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Prayer Doesn’t Work?

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Some time ago a team of scientists decided to test the power of prayer in relation to healing the sick. They took a group of sick people and divided it in two. One half of the group would receive prayer, the other would not, and neither group would know whether they were the receivers or the non-receivers. They then asked people around the world to pray for the first group. At the end of the experiment, the group which had received prayer had not made any better recovery than the group that had not, so the scientists in all their wisdom concluded that prayer for the sick simply does not work.

What could have caused this outcome? Very simply, the terms of reference given to those who were asked to pray. They were told to pray to whatever god or supreme being or spiritual force they worshiped. Thus many prayed to false gods, some prayed to dead people, and some “prayed” to no god at all, simply “directing good wishes” toward those for whom they were praying. No wonder it didn’t work!

In a very real sense, the scientists’ conclusion was right: Prayer doesn’t work! There is nothing in the act of prayer itself which has any ability to release power into any situation, other than the psychological comfort of “having prayed”.

The power is not in the prayer, but in the One to whom the prayer is addressed.

We see this graphically illustrated in the Old Testament in the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). All day these false prophets danced around, shouting and even cutting themselves in an effort to get Baal’s attention. If prayer worked, the outcome of this story would have been very different than it is! The point of the story is, you can’t get the attention of someone who does not exist. If the object of your prayer is not real, then you can pray till you turn blue, but you will never get an answer! Likewise, if the object of your prayer has no power, then no amount of prayer will invest it with power. Prayer, in and of itself, does not work.

How different when Elijah prayed! He did not need to scream and shout and jump around. He simply presented his cause to the Living God, and God’s power – not the power of Elijah’s prayer – did the rest.

Prayer is like a pipeline. When the pipeline is connected to a water supply, you can turn on the tap and expect to get water. If the pipeline is connected to nothing, then no matter how fully you turn on the tap, nothing will flow.

The flip side of that, of course, is that even when the pipeline is connected to the right Source, we still need to turn on the tap. The water will not flow until we do.

There is only one God. He is the God of the Bible, the God who manifested Himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only source of life, of wholeness, of power, of supply, and of every other good thing. If you are praying to any other god, your prayers will not work. Your pipeline is connected to emptiness.

If, however, you have a relationship with the Living God through the Lord Jesus Christ, then your prayers to Him have the ability to release His power into whatever situation you are bringing before Him.

Very simply, prayer in itself doesn’t work. Our God does.

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The Book of Hebrews Part 3

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1:4 having become as much better than the angels as the more excellent name he has inherited is better theirs.

This verse begins the writer’s argument as to the superiority of Christ over the angels. This is very important, for several reasons:

Firstly, the Jews believed that the Law had been given through the mediation of angels (Acts 7:53) as well as the human mediation of Moses. By demonstrating that Christ is superior to both of these, he will set the stage to later demonstrate that the covenant enacted through Christ is greater than the old Covenant.

Secondly, the culture of the day, both Jewish and Gentile, saw angels as having a central and vital role in spiritual life. Some of the Jewish rabbis even taught that when God, in Genesis 1:26, said, “Let us make man in our own image,” He was consulting with the angelic council, and that they were part of the creation process. The pagan religions conferred upon angels a kind of demi-god status.

Thirdly, at least some level of worship of angels was considered acceptable, even among the Jews (although they would only be worshiped as messengers and representatives of God, not in their own right.) Paul warns against this in Colossians 2:18. It was clearly understood, however, that the angels themselves worshiped only God. Thus, by establishing that Christ receives the worship of angels, the writer is subtly establishing the divinity of Christ.

The word “better” used at the beginning of this verse is not talking about moral excellence, but about Christ’s position – He who once was made ” a little lower than the angels” (see 2:7 and Psalm 8:5) has now been exalted far above them.

Of course, this does not in any way negate the fact that, in His pre-incarnate state, He was eternally higher than the angels. However, Hebrews is not just about the essential divinity of Christ, but about His work as man and the effects of that work. In verse 3, it was as a result of His effective dealing with sin that He was exalted to the right hand of the Father. It is in this exaltation that He has been placed far above every angel.

