by failing to exercise our God-given wills in praying."
The above
illustrates what is being taught on the subject of prayer, and the deplorable
thing is that scarcely a voice is lifted in protest. To say that "human
destinies may be changed and molded by the will of man" is rank
infidelity-that is the only proper term for it. Should any one challenge this
classification, we would ask them whether they can find an infidel anywhere who
would dissent from such a statement, and we are confident that such an one
could not be found. To say that "God has ordained that human destinies may
be changed and molded by the will of man" is absolutely untrue.
"Human destiny" is settled not by the will of man, but by the will of
God. That which determines human destiny is whether or not a man has been born
again, for it is written, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the
kingdom of God." And as to whose will, whether God's or man's, is responsible
for the new birth is settled, unequivocally, by John 1:13-"Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
OF GOD." To say that "human destiny" may be changed by the will
of man is to make the creature's will supreme, and that is, virtually, to
dethrone God. But what saith the Scriptures? Let the Book answer: "The
LORD killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up. He
raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the
dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of
glory" (1 Sam. 2:6-8).
Turning
back to the Editorial here under review, we are next told, "This is at the
heart of the truth that prayer changes things, meaning that God changes things
when men pray." Almost everywhere we go today one comes across a
motto-card bearing the inscription "Prayer Changes Things." As to
what these words are designed to signify is evident from the current literature
on prayer-we are to persuade God to change His purpose. Concerning this we
shall have more to say below.
Again, the
Editor tells us, "Some one has strikingly expressed it this way: 'There
are certain things that will happen in a man's life whether he prays or not.
There are other things that will happen if he prays, and will not happen if he
does not pray.'" That things happen whether a man prays or not is
exemplified daily in the lives of the unregenerate, most of whom never pray at
all. That 'other things will happen if he prays' is in need of qualification.
If a believer prays in faith and asks for those things which are according to
God's will he will most certainly obtain that for which he has asked. Again, that
other things will happen if he prays is also true in respect to the subjective
benefits derived from prayer: God will become more real to him and His promises
more precious. That other things 'will not happen if he does not pray' is true
so far as his own life is concerned-a prayerless life means a life lived out of
communion with God and all that is involved by this. But to affirm that God
will not and cannot bring to pass His eternal purpose unless we pray is utterly
erroneous, for the same God who has decreed the end has also decreed that His
end shall be reached through His appointed means, and One of these is prayer.
The God who has determined to grant a blessing also gives a spirit of
supplication which first seeks the blessing.
The
example cited in the above Editorial of the Christian worker and the business
man is a very unhappy one to say the least, for according to the terms of the
illustration the Christian worker's prayer was not answered by God at all,
inasmuch as, apparently, the way was not opened to speak to the business man
about his soul. But on leaving the office and recalling his prayer the
Christian worker (perhaps in the energy of the flesh) determined to answer the
prayer for himself, and instead of leaving the Lord to "open the way"
for him, took matters into his own hand.
We quote
next from one of the latest books issued on Prayer. In it the author says,
"The possibilities and necessity of prayer, its power and results, are
manifested in arresting and changing the purposes of God and in relieving the
stroke of His power." Such an assertion as this is a horrible reflection
upon the character of the Most High God, who "doeth according to His will
in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can
stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Dan. 4: 35). There is
no need whatever for God to change His designs or alter His purpose for the
all-sufficient reason that these were framed under the influence of perfect
goodness and unerring wisdom. Men may have occasion to alter their purposes,
for in their short-sightedness they are frequently unable to anticipate what
may arise after their plans are formed. But not so with God, for He knows the
end from the beginning. To affirm God changes His purpose is either to impugn
His goodness or to deny His eternal wisdom.
In the
same book we are told, "The prayers of God's saints are the capital stock
in Heaven by which Christ carries on His great work upon earth. The great
throes and mighty convulsions on earth are the results of these prayers. Earth
is changed, revolutionized, angels move on more powerful, more rapid wing, and
God's policy is shaped as the prayers are more numerous, more efficient."
