Word of Encouragement (8/10/2020)

We are reflecting on Edward Leigh’s words, who defined divine promises as “the grounds of our hope, the objects of our faith, and the rule of prayer” (p. 2). Today, we will look at divine promises as “the rule of prayer.”

Beeke and Le Belle say, “Just as we hope for and believe what God has promised, so we must pray for what God has promised” (p. 2). Giving one of David’s prayers as an example (2 Sam. 7:27), they go on to say, “Having the promise of God in hand not only emboldened David’s hope and strengthened his faith, but it also fed and informed his prayer. Truly, we do not have a prayer without the promises of God” (p. 3).

But why do we need to pray when God has already given His promises? Is God so forgetful that we need to remind Him of what He promised to us? Of course not! God never forgets. He is faithful and He will not fail to fulfill all His promises: “[My word] shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:11). But we have to keep in mind that, for needy creatures like us, prayer is (at least, it should be) as natural as breathing, “for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But we are not dealing with pagan gods, who can be manipulated to do what we want if we give the right (or, enough) sacrifice or perform the right ritual. God is sovereign and His will is unchangeable and irrevocable. So, we should pray as Jesus did: “…nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). John, too, says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14).

Divine promises are the expression of God’s good will toward us. They show us what is truly good for us. How important it is to know what His good promises are as we bring our hearts desires to Him in prayer! Our deceitful hearts (Jer. 17:9) can, and does, make us desire what is harmful and destructive to us. When we pray according to God’s promises, we pray for what is truly good for us. When we pray that way, we can have the confidence and assurance of God’s answer. And as we do so, God uses it to transform and conform our hearts to His good will so that we desire and love what God wills and loves.

And we pray because we live between God’s promises and His fulfillment—not to remind Him but to fuel our hope and burn away our fear and despair as we wait for His wonderful and glorious fulfillment.

Have a blessed day!