Although the writer does not make the point here, we can understand that this includes the fallen angels as well as the holy angels. In fact, if Christ is exalted above those angels who have maintained a holy state, how much more is He above those who have fallen! When we face the attacks of the enemy, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by his power. At those times we need to remember that Christ is exalted above him.

The second “better” in this verse, referring to the Name that Christ has received, is a different Greek word, and means “more excellent”. Not only has He been given a higher position than any angel, He has been given a more excellent name.

In ancient times, a name was far more than a “handle.” A person’s name embodied all that person was, his character and destiny, and also carried the authority of the person himself. Thus, in many places through Scripture, we see God change the name of an individual to more accurately reflect his potential and destiny. In saying that Christ’s name is more excellent than that of angels, the writer is saying that everything about Christ’s character is more excellent, and that His authority is greater.

There is a parallel here with Philippians 2:9-11, and as in those verses the writer does not spell out what the “Name” is. It cannot be simply Jesus, for then and now many people in the world are called by that name. In fact, even Barabbas, the terrorist who was set free rather than Christ at the time of the crucifixion, bore the first name Jesus. Neither can it be Christ, for Jesus Himself said that many false Christs would rise up. Whilst there is a good case for the full title of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Name given for the use of believers, the writer here seems to have something different in mind. Here the Name is not about His relationship with His followers, but about that with His Father. Here, the Name above all names is “Son.”

A word needs to be said about the term “inheritance.” In the Greek, this does not imply simply something received after the death of a benefactor, but something obtained from another rather than taken for oneself.

v. 5. For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son. Today I have become your father?” and again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?”

Unfortunately, some of the cults have picked up on this verse and tried to use it to say that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but only became God’s Son at a particular time in His ministry (some say at His baptism, some at His resurrection.) Thus they relegate Him to the position of an adopted son, and vastly inferior to the Father.

The writer, however, has made it abundantly clear in the preceding verses that Christ is in every way equal to the Father, sharing fully His nature and His power. He has for all eternity been God the Son.

Yet there was a point at which God the Son had to become the Son of God. In ancient times, when a king was appointing his son as his heir and therefore as ruler over the kingdom, a ceremony would take place in which the heir apparent was publicly declared as the true son of the king and rightful heir of the kingdom. (See 1 Kings 1:7-40).

Both the Old Testament passages quoted here refer to this. The first is from Psalm 2:7. Although the rabbis at times interpreted the “son” here as Aaron, David or even the nation of Israel, as we read this Psalm in the light of the New Testament it is clearly messianic. Verse 6, immediately before the verse quoted in Hebrews, says, “I have installed My king on Zion, My holy hill.” The Father has declared Christ as Son, and appointed Him as King over the kingdom.

The second quotation in the verse comes from two Old Testament passages, 2 Samuel 7:11-16 and 1Chronicles 17:10-14. Both record the word of the Lord to David, telling him that he was not the one to build a house for the Lord, but that the Lord would build him a “house” through his son. There is a very interesting difference between the two passages. The first clearly refers to David’s immediate, natural son, Solomon. It speaks of God punishing him if he does wrong. The second, however, is obviously messianic. It makes no mention of sin and punishment, but rather declares that “I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever. His throne will be established forever.” Obviously, such a promise could not be applied to any earthly king! Here again, because of his relationship with the father, the son is established as legitimate ruler over the kingdom.

The Bible does at times refer to both angels and people as “sons” of God. Nowhere, however, does it confer upon any individual apart from Christ this unique form of sonship, which is about both relationship and inheritance. Christ alone is God the Son, and in this unique sense Christ alone is the Son of God.

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Two Deaths

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I heard about two deaths in the last week. The first was of a dear old saint who passed into glory at the venerable age of 105 after a brief bout of pneumonia. The second was a young woman in her 30s who had lived in defiance of God and His standards and who passed from this life after a protracted battle with cancer.

Before they died, both women expressed the desire to go. How different, though, were those desires!

The first wanted to go TO … to go to the Lord and Savior whom she had loved and served for over 80 years. She looked forward to seeing Him face to face, and to enjoying His presence for all eternity. And she knew that, each in his or her own time, all those she knew and loved here on earth would be joining her.

