At One Time Or Another We Have Probably Heard It: To Pray Effectively Is To Pray In The Will Of God. Shouldn’t We Want What God Wants For Us. Yet, Doing His Will His Way Becomes A Challenge For Some Believers. Some Of Us Have Already Made Up Our Mind On What We Want. To Pray Effectively We Must Want What God Wants-That And That Only Is To Pray In The Will Of God.
If we regard God as our Source of the good and necessary things in life, as well as we should, James tells us there are two reasons we do not have the things we need: “Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:2b-3, KJV). Bible Expositor John Gill states that to ask amiss is to ask, “not in the faith of a divine promise; nor with thankfulness for past mercies; nor with submission to the will of God; nor with a right end, to do good to others, and to make use of what might be bestowed, for the honor of God, and the interest of Christ.” To that end, some of us end our prayers with the words of Jesus, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42b). But just exactly does that mean?
The life of Jesus, while He was on earth, was a pattern of wanting to do only what God wanted to be done. To His disciples He affirmed, “My meat [purpose] is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:32). In other words, His sole purpose was to do the will of God (see also Hebrews 10:5-10), and everything about Him and His life lined up with that purpose. Even when facing death by what was then the cruelest of methods, crucifixion, He yielded Himself to the will of the Father. Fast forward over two thousand years later and there you are in prayer. You have a laundry list of petitions of things you really want and/or need. Do you trust your own judgement, or do you trust God that what He wants for you transcends anything that you could ask or imagine for yourself (Ephesians 3:20)? It is not easy to yield our will to that of the Father; just ask Jesus. His Gethsemane struggle was of such that “there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:43-44). Yet for those who desire to be in the nucleus of God’s will, is there really any other way to pray? The flesh that seeks to satisfy itself is constantly at war with the Spirit that strives to do the will of God (Galatians 5:17).
Some of God’s finest statesmen of our times have said much on the issue of praying in the will of God. Pastor and author A. W. Tozer puts it this way, “To pray effectively we must want what God wants-that and that only is to pray in the will of God.” Evangelist R. A. Torrey states, “The chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.” And here we are thinking it is primarily about us and our needs.
“Not my will, but thine, be done.” Seven important words we need to bear in mind the next time we come to our Lord in prayer. While He can work all things for our good (Romans 8:28-29), it is never is about us. It is and must always be about Him; His will done His way in our lives.
In Proverbs 18:10. Solomon wrote that “the name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” What exactly does that mean? How is the name of the Lord a strong tower? What is a strong tower?
To understand how the name of the Lord is a strong tower for us today, we’ll break the verse into four parts and go deeper into each.
- The name of the LORD
- A strong tower
- The righteous
- Safety
What Is the Name of the Lord?
A name is a powerful thing. This was more widely understood in ancient times than it is now, but it is still true, nonetheless. A name carries the identity of the person named. It is who they are.
In Proverbs 18:10, the word used for LORD is Yahweh so it can be read “the name of Yahweh is a strong tower…” This is speaking of God’s character, the entirety of who he is. Throughout the Bible, it refers to God himself as our strength, our rock, our fortress, etc. God and his name are one and the same.
When you hear the name of someone you know, you have an inner vision of them because the name carries all that you know about them. This means that a name carries a person’s reputation.
We can see how God’s name, or reputation, preceded him in the Book of Joshua. When God was leading Israel into the Promised Land, Joshua sent men into Jericho to spy out the land. They were discovered, and protected, by a woman named Rahab who made this declaration to them:
We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below Joshua 2:10-11.
By faith, Rahab tapped into the name of the LORD, and she and all her family were kept safe when the city of Jericho was destroyed.
How Is the Name of the Lord a Strong Tower?
The name of the LORD is a strong tower. Some translations use terms such as fortified tower, strong fortress, mighty tower, tower of strength, and in one translation is simply says “great strength.”
A tower is something that is tall, or high. The name of the LORD is high.
Let them praise the name of the LORD because his name is high above all others. His glory is above heaven and earth (Psalm 148:13).
The tower is strong. Strength is manifested in numerous ways. Words the dictionary uses to convey how strength is conveyed are: physical, mental, competence, influence, moral power, effectiveness, healthy, means to resist attack, uncompromising, well-supplied, clear, and firm, and thriving.
The name of the LORD, that is a strong tower is high above your problem, providing all you need.
Who Is Righteous?
There are two things here. The righteous, referring to the person, and the action “run.”
Who is the righteous this verse is talking about? Righteousness according to the Bible is being in right standing with God. This is something no one can achieve on their own. For anyone to attain righteousness they must receive it from God.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Romans 5:17).
What is the significance of the action run? Running is simply faster than walking. However, the word used in the original text implies urgency. It is more accurately translated rush, or hurry how it’s written in this translation:
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; a righteous person rushes to it and is lifted above the danger (ISV).
Can We Feel Safe in the Strong Tower?
What does it mean to be safe? The verse above says, “Lifted up above the danger.”
The dictionary defines being safe as protected from or not exposed to danger or risk; not likely to be harmed or lost.
Other translations of the verse use words like set on high, set safely on high, be safe, is safe, shall be exalted, be strengthened, and are protected.
Looking at the word in the original language we get these phrases: inaccessibly high, too high for capture, and set on high far above evil.
In the verse that follows, Solomon identifies an “imagined” place of safety.
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. (Proverbs 18:11).
Imagined safety isn’t true safety. The name of the Lord is where true safety and protection are found.
The name of the LORD is a strong tower when we are scared, when we are ill, when we are lost, when we are confused, when we are sad, when we are threatened, when we are weak, when we are overwhelmed, and even when we are struggling financially. Always.
The safety that the name of the LORD provides is multi-faceted and trustworthy. No wonder the righteous rush toward it. By faith, we can rush to the name of the LORD and find safety at any time.
We Can Call on His Name
The name of the LORD represents all that he is and has for us — love, mercy, grace, power, righteousness, and more. David called on the name of the LORD throughout his life and tasted the deliverance of God. Here are a few examples:
From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me Psalms 61:2-3).
Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint protect my life from the threat of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers (Psalm 64:1-2).
Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood (Psalm 59:1-2).
The LORD is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe (Psalm 18:2)
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5)
Call on the name of the Lord. Three times it is written that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Roman 10:13).
Blessings J.P. Olson Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST & 7:00 PM EST on the NOW Network http://www.theNOWnetwork.org ROKU, Cable & Online: https://www.thenownetwork.org/sunday |
No comments:
Post a Comment