HOW TO REASON WITH GOD IN PRAYER?
Isaiah 1:18
God has from time to time invited men to reason with him (Genesis 18:23-32; Micah 6:2-4).
The possibilty of reasoning with God in prayer is seen often in the Scriptures (II Kings 19:14-20 is such an example). I want to shew you some tactics that man can use to reason with God in the matter of prayer.
I. Constrain God with His promises
II Samuel 7:25 David prayed for what he had been promised
"He is faithful that has promised"
Ponder His promises and let your faith in it blossom into a prayer for it. What God has said shows us what we should ask. Verse 28 states, "Thy words are true and thou hast promised this goodness unto they servant."
When our prayers are according to the Divine promises, we should be absolutely cetain of their success.
A. God’s ability
He is able to do as he has said.
B. God’s attitude
God is most willing to do what he has promised.
His promises spring from his love to us and express what He is most desirous of conferring upon us.
II. Confront God with His reputation
Numbers 14:11-16
"Our best pleas are founded on the prayer, ’Hallowed be thy name.’"
See Isaiah 48:11.
II Kings 32: 16,17 with II Kings 19:14-19
III. Challenge God with His attributes
"God is not a man, that he should lie.....hath he said, and shall he not do it?" He cannot lie. His word bind’s Him to his promise.
Genesis 18:23-25
Daniel 9:13-19
IV. Compel God with His Son
John 16:23
Praying in the name of the Jesus prevails with God. This simply means that you ask a thing from the person of whom you ask it, on the ground of some claim that the person in whose name you ask it has upon the one from whom you ask it. It means going to the bank of heaven, on which neither you, I, nor any other man on earth has any claim of his own, but upon which Jesus Christ has infinte claim.
Dear Dr. Torrey,
I am in great preplexity. I have been praying for a long time for something taht Iam confident is according to God’s will, but I do not get it. I have been a member of the Presbyterain Chruch for thirty years and heave tried to be a consistent one all the time. I have been Superintendent in Sunday School for 25 years and an elder in the chruch for 20 years, and yet God does not answer my prayer. I cannot understand it. Can you explain it to me?
It is perfectly easy to explain. No man deserves anything from God. However, Jesus has great claims on God . You don’t receive from the Father on the grounds of your own personal goodness or service, but on the ground of Jesus Christ’s claims alone.
Petition the Father on the merits of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son
Conclusion:
We can reason with God in prayer. God invites us to reason with him. YOu can reason with God and win if you observe the four tactics that I have given you.