The second woman just wanted to go FROM … to go from the pain and suffering that she had endured for years, and that was overwhelming her life. At the same time, she believed that she would also be going from all those she loved. She did not expect that she would ever see them again after she closed her eyes for the final time. She did not look forward to going to anything. All that she expected after her passing was blackness, emptiness, non-existence.

The sad reality, though, is that this second woman was not passing into an empty non existence. She would go on existing, and even though the physical pain of her body was being left behind, having rejected Christ in her life she would now pass to the far greater pain of a Christless eternity.

Of course, there is always the possibility that Jesus revealed Himself to her in those last moments of life, and that she came to repentance and faith, in which case she would now be rejoicing with the elderly saint in the presence of her new-found King.

The important question is, what about you? When your time comes, will you be going TO or going FROM? We don’t like to think about death, but sooner or later it will come to each one of us. This life is very short and temporary, but beyond the gate of death lies eternity, and where we spend it will depend upon the choices we have made in this life.

If you are not certain what eternity will hold for you, you can be. The first thing to understand is that we all fall short of the standard God sets. God calls that sin, and sin will keep us out of heaven. However, God wanted us to spend eternity with Him, so the second Person of the Godhead became man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, lived a sinless life (i.e., a life that totally lived up to God’s standards) and then allowed Himself to be hung on a cross to pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind. After three days He rose again in victory, and because of His sacrifice God’s grace is extended to anyone who will accept it.

There is nothing you can do to earn God’s grace. You cannot work for it; you cannot buy it with money; you cannot be ‘good enough’ to deserve it. It is offered to you freely. To receive it you need to repent (acknowledge your failings and be willing for God to change you) and accept it by faith, accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.

When your time comes, don’t be like the second woman, escaping from life to an eternity that will be far worse than anything you could experience here on earth. Be like the first woman, moving on to an eternity of joy in the glorious presence of your Lord.

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Prayers God Cannot Answer

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(Today’s post on prayer is an article I wrote a long time ago, but which is still relevant.*)

Johnny knelt by his bed. “God bless mummy and daddy, grandma and grandpa, aunt Jenny, and I guess You’d better bless my sister, too,” he rattled off the list.

Then he closed his eyes tight, and pressed his hands together hard. “And please, God,” he pleaded with all the intensity he could muster, “make Paris the capital of Italy before Teacher marks my geography exam!”

I was reminded of Johnny some years ago when I drove past a church with a For Sale sign at the front. Without even thinking, I prayed “Lord, let it be for sale because they have grown too big for the building, and not because they have shrunk and are closing down.”

As soon as I said the words, I realised how foolish they were.

I had been taught that God always answers prayer. Sometimes He says yes, sometimes no and sometimes wait. It was a comforting thought, and one I had preached on several times.

Unfortunately, as I matured in God, I learned that it just isn’t true! Whether we like it or not, there are some prayers which God will not, indeed cannot, answer.

PRAYERS PRAYED IN SIN AND REBELLION

Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us, “the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

Access to the ear of God is not the common right of humanity, but a privilege extended by the King of kings to those who are in covenant relationship with Him.

He is not a dog, to come when we whistle, nor a vending machine which must give up the goods if only we press the right button!

Rather, He is the Lord of all, who deals with His people solely out of His grace, and not because of any antecedent obligation on His part.

Those who scorn His Lordship, flout His laws, and spurn His grace can hardly expect to have Him do their bidding when they call.

Many people disregard God all their lives. Then, when they need something, they pray. When no results are forthcoming, they cry, “There is no God! He didn’t answer my prayer!”

What presumption! Why should God answer prayers offered in such a state? For Him to do so would be to make man God, and reduce Himself to the level of man’s servant.

PRAYERS PRAYED CONTRARY TO GOD’S WILL

There is an interesting story in 2 Chronicles 18 where Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, had entered an unholy alliance with Ahab, the king of Israel, and together they planned to attack Ramoth Gilead.