If possible, this is even worse, and we have no hesitation in denominating it
as blasphemy. In the first place, it flatly denies Ephesians 3:11 which speaks
of God's having an "eternal purpose." If God's purpose is an eternal
one then His "policy" is not being "shaped" today. In the
second place, it contradicts Ephesians 1:11 which expressly declares that God
"worketh all things after the counsel of His own will," therefore it
follows that, "God's policy" is not being "shaped" by man's
prayers. In the third place, such a statement as the above makes the will of
the creature supreme, for if our prayers shape God's policy then is the Most
High subordinate to worms of the earth. Well might the Holy Spirit ask through
the Apostle, "For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been
His counsellor?" (Rom. 11:34).
Such
thoughts on prayer as we have been citing are due to low and inadequate
conceptions of God Himself. It ought to be apparent that there could be little
or no comfort in praying to a God that was like the chameleon, which changes
its color every day. What encouragement is there to lift up our hearts to One
who is in one mind yesterday and another today? What would be the use of
petitioning an earthly monarch if we knew he was so mutable as to grant a
petition one day and deny it another? Is it not the very unchangeableness of
God which is our greatest encouragement to pray? It is because He is
"without variableness or shadow of turning" we are assured that if we
ask anything according to His will we are most certain of being heard. Well did
Luther remark, "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold
of His willingness."
And this
leads us to offer a few remarks concerning the design of prayer. Why has God
appointed that we should pray? The vast majority of people would reply, In
order that we may obtain from God the things which we need. While this is one
of the purposes of prayer it is by no means the chief one. Moreover, it
considers prayer only from the human side, and prayer sadly needs to be viewed
from the Divine side. Let us look, then, at some of the reasons why God has
bidden us to pray.
First and
foremost, prayer has been appointed that the Lord God Himself should be
honored. God requires we should recognize that He is, indeed, "the high
and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity" (Isa. 57:15). God requires that we
shall own His universal dominion: in petitioning God for rain Elijah did but
confess His control over the elements; in praying to God to deliver a poor
sinner from the wrath to come we acknowledge that "salvation is of the LORD"
(Jonah 2:9); in supplicating His blessing on the Gospel unto the uttermost
parts of the earth we declare His rulership over the whole world.
Again; God
requires that we shall worship Him, and prayer, real prayer, is an act of
worship. Prayer is an act of worship inasmuch as it is the prostrating of the
soul before Him; inasmuch as it is a calling upon His great and holy name;
inasmuch as it is the owning of His goodness, His power, His immutability, His
grace, and inasmuch as it is the recognition of His Sovereignty, owned by a
submission to His will. It is highly significant to notice in this connection
that the Temple wasn't termed by Christ the House of Sacrifice, but instead,
the House of Prayer.
Again;
prayer redounds to God's glory, for in prayer we do but acknowledge dependency
upon Him. When we humbly supplicate the Divine Being we cast ourselves upon His
power and mercy. In seeking blessings from God we own that He is the Author and
Fountain of every good and perfect gift. That prayer brings glory to God is
further seen from the fact that prayer calls faith into exercise, and nothing
from us is so honoring and pleasing to Him as the confidence of our hearts.
In the
second place, prayer is appointed by God for our spiritual blessing, as a means
for our growth in grace. When seeking to learn the design of prayer, this
should ever occupy us before we regard prayer as a means for obtaining the
supply of our need. Prayer is designed by God for our humbling. Prayer, real
prayer, is a coming into the Presence of God, and a sense of His awful majesty
produces a realization of our nothingness and unworthiness. Again; prayer is
designed by God for the exercise of our faith. Faith is begotten in the Word
(Rom. 10:8), but it is exercised in prayer; hence, we read of "the prayer
of faith." Again; prayer calls love into action. Concerning the hypocrite
the question is asked, "Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he
always call upon God?" (Job 27:10). But they that love the Lord cannot be
long away from Him, for they delight in unburdening themselves to Him. Not only
does prayer call love into action but through the direct answers vouchsafed to
our prayers our love to God is increased-"I love the LORD, because He hath
heard my voice and my supplications" (Psa. 116:1). Again; prayer is
designed by God to teach us the value of the blessings we have sought from Him,
and it causes us to rejoice the more when He has bestowed upon us that for
which we supplicate Him.
