Randy's Virtual Classroom

A Prayer for a friend who is ill.

Of course, it it is always preferable to pray with people in person. However in our modern society many times her friends are far away. Frequently the only communication is e-mail. How can you pray for someone over e-mail? I think you can. I think in these sorts of circumstances is effective and even powerful, God willing, to write out your prayer and send it to them so that they know exactly what you prayed. .

Below is an example of such a prayer that I sent to someone very far away yet very dear to my heart.

Our Heavenly Father,
This morning I lift before you my dear friend, who has been told she will have surgery. I ask that you hear my prayers on behalf of her and that you grant my requests, in the name of Jesus.
Father, I ask that you will relieve her of any pain or suffering she may presently be experiencing.
I also ask that you give her peace of mind, courage and relief from anxiety that certainly must be facing her.
If there is even the tiniest shadow of a doubt in her mind about her total assurance of salvation through your Son Jesus Christ’s death through the cross, please cast all such doubts away and grant her total and complete faith in you, faith that springs forth unto eternal life.
Please give her doctors utmost skill, knowledge, care and consideration for her leading up to the surgery, during the surgery and during recovery.
I pray that your divine guidance will prevent any errors of knowledge or judgment and that your divine hand will prevent any mistakes being made during the procedures and that the procedures will be successful and complete.
I also pray for her whole family. I ask that you give them all faith and comfort to endure this trial with her and that you give them wisdom and patience to help her prepare for and undergo this trial.
Father, I recognize that sometimes your will is beyond our finding out and that sometimes you have other better things in mind for your children which we may not know or even understand. However, I trust your promise that all things will work together for good for those that love God and are called according to your purpose.
I also believe your promise that when we ask for a thorn in the flesh to be removed and it is not removed, that this is so that in our own weakness, we should be made strong, strong by relying only upon you and to the glory of your name.
Heavenly, Father, you promised us also that if we ask anything in the name of Jesus that is according to your will that you will grant us our requests and hold no good thing back from us. Believing that promise, I ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son and my Lord.

Blog # 18: “Less Tips; More Verses”

Have you noticed the recent trend? I’m referring to is the now commonplace practice of preachers to package their sermons as tips for living. How often are we tempted with “seven secrets for overcoming sin” or “six steps toward a stronger prayer life” or “principles of Christian marriage”‘ or “the path toward true discipleship”?

It seems that once those who thought their job was explaining the word of God now consider themselves part of the same trade union as therapists, psychiatrists and psychologists. Has Christianity become a self-help guru bonanza?

The majority of what I see on television or on the book covers at the airport is not radical or even erroneous, but there’s just something about all those messages and all those sermons (and all those “deluxe CD or DVD albums”) that really bothers me.

When you listen to these sermons, although they are given by Godly men, you are lucky if you hear a scant reference to a Scripture here and there, or perhaps the whole hour is based on one verse. Now mind you, that’s not an hour of exegesis and exposition of that verse, it’s an hour of tips, secrets or principles created by the preacher, largely using anecdotes from daily life or observations the person has made.

There are a couple of exceptions of course. J. Vernon McGee’s Through the Bible program being most notable one and the fact that it’s on everywhere, several times a day now many years after McGee went to be with the Lord shows both the enduring nature of real Bible exposition and the demand for it. Also, the Calvary Chapel radio programs are much better about expositing the Bible.

Why do these men, mostly sound in their theology, good students of the Bible, and sometimes shepherds of congregations numbering in the thousands seem to feel the need to add so much to the Bible? Don’t they feel that the Bible is sufficient? Don’t they think their listeners will understand the Bible or perhaps not return to listening to the program?

Is it a motive to sell CDs and books that causes this phenomenon? Have marketing gurus advised our radio preachers that a book entitled “Exposition of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians” won’t sell a single copy, but “Seven Secrets to Strengthen Your Marriage” will sell a million copies? Is this the law of supply and demand at work here?

Last time I checked, faith came by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I’d like a new movement to spring up in evangelical churches today. We have the inerrancy of Scripture; now let’s have the sufficiency of Scripture. Shall we?

Some Worldly Wisdom Commonly Confused with Romans 8:28.

“all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose”

Romans 8:28 doesn’t mean:

1. “Every cloud has a silver lining.”

The “good” in Romans 8:28 is not in the things themselves, it’s in their divine purpose.

2. “Things just have a way of working themselves out for the best.”

Romans 8:28 is not about benevolent fate, it’s about a personal God who takes care of those who love him.

3. “If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade”.

Romans 8:28 is not a command, it’s a promise. The good that God purposes in the lives of the called is not dependant on human efforts.

4. “God helps those who help themselves.”

God’s promise in Romans 8:28 is unconditional and applies to those who are called and love God, not those who are self reliant.

5. “Trust God, but keep your powder dry.”

There are no exceptions or surprises for God. He works all things together for his good purposes.”

6. “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”

We can be assured that the things in our lives truly work for good, even if they appear not to.

Common Recent Misuse of Romans 8:28:

At ecumenical ceremony honoring those who died on 9/11, speaker saying “All things work together for good.”

Several important elements are missing from this misquote:

It’s not fate or the things themselves, it’s God who does the working.

It’s not a promise for everybody, but for the called/those who love God.

It’s not our perceptions of good and evil (as in “How can God let that happen?) it’s God’s good according to his purpose, which we may never know or understand (Deut 29:29).