Showing posts with label Commanding the Hand of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commanding the Hand of God. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Directing God in Prayer?

The question came up our Tuesday a.m. Bible study this morning (after our prayer time and before we got into our study of 1Peter — actually, we ended up discussing this instead of studying 1 Peter) as to whether we direct God in prayer. During our discussion, I was reminded of a couple of things. One was Isaiah 45:11.
Thus says the LORD,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker;
“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands; you command me.”
I’ve blogged about this verse a few times in recent years:
An interesting passage in Genesis 2 also came to mind. It is after God formed man from the ground and puffed the breath of life from His own lips into Adam’s nostrils, and man became a “living being.” The Targum Onkelos, an ancient translation/commentary of the Hebrew Scriptures into Aramaic, renders this as “speaking spirit.” Just as God breathed out words, man was likewise created with that same capacity (see What Are You Naming Things?)

What interests me here is what happens next, when God brings the animals to Adam.
Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:19)
Notice carefully: God did not tell Adam what to name the animals. Instead, He brought them to him to see what he would name them. This was no small thing. Names are very important in the Bible. They impart identity and speak of destiny.

God authorized man from the beginning to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion over all creation. So it is significant that God did not micromanage Adam, telling him what to call the animals, but gave him room to operate in that larger mandate.

This speaks to me of personal relationship, with all of its give and take. Adam understood who he was in God and who God was in him and he operated freely in that understanding. God’s purpose was big in his heart (at least at that point) and he lived, not as a slave but as a son.

That is how I think of prayer, as a personal relationship with all of its give and take. God is not my slave, nor am I his — both of those ideas are faulty, ditches on either side of the road. Rather, He is my Father and I am His son. Prayer is about understanding who He is and what is His glory, learning who He is in me and who I am in Him, letting His purposes get big in my heart, then operating in that understanding. We plot, we plan, we strategize together. We talk about things that could be done, things that should be done and things that must be done. He gives me wisdom, guidance, direction; I claim the promises He has made and lay hold of the provisions He has given. It is a partnership we share together in the world, to see the will of God done on earth as it is in heaven. All this goes on in prayer with God, with King Jesus interceding by His blood (Hebrews 7:25) and the Holy Spirit laying hold and pulling together with me (Romans 8:26).

Friday, November 17, 2006

The Commanding Force of Prayer

Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; and concerning the works of My hands, you command Me.” (Isaiah 45:11)

Prayer puts God in full force into God's work. “Ask of Me things to come, concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me” — God's carte blanche to prayer. (E. M. Bounds, Purpose in Prayer)

The church seems almost wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this spiritual carte blanche on the infinite resources of God's wisdom and power is rarely, if ever, used. (E. M. Bounds, Purpose in Prayer)

Prayer brings God into the situation with commanding force. “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons,” says God, “and concerning the work of My hand command ye Me.” (E. M. Bounds, Winning the Invisible War)

Our prayers are God's decrees in another shape. The prayers of God's people are but God's promises breathed out of living hearts, and those promises are the decrees, only put into another form and fashion. Do not say, “How can my prayers affect the decrees of God?” They cannot, except to the degree that your prayers are decrees, and that as they come out, every prayer that is inspired of the Holy Ghost in your soul is as omnipotent and as eternal as that decree which said, “Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). (C. H. Spurgeon, The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life)

Faith in God so unites to God that it passes beyond the privilege of asking to the power of commanding. This language of Christ is not that of a request, however bold, but of a fiat … And so—marvelous fact! The child of God, laying hold by faith of the Power of the Omnipotent One, issues his fiat … Obey the Law of the Power and the Power obeys you. Conform to the Laws and modes of the Spirit’s operations, and in the work of God’s hands you may command the Spirit’s Power. (A. T. Pierson, Lessons in the School of Prayer, quoted in Moving Mountains, by Paul L. King)
When we begin to know the heart of God, we begin to understand the commanding force of prayer.

See also “Ask Me, Command Me,” Says the LORD and Commanding the Hand of God.

Friday, September 1, 2006

Commanding the Hand of God

Here are some notes from my study file on what Isaiah 45:11 means concerning commanding the hand of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; and concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.” (Isaiah 45:11 NKJV)
But there are also a few other renderings of this text. The New American Standard Bible has:
Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me the things to come concerning My sons, and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.”
The New International Version reads:
This is what the LORD says — the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?”
This reading is favored by the Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version, The Message, and the Bible in Basic English.