Third,
prayer is appointed by God for our seeking from Him the things which we are in
need of. But here a difficulty may present itself to those who have read
carefully the previous chapters of this book. If God has foreordained, before
the foundation of the world, everything which happens in time, what is the use
of prayer? If it is true that "of Him and through Him and to Him are all
things" (Rom. 11:30), then why pray? Ere replying directly to these
queries it should be pointed out how that there is just as much reason to ask, What
is the use of me coming to God and telling Him what He already knows? Wherein
is the use of me spreading before Him my need, seeing He is already acquainted
with it? as there is to object, What is the use of praying for anything when
everything has been ordained beforehand by God? Prayer is not for the purpose
of informing God, as if He were ignorant (the Saviour expressly declared
"for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask
Him"-Matt. 6:8), but it is to acknowledge He does know what we are in need
of. Prayer is not appointed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of
what we need, but is designed as a confession to Him of our sense of need. In
this, as in everything, God's thoughts are not as ours. God requires that His
gifts should be sought for. He designs to be honored by our asking, just as He
is to be thanked by us after He has bestowed His blessing.
However,
the question still returns on us, If God be the Predestinator of everything
that comes to pass, and the Regulator of all events, then is not prayer a
profitless exercise? A sufficient answer to these questions is that God bids us
to pray, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). And again, "men
ought always to pray" (Luke 18:1). And further: Scripture declares that
"the prayer of faith shall save the sick," and "the effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:15, 16); while
the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect Example in all things, was preeminently a
Man of Prayer. Thus, it is evident, that prayer is neither meaningless nor
valueless. But still this does not remove the difficulty nor answer the
question with which we started out. What then is the relationship between God's
Sovereignty and Christian prayer?
First of
all, we would say with emphasis, that prayer is not intended to change God's
purpose, nor is it to move Him to form fresh purposes. God has decreed that
certain events shall come to pass through the means He has appointed for their
accomplishment. God has elected certain ones to be saved, but He has also
decreed that these shall be saved through the preaching the Gospel. The Gospel,
then, is one of the appointed means for the working out of the eternal counsel
of the Lord; and prayer is another. God has decreed the means as well as the
end, and among the means is prayer. Even the prayers of His people are included
in His eternal decrees. Therefore, instead of prayers being in vain they are
among the means through which God exercises His decrees. "If indeed all
things happen by a blind chance, or a fatal necessity prayers in that case
could be of no moral efficacy, and of no use; but since they are regulated by
the direction of Divine wisdom, prayers have a place in the order of
events" (Haldane).
That
prayers for the execution of the very things decreed by God are not meaningless
is clearly taught in the Scriptures. Elijah knew that God was about to give
rain, but that did not prevent him from at once betaking himself to prayer
(James 5:17, 18). Daniel "understood" by the writings of the prophets
that the captivity was to last but seventy years, yet when these seventy years
were almost ended we are told that he set his face "unto the Lord God, to
seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes"
(Dan. 9:2, 3). God told the prophet Jeremiah "For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give
you an expected end"; but instead of adding, there is, therefore, no need
for you to supplicate Me for these things, He said, "Then shall ye call
upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you"
(Jer. 29:11, 12).
Here then
is the design of prayer: not that God's will may be altered, but that it may be
accomplished in His own good time and way. It is because God has promised
certain things that we can ask for them with the full assurance of faith. It is
God's purpose that His will shall be brought about by His own appointed means,
and that He may do His people good upon His own terms, and that is, by the 'means'
and 'terms' of entreaty and supplication. Did not the Son of God know for
certain that after His death and resurrection He would be exalted by the
Father. Assuredly He did. Yet we find Him asking for this very thing: "O
Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with
Thee before the world was" (John 17:5)! Did not He know that none of His
people could perish? yet He besought the Father to "keep" them (John
17:11)!
Finally,
it should be said that God's will is immutable, and cannot be altered by our
cryings. When the mind of God is not toward a people to do them good, it cannot
be turned to them by the most fervent and importunate prayer of those who have
the greatest interest in Him: "Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses
and Samuel stood before Me, yet My mind could not be toward this people: cast
them out of My sight, and let them go forth" (Jer. 15:1). The prayers of
Moses to enter the promised land is a parallel case.
Our views
respecting prayer need to be revised and brought into harmony with the teaching
of Scripture on the subject. The prevailing idea seems to be that I come to God
and ask Him for something that I want, and that I expect Him to give me that
which I have asked. But this is a most dishonoring and degrading conception.