Having received favourable replies from all of Ahab’s false prophets, Jehoshaphat insisted that they inquire of a prophet of the Lord. Ahab replied that there was still one man, Micaiah, son of Imlah, “But I hate him, because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad” (verse 7).

Micaiah was duly summoned, and advised to tell Ahab what he wanted to hear. He dismissed this, declaring boldly that he would say only what the Lord gave him.

Nevertheless, when he confronted Ahab he did initially tell him what he wanted to hear: “Attack and be victorious!”

The ruse worked, for Ahab responded, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord!”

Unrighteous Ahab knew that this pleasing word was not from God. He knew before Micaiah spoke what the Lord was going to say. However, when Micaiah gave him God’s true message, he still rejected it!

Many people know what God has said in His Word on certain issues, yet they still pray contrary to that Word, in the vain hope that God will consider their case so special that He will make an exception.

It won’t happen!

Many have heard from God for their own lives, yet they pray contrary to the will He has thus revealed. Sorry, it won’t work! God has a plan for your life. You can either go with it, or rebel against it, but God will not change His plan.

PRAYERS PRAYED FROM WRONG MOTIVES.

James warns us, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend it all on your pleasures.” (4:3)

Unfortunately, “faith” teaching has told people that they can have anything they set their minds on, if they just believe enough. You want a Mercedes, fine, just “name it and claim it” or “blab it and grab it” and it will be yours.

God, however, looks into our hearts at the motive for such a request. Do you want a Mercedes to be a nice pillow for your ego, your pride – to put you one rung above the neighbours?

Don’t expect God to give it to you. Pride is sin, and for God to give you something to feed that pride would make Him an accessory to your sin.

PRAYERS WHICH ARE PRAYED TOO LATE

This brings me to my own foolish prayer, and to Johnny’s frantic plea for the relocation of Paris. Such prayers God cannot answer: they have been prayed too late. Little Johnny should have been praying (not to mention studying) before the exam, not after, and the time to pray for a church is long before it closes its doors.

In Jeremiah we find the chilling words, “Do not pray for this people, nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress” (11:14).

Do not pray! What an awesome command!

As an intercessor, only once has God forbidden me to pray for a particular person. That was some years ago, but even now I shudder to think about it, for when God says “don’t pray” it means that person or situation has gone beyond the limits of His grace, and that judgement is inevitable. It is too late.

Some time ago in a nursing home I saw a framed poem called “Give Them the Flowers Now”. It spoke of how many elderly people receive floral tributes after their death, although they have not received visits or even letters – let alone flowers – for many years before their death. It urged the reader to give them the flowers now while they can appreciate them, for after they have died it is too late.

The same applies to prayer. Ten minutes after Uncle Fred dies is too late to pray for him to come to Jesus. Pray for him now, while there is time. God dwells in eternity, but He answers our prayers only in the time frame in which we live.

PRAYERS WHICH ARE NOT PRAYED

Awesome as it is to us, God has granted man free will, and acts in the affairs of man accordingly.

Thus we find in Ezekiel the sorrowful cry from God’s heart, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out My wrath on them, and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their heads all they have done” (Ezekiel 22:30-31).

If ever our world stood in need of intercessors, of men and women to stand in the gap, it is today.

Our nations are torn apart with corruption from the highest levels of society to the lowest; drugs, immorality and occultism are destroying young and old alike; we bear the bloodguilt of millions of aborted children; “Jesus” and “Christ” are to many nothing more than obscenities. Our world needs God.

We, the church of the living God, must get our act together. We must deal with sin in our lives so that we can bring our prayers before the Throne of Grace. We must pray, in accordance with the will of God and from the purest of motives, for our world. We must pray now, before it is to late. We must pray.

(* Adapted from an article which first appeared in On Being , August 1992, under the author’s then name of Lynn Cox.)

 

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The Book of Hebrews Part 2

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Continuing with our study of the book of Hebrews.

1:3 His Son is the radiance of his glory,

The picture being presented here is that of the sun and sunlight. The sunlight is distinct from the sun, yet it is an expression of the sun’s nature. Without the sun there would be no sunlight, but without sunlight the sun would not be visible. In the same way, God the Son, though distinct from the Father, shares and expresses the nature of the Father. Without Him, we could never have known all that God was like. Nature gave us some hint of God’s greatness and intelligence, but only through Jesus did we really see His grace, His mercy, His holiness, and His plan of salvation for mankind.

