Quote:
Originally Posted by kumbaya
Thank you for posting this. I've realized some of these things but have a ways to go. Specifically, with praying. Sometimes I don't know where to start. I feel like I'm on ground zero now with God.
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And yet... Scripture tells us that our Lord said...
Matthew 13:11... "And He answered and said to them, Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been given."
And Paul, who is thought to be the author of most of the new testament scripture, scripture tells us, says this...
Galatians 1:12... "For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation by Jesus Christ."
So why do you think you would be at "...on ground zero now with God..." given the realities revealed in the above (and many other) scripture verses being true?
Do you not think that God wants you to know what to pray for?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kumbaya
I appreciate you saying, "God is not a substance to be dispensed into your being." This is something I've heard my whole life- I want to go back and read every verse the LC uses to justify this and see what the verses REALLY say.
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And yet...
Scripture tells us right at the very beginning of scripture...
Genesis 2:7... "Jehovah God formed man with the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."
How can that which "...is not a substance to be dispensed into your being...", breath Himself into that which He created, causing this creature to become "..a living soul...".
And more...
Scripture tells us...
Ecclesiastes 12:7... "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it."
And if for some reason you don't think what the old testament scripture tells us is relevant to us... Let's look at what new testament scripture says on the matter...
2 Corinthians 13:5... "Test yourselves whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves. Or do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are disapproved?"
From Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible...
"...prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you; by which he means, that if they took a survey of things in their own souls, it would appear that Christ was in them; not as he is in all the world, filling heaven and earth with his presence; or as he is in every rational creature, as the Creator and author of the light of nature; but in a special and spiritual manner, by his Spirit and grace; the Father reveals him in his people, as the foundation of their hope of glory; he himself enters and takes possession of their hearts in conversion, communicates his grace, and manifests himself, and is formed there by his Spirit; his graces are implanted, his image is stamped, his Spirit is put within them, and he himself dwells by faith: and this upon inquiry would be found to be the case of the Corinthians,..."
This in particular...
"...he himself enters and takes possession of their hearts in conversion, communicates his grace, and manifests himself, and is formed there by his Spirit; his graces are implanted, his image is stamped, his Spirit is put within them, and he himself dwells by faith: and this upon inquiry would be found to be the case of the Corinthians,..."
And Matthew Henry Commentary...
"...They ought to know if Christ Jesus was in them, by the influences, graces, and indwelling of his Spirit, by his kingdom set up in their hearts. Let us question our own souls; either we are true Christians, or we are deceivers. Unless Christ be in us by his Spirit, and power of his love, our faith is dead, and we are yet disapproved by our Judge."
And Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers...
"..."Christ is in you" (the central thought of the Apostle's teaching; Galatians 1:16; Ephesians 2:22; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:27),..."
Galatians 1:16... "But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,... To reveal His Son in me that I might announce Him as the gospel among the Gentiles, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood,..."
Ephesians 2:22... "In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit."
Ephesians 3:19... "And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God."
And if the above scripture verses are not enough, how about...
Colossians 1:27... "To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,..."
And there are many more.
Perhaps your problem regarding not knowing what to pray... Is a direct result of not believing that God... Is... As substance that is dispensed into your being.
Not a "...substance..." that has been created... But an uncreated, mysterious "...substance...".
As scripture tells us our Lord said...
John 4:24... "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness."
Amen.