The popular belief reduces God to a servant, our servant: doing our bidding,
performing our pleasure, granting our desires. No; prayer is a coming to God,
telling Him my need, committing my way unto the Lord, and leaving Him to deal
with it as seemeth Him best. This makes my will subject to His, instead of, as
in the former case, seeking to bring His will into subjection to mine. No
prayer is pleasing to God unless the spirit actuating it is "not my will,
but Thine be done." "When God bestows blessings on a praying people,
it is not for the sake of their prayers, as if He was inclined and turned by
them; but it is for His own sake, and of His own Sovereign will and pleasure.
Should it be said, to what purpose then is prayer? it is answered, This is the
way and means God has appointed for the communication of the blessing of His
goodness to His people. For though He has purposed, provided, and promised
them, yet He will be sought unto, to give them, and it is a duty and privilege
to ask. When they are blessed with a spirit of prayer it forebodes well, and
looks as if God intended to bestow the good things asked, which should be asked
always with submission to the will of God, saying, Not my will but Thine be
done" (John Gill).
The distinction
just noted above is of great practical importance for our peace of heart.
Perhaps the one thing that exercises Christians as much as anything else is
that of unanswered prayers. They have asked God for something: so far as they
are able to judge they have asked in faith believing they would receive that
for which they had supplicated the Lord: and they have asked earnestly and
repeatedly, but the answer has not come. The result is that, in many cases,
faith in the efficacy of prayer becomes weakened, until hope gives way to
despair and the closet is altogether neglected. Is it not so?
Now will
it surprise our readers when we say that every real prayer of faith that has
ever been offered to God has been answered? Yet we unhesitatingly affirm it. But
in saying this we must refer back to our definition of prayer. Let us repeat
it. Prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need (or the need of others),
committing my way unto the Lord, and then leaving Him to deal with the case as
seemeth Him best. This leaves God to answer the prayer in whatever way He sees
fit, and often, His answer may be the very opposite of what would be most
acceptable to the flesh; yet, if we have really LEFT our need in His hands it
will be His answer, nevertheless. Let us look at two examples.
In John 11
we read of the sickness of Lazarus. The Lord "loved" him, but He was
absent from Bethany. The sisters sent a messenger unto the Lord acquainting Him
of their brother's condition. And note particularly how their appeal was worded-"Lord,
behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." That was all. They did not ask Him
to heal Lazarus. They did not request Him to hasten at once to Bethany. They
simply spread their need before Him, committed the case into His hands, and
left Him to act as He deemed best! And what was our Lord's reply? Did He
respond to their appeal and answer their mute request? Certainly He did, though
not, perhaps, in the way they had hoped. He answered by abiding "two days
still in the same place where He was" (John 11:6), and allowing Lazarus to
die! But in this instance that was not all. Later, He journeyed to Bethany and
raised Lazarus from the dead. Our purpose in referring here to this case is to
illustrate the proper attitude for the believer to take before God in the hour
of need. The next example will emphasize rather, God's method of responding to
His needy child.
Turn to 2
Corinthians 12. The Apostle Paul had been accorded an unheard-of privilege. He
had been transported into Paradise. His ears had listened to and his eyes had
gazed upon that which no other mortal had heard or seen this side of death. The
wondrous revelation was more than the Apostle could endure. He was in danger of
becoming "puffed up" by his extraordinary experience. Therefore, a
thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, was sent to buffet him lest he be
exalted above measure. And the Apostle spreads his need before the Lord; he
thrice beseeches Him that this thorn in the flesh should be removed. Was his
prayer answered? Assuredly, though not in the manner he had desired. The
"thorn" was not removed but grace was given to bear it. The burden
was not lifted but strength was vouchsafed to carry it.
Does
someone object that it is our privilege to do more than spread our need before
God? Are we reminded that God has, as it were, given us a blank check and
invited us to fill it in? Is it said that the promises of God are
all-inclusive, and that we may ask God for what we will? If so, we must call
attention to the fact that it is necessary to compare Scripture with Scripture
if we are to learn the full mind of God on any subject, and that as this is
done we discover God has qualified the promises given to praying souls by
saying "If ye ask anything according to His will He heareth us" (1
John 5:14). Real prayer is communion with God so that there will be common
thoughts between His mind and ours. What is needed is for Him to fill our
hearts with His thoughts and then His desires will become our desires flowing
back to Him. Here then is the meeting-place between God's Sovereignty and
Christian prayer: If we ask anything according to His will He heareth us, and
if we do not so ask He does not hear us; as saith the Apostle James, "Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
lusts" or desires (4:3).