The two words translated as “brightness” and “glory” are exactly parallel, implying an absolute equality. The brightness which is inherent to the sun, and the brightness which shines out from the sun, are identical. Jesus is not only the expression of the Father’s nature, He is a partaker of that nature.

The phrase also introduces a theme which the writer will pick up later. When Moses came down from the mountain where he had received the tablets of the Law from God, his face shone with the reflection of God’s glory, so much so that he had to put a veil over his face until the glory subsided. Christ, however, did not merely reflect God’s glory, but shone forth that glory from within Himself. Unlike Moses, His glory would never fade. Thus, the writer ever-so-unobtrusively begins the theme that Christ is greater than Moses.

the very image of his substance,

Here the image changes to that of a seal making an impression on a clay tablet. When the seal, often worn as a ring on the owner’s hand, was pressed into the soft clay, it left behind an exact impression. It was not merely “similar to” the seal, it was exactly the same. Likewise Jesus was not merely “like” the Father. He was exactly the same. The word translated “image” is the one from which our word “character” is derived. Jesus showed forth the character of the Father perfectly, exactly as if people had looked at the Father Himself. (“If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” John 14:9).

The word “person” refers to the substance, or essential nature of God. Early theologians argued about whether Jesus was “the same substance” as God, or merely “a similar substance”. The writer to the Hebrews had no doubt: Jesus was an exact manifestation of the substance of God.

In the Old Testament, God had forbidden the people to make any images representing Him. Now He has sent one who is not merely a representation or an image, as man would make it, but an exact picture of Himself complete in every detail.

upholding all things by the word of his power

These ten words bring us one of the most powerful and awesome concepts in the Bible. The writer has already told us in verse 2 that the universe was made through the Son. Now he goes further and says that it is the Son Who holds it all together, and He does it by nothing more than a word.

Scientists have searched in vain for the source of the cohesion in the universe. In a desperate attempt to explain it all they have come up with concepts like “dark matter” and “dark energy”, saying that although we cannot actually measure these things, they must be there because they see their effects (funny, but they laugh at us if we use a similar argument for the existence of God!) Yet all along the explanation has been right here. “Dark Energy” and “Dark Matter” are a person, God the Son.

The phrasing of this is typical of Hebrew references to the power of God, and the Jewish readers of this letter would have been no doubt that the writer was stating unequivocally that Jesus was God.

when he had by himself purified us of our sins

Again, the writer introduces with a simple statement a theme he will develop later. Under the Old Covenant, sin had been covered by the blood of the animals brought for sacrifice at the Temple. Later, the writer will show how those sacrifices could never be sufficient to truly deal with sin. For now, he simply points out that Jesus did not use such sacrifices. He dealt with our sins “by Himself” – by offering Himself, the only sacrifice that was sufficient to truly take away sin.

There is an awesome irony in the juxtaposition of this and the preceding phrase: the One who holds the universe together with a word delivered His own body to death on our behalf!

“By Himself” also gives us a sense of the aloneness of Christ’s sacrifice. There was no-one else with Him. There was nothing we could do to add to His sacrifice, nothing we could contribute. He alone bore the full weight of sin’s burden, not just for one individual, not just for a few, but for every person who has lived since Adam, and every one who will live up to the last baby ever born on planet earth.

What’s more, in dealing with sin He did a complete work. He didn’t merely cover up sin. He didn’t merely excuse it. He didn’t even merely forgive it. He purged it – that is, He drew it out (onto Himself) as impurities are drawn out of metal in the furnace, and took it away completely. Thus, when we come to Him we are not just forgiven for our sins, we are justified: declared to be legally “not guilty”.

sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Twice in Scripture God declares His work to be finished. The first time was at the end of the creation week, when not only the visible universe but all things pertaining to man had been set in place. There is a sense in which the work of Christ was also finished at that time, for He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The Triune God already had a plan to deal with the sin of man, and in His eternal purposes, that plan was already complete, as was the whole history of humankind.

