Think Wink.

I have been enjoying Peter Symthe’s blog, The Real Faith, ever since he posted about my idea to may be utilize Sunday School as an avenue to teach the common lay person about the biblical languages of Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic. He is skeptical of it, like most people I have talked to in person. But like I said, I don’t think Sunday School is where it was intended to be but is just time to have weak devotions before the main service(s). One of the things that has caught my interest is his discussion of the Word of Faith movement. Most of the people I have heard espouse this theology are guys like Joel Osteen, Benny Henn, Kenneth Copelan, etc. who have lost a large piece of orthodox Christianity for the sake of this new theology. Joel Osteen does not like to preach about sin because it is too negative and people don’t like that. If it were up to fallen man, really the only things out of the Bible that they would listen to is that God is love and do to others as you would have them do to you. You would not think too kindly of a doctor who did not tell you you had cancer until it was too late when he could have told you and started you on treatment when the cancer was treatable. Peter has done a nice job of arguing with real and sound exegesis. Something that the aforementioned TBN stars lack in their preaching and teaching.

Now he has said something that I have a problem with and I want to talk about on his post Reconstructing Word of Faith Theology - Part 3. In the post he writes,

The New Testament believer is bestowed various rights and privileges for being “in Christ.” (see Eph. 1:3). One of those rights/privileges is answered prayer according to I John 5:14, 15. Those verses state that prayer is answered the moment it is prayed, not when God “sovereignly” desires whether or not He decides to honor His Word. Another one of those rights/privileges is Mark 11:23 which says that he who “believes that what he says comes into being, it will be for him.” (My Greek translation). In both of these instances, the believer must speak words in order for the spiritual reality, whatever it is, to become manifested materially. There is no fruit to these promises without the use of human lips. Vreeland might not like that because it seems to be fidecentric (his word, not mine), but there is no getting around that.

My main problem comes from the line “One of those rights/privileges is answered prayer according to I John 5:14, 15. Those verses state that prayer is answered the moment it is prayed, not when God “sovereignly” desires whether or not He decides to honor His Word.” I feel very uncomfortable with the way he comes across with this text of 1 John 5:14-15. He seems to me to be saying that whatever we pray for God will give us. There is a major qualification in 1 John 5:14 which says, “if we ask anything according to his will.” We must ask according to the will of God and if we do that then he will answer that prayer. So in one sense Peter is right to say that God does not chose to not honor his word. If he promised something in the Scripture, then we can take it to the bank. However to say that we can pray for whatever we want and God will just automatically honor it is not biblical. Another example is Mark 11:25, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” We are to pray for forgiveness, not vengeance upon those we have a wrong against. Whatever is not a universal in every case.

Now this moves us further, how can we know the will of God to pray according to it? In most situations, you do not know what God’s will is. I am looking for a job in KC and am praying for one. My friend has set me up with an interview to work with him at UPS–which pays for all of my tuition at MBTS so pray that God may give me this job. However, I do not know if this is the job God wants me to have. I don’t know what his will is for this job and for me. I just don’t know. The truth is most of life is like that. We don’t know what God’s will is for us. We might have an idea and we the Bible to tell us what God has said his will is. But in our individual situations, we just don’t know. Therefore I cannot pray according to God’s will in every situation.

But God has provided for us in this. Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Though we do not know what to pray for and though we do not pray as we ought to pray–namely according to God’s will in every situation–the Spirit does. He intercedes with groanings to deep for words. He prays on our behalf because we often don’t know what to pray for. He does know and prays for us according to God’s will.

Thus I do say that we should pray because we know that we should pray for will be heard by God and he will answer that prayer. He hears what needs to be heard and gives the answer that we need, not that we often think we want. Why? Because as Romans 8:28-30 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” All who love God, who are called by God can know that God works all things out for their good. For them he has foreknown them from all eternity in a personal way and thus has predestined them and called them and justified them and glorified them. I am confident that when I pray God answers my prayer in the way that is best. I am not confident in my ability to pray according to God’s will for I don’t always know it. I am not confident that how I think a prayer should be answered is because I don’t know how God will answer that prayer and what is the best way to answer that prayer.

If I have miss read Mr. Smythe, I am always up for correction. I only write this because I don’t like the feeling I get from his post. I have really enjoyed reading him and his Word of Faith ideas. I pray that many more preachers and believers who hold to WOF will be able to make such a credible defense as Peter Smythe has. This will allow those of us who do not hold to this doctrine to have a meaningful conversation about real issues dealing with the Scriptures with those who do hold to this doctrine.

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