But did
not the Lord Jesus tell His disciples, "Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you" (John
16:23)? He did; but this promise does not give praying souls carte blanche.
These words of our Lord are in perfect accord with those of the Apostle John:
"If ye ask anything according to His will He heareth us." What is it
to ask "in the name of Christ"? Surely it is very much more than a
prayer formula, the mere concluding of our supplications with the words
"in the name of Christ." To apply to God for anything in the name of
Christ, it must needs be in keeping with what Christ is! To ask God in the name
of Christ is as though Christ Himself were the suppliant. We can only ask God
for what Christ would ask. To ask in the name of Christ is therefore to set
aside our own wills, accepting God's!
Let us now
amplify our definition of prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is not so much an act
as it is an attitude-an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Prayer is
a confession of creature weakness, yea, of helplessness. Prayer is the
acknowledgment of our need and the spreading of it before God. We do not say
that this is all there is in prayer, it is not: but it is the essential, the
primary element in prayer. We freely admit that we are quite unable to give a
complete definition of prayer within the compass of a brief sentence, or in any
number of words. Prayer is both an attitude and an act, an human act, and yet
there is the Divine element in it too, and it is this which makes an exhaustive
analysis impossible as well as impious to attempt. But admitting this, we do
insist again that prayer is fundamentally an attitude of dependency upon God.
Therefore, prayer is the very opposite of dictating to God. Because prayer is
an attitude of dependency, the one who really prays is submissive, submissive
to the Divine will; and submission to the Divine will means that we are content
for the Lord to supply our need according to the dictates of His own Sovereign
pleasure. And hence it is that we say every prayer that is offered to God in
this spirit is sure of meeting with an answer or response from Him.
Here then
is the reply to our opening question, and the scriptural solution to the
seeming difficulty. Prayer is not the requesting of God to alter His purpose or
for Him to form a new one. Prayer is the taking of an attitude of dependency
upon God, the spreading of our need before Him, the asking for those things
which are in accordance with His will, and therefore there is nothing whatever
inconsistent between Divine Sovereignty and Christian prayer.
In closing
this chapter we would utter a word of caution to safeguard the reader against
drawing a false conclusion from what has been said. We have not here sought to
epitomize the whole teaching of Scripture on the subject of prayer, nor have we
even attempted to discuss in general the problem of prayer; instead, we have
confined ourselves, more or less, to a consideration of the relationship
between God's Sovereignty and Christian prayer. What we have written is
intended chiefly as a protest against much of the modern teaching, which so
stresses the human element in prayer that the Divine side is almost entirely
lost sight of.
In
Jeremiah 10:23 we are told "It is not in man that walketh to direct his
steps" (cf. Prov. 16:9); and yet in many of his prayers man impulse
presumes to direct the Lord as to His way, and as to what He ought to do: even
implying that if only he had the direction of the affairs of the world and of
the church he would soon have things very different from what they are. This
cannot be denied: for anyone with any spiritual discernment at all could not
fail to detect this spirit in many of our modern prayer-meetings where the
flesh holds sway. How slow we all are to learn the lesson that the haughty
creature needs to be brought down to his knees and humbled into the dust. And
this is where the very act of prayer is intended to put us. But man (in his
usual perversity) turns the footstool into a throne from whence he would fain
direct the Almighty as to what He ought to do! giving the onlooker the
impression that if God had half the compassion that those who pray (?) have,
all would quickly be right! Such is the arrogance of the old nature even in a
child of God.
Our main
purpose in this chapter has been to emphasize the need for submitting, in
prayer, our wills to God's. But it must also be added that prayer is much more
than a pious exercise, and far otherwise than a mechanical performance. Prayer
is, indeed, a Divinely appointed means whereby we may obtain from God the
things we ask, providing we ask for those things which are in accord with His
will. These pages will have been penned in vain unless they lead both writer
and reader to cry with a deeper earnestness than heretofore, "Lord, teach
us to pray" (Luke 11:1).