In addition to the New King James Version, the first translation, at the top, is also supported by the King James Version, the Jewish Publication Society Bible, Young’s Literal Translation, the Darby Bible, the Revised Version, Webster’s Bible Translation, the American Standard Version, and the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

There are also standard commentaries that support this rendering. Notice how they address the issue of commanding the hand of God:
It seems to me, however, that the word “command” is here to be taken rather as indicating the privilege of his people to present their desires in the language of fervent and respectful petition; and that God here indicates that he would, so to speak, allow them to direct him; that he would hear their prayers, and would conform the events of his administration to their wishes and their welfare. This is the most obvious interpretation; and this will perhaps suit the connection as well as any other. Instead of complaining, and opposing his administration, it was their privilege to come before him and spread out their needs, and even to give direction in regard to future events, so far as the events of his administration would bear on them, and he would meet their desires. Thus interpreted, it accords with the numerous passages of the Bible which command us to pray; and with the promises of God that he will lend a listening ear to our cries. (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

Instead of murmuring, humble yourselves and ask what you will for the consolation of my children, and you will be sure of it as you are of these things which are at your command. (Geneva Bible Translation Notes)

These words are not spoken to idolaters, or the idolatrous Jews, or those of them that were inclined to idolatry; directing them to ask of the Lord, and not of their idols, things to come, which they were not able to show, and to seek to him for, and insist upon the performance of his promises to them, his children, and creatures; but to the spiritual Israel of God, as the preface shows, directing them to inquire after things future, concerning his children and people, especially among the Gentiles, whom the carnal Jews despised; and to expect, and believe, and even, as it were, demand the performance of them, being promised and prophesied of ... The Lord not only allows his people to put him in remembrance of his promises and prophecies, but to plead for, and, as it were, require the performance of them; and so the words are an encouragement to the importunate prayer of faith. Faith in prayer has great power with God, a kind of command over him; it holds him to his word; it will not let him go without the blessing; nor let him alone till he has made good his promise; nor give him any rest, day nor night, till he has fulfilled the things to come concerning his sons. (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

Instead of striving with Me in regard to My purposes, your wisdom is in prayer to ask, and even command Me, in so far as it is for My glory, and for your real good. (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary)

They are invited to enquire concerning the issue of their troubles. The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, though he does not allow them to strive with him, yet encourages them, 1. To consult his word: “Ask of me things to come; have recourse to the prophets and their prophecies, and see what they say concerning these things. Ask the watchmen, What of the night? Ask them, How long?” Things to come, as far as they are revealed, belong to us and to our children, and we must not be strangers to them. 2. To seek unto him by prayer: “Concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands, which as becomes them submit to the will of their Father, the will of their potter, ‘command you me,’ not by way of prescription, but by way of petition. Be earnest in your requests, and confident in your expectations, as far as both are guided by and grounded upon the promise.” We may not strive with our Maker by passionate complaints, but we may wrestle with him by faithful and fervent prayer. (Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible)
(See also “Ask Me, Command Me,” Says the LORD and Reminding God)

Friday, July 29, 2005

"Ask Me, Command Me," Says the LORD

Thus says the LORD,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker;
“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands;
you command me.”
(Isaiah 45:11)
Here is a verse that makes a lot of Christians uncomfortable. Everyone is cool with “ask Me.” It’s when they get to “command Me,” that they start to get wobbly. They think, “Are we supposed to boss God around?”

No, that’s the kind of question people ask who don’t understand what intimate personal relationships are about. For them, to command means to insist that someone do something that is against their will. We need to grow up.

God is love, and the nature of love is to give and serve. When we get close to God and begin to understand His heart, our heart will become more like His, and we will begin to understand that this is about relationship, not about religion, rules or regulations.

In Isaiah 45:11, the word “ask” means to inquire, request, or even demand. Now, to demand does not mean to be controlling, abrasive, abusive, belligerent or petulant. It simply means to lay claim to or call for something. You might notice on any check you write or receive that is says, “Pay to the order of ...”

That check is a promise to pay the sum specified. The bearer of the check then demands that which has already been promised. He does this by endorsing the check and ultimately presenting it to the bank and account upon which it has been drawn. The demand presents no breach to the authority of the person who issued the check. In fact, the demand actually acknowledges and honors the sovereignty of the check writer.

For another example, if my father promises to do such and such a thing for me at such and such a time, it does him no dishonor when I go to him and say, “Poppa, the time has come. Do what you have promised.” Rather, it honors him because it honors his freely given word.

In the same way, God has made certain promises to His people. Therefore, to demand — to lay claim to or call for — that which He has promised does not in any way take away from the fact that He is God and that He is sovereign. No, it actually honors His sovereignty and pleases Him greatly. For it is taking God at His Word — and that is what faith is all about. In fact, it displeases God when we do not make demand on His promises. For without faith, the Bible says, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

The use of “command” in Isaiah 45:11 operates in the same way. It is not about bossing God around or getting Him to do anything against His will. It is about taking Him at His Word and honoring His authority by exercising the authority He has given to us. We command what He has promised.

So how do we know what that authority is? How do we know what we can call for and lay claim to? How do we discover what we can demand of Him and command His hand concerning?

One word: Ask.

The LORD says, “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons.” The Bible says that if you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the right to be called a “son of God” (John 1:12). God has also made certain promises concerning you and you have the right to ask what those are. And if you ask, God will tell you. He will reveal it to you in His Word and by His Spirit.

Don’t be afraid to ask God what He has promised concerning His children. Then boldly go to Him and command His hand concerning those promises.

(See also Commanding the Hand of God?)