Thursday, November 8, 2012

Praying According to God's Nature


“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.”  Psalm 69:13, ESV

I have recently been struck by the way in which King David describes the nature of his relationship with his God, which of course is the One true God of the Universe. It is not a relationship that is experienced at a distance, or a relationship that is shallow, or even a relationship whereby God is unknowable. It is a very personal, intimate, unique fellowship between Creator and created one, between Heavenly Father and child of God, between the Redeemer and the redeemed.

David speaks of the nature of this relationship throughout the Psalms, and the reader is drawn into it as he/she oversees the soul cries of this great King who knew God in more than an intellectual sense but also in an experiential sense. He speaks in the above verse about the steadfast love (hesed) of God and the saving faithfulness of God who has proven himself in the past, and this is the basis of his confidence that God will hear and act on his prayer in the present. But yet he also knows that God’s timing is perfect, and so he concedes that there is a future “acceptable time” in which God will answer according to his sovereign timing and purposes.

This is what it means to pray in faith. It means to pray according to God’s will and timing, to pray in the context of an active relationship with the Lord, and to pray according to the very nature of God himself who has proven himself loving and faithful in the deliverance of his people.

I don’t think there is anything wrong in asking God to answer our prayers. David did. And based on the kind of God David described, he knew full well that God would be faithful in doing so.

 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Most Misused Verses in the Bible: Surprising Ways God's Word is Misunderstood

So excited to be able to announce my latest publication, The Most Misused Verses in the Bible that was published May 1 through Bethany House Publishers (a division of Baker Books). The book covers some of the most popularly misused verses that are taken out of context and frequently misunderstood and misapplied. At present I have been doing some radio interviews on the national syndicate (i.e. Moody radio) discussing the book and today appeared on Chris Fabry Live!


Verses like "where two or three are gathered" (Matthew 18:20), "judge not lest you be judged" (Matthew 7:1), "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13) are but a few of the verses that are covered in the book. I think we can all admit that there have been times when we unknowingly took a verse out of context and used it because it seemed to "fit" a particular situation. But this book at aims at enlightening our minds about our favorite verses while also teaching us interpretive principles that are necessary in order to understand God's Word properly. I hope you will pick up a copy, available on most major bookstore chain websites.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764209361?ie=UTF8&ref=aw_bottom_links&force-full-site=1

http://www.christianbook.com/misused-verses-bible-surprising-word-misunderstood/eric-bargerhuff/9780764209369/pd/209369?item_code=WW&netp_id=935405&event=ESRCN&view=details