The second time was at Calvary when, having taken upon Himself all the sin of humanity, Jesus gave the shout of triumph (not a whisper of despair): “It is finished!” The work of eternity had been completed in time. The frightful exchange had been made: our sins on Him, His righteousness extended to us. God had done everything He could do. His work was over; He sat down.

Yet again the writer is setting up the theme he will pick up later in the book. Whereas the sacrifices of the Old Covenant had to be endlessly repeated, the sacrifice of Jesus was made once, and finished. The completed sacrifice, he will argue later, is by its nature greater than that which must be made continually.

However, this verse speaks of more than mere rest after the completion of a task. It speaks of rest in victory and in honor. This was not just a job completed: it was a job completed with absolute success. In the course of dealing with sin, He had also dealt the death blow to the author of sin, the devil. That victory was sealed initially by the resurrection, and ultimately by His enthronement at the right hand of the Father. Having laid aside the honor and glory of Godhead to become man, He is now accorded not only that original honor, but also the honor of the conquering hero.

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KOGMI is on Patreon!

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King of Glory Ministries International is now on Patreon. What is Patreon, you ask? Well, think of the old system where creative people – artists, writers, musicians – were sponsored by individuals so that they could carry on producing whatever art form they produced. Patreon is kind of a modern take on that.

The big difference is that, whereas the patrons of the arts back in those days were inevitably wealthy and invested a great deal of money into their chosen artists, anyone can become a patron on Patreon for only a tiny amount each month. When lots of people each contribute a tiny amount each month, it adds up to a sum that allows the creative person to get on with creating without having to worry so much about how he/she is going to pay the bills.

Patreon is basically a platform on which creative people can post content. Some of that content is available to the general public, so that anyone can get a taste of what this particular creative person does. Other content is reserved for Patrons only. If someone likes what he sees of the creative person’s work, he can sign up to become a Patron and get access to the restricted content. Most people who post on Patreon offer different tiers of Patronage, each with its own rewards.

More than just finance, however, Patreon is also an opportunity for the creative individual and his/her work to become more widely known.

So what does that have to do with ministry? Just as an individual creative person needs finance to be able to keep creating, so a ministry needs finance to keep running. We also want the ministry to become known as widely as possible. And we are committed to building stronger Christians through the Word of God. So, we will be publishing regular Bible studies or meditations on Patreon, and asking people to consider becoming a Patron of King of Glory Ministries from as little as $3 per month.

If you are not able to make that commitment we understand, but would you do us one small favour? Just share the link to our Patreon page through your various social media contacts. Here it is: https://www.patreon.com/kingofgloryministriesinternational

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What Is Prayer?

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Over the next few weeks I want to run a series of posts about prayer. Prayer always has been and always will be an essential element of the Christian life, but in the turbulent times we face in our world today perhaps we could say, “Now more than ever.”

The first question we need to address is, What is prayer? Or, more to the point, What is Biblical prayer? Is it a set pattern of words that we repeat over and over? Does it have to be in the language of the sixteenth century? Should it be in Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament? Is there a difference between praying and saying prayers? Do we have to have a set, formal time for prayer? Do we need to pray in a particular place.

First and foremost, prayer is communication from our heart to God’s heart. It should be a reflection of the relationship we have with God. Someone who only knows God in a formal, distant manner might try to communicate with Him through formal, distant prayers, but if we truly know Him as our Father, then we will talk to Him just as we would talk to our earthly father. We don’t need to read a written prayer, or to speak in any special language.

Whilst it is helpful to set aside a particular time and place for prayer, we should never restrict our prayer life only to that time and place. As we grow in our relationship with God, we will find ourselves chattering to Him throughout the day about all kinds of things.

At the same time, we need to keep in mind that God is not the same as our earthly father. He is the King of the universe. What an incredible, awesome privilege that He should invite us to come right into His presence! That He should allow us to talk to Him, and to bring our requests before Him! As we think about that, we begin to move into another level of prayer, the level of worship, which we will talk more about in a later post.

Then there is the level at which we come to God not just for ourselves and for our own needs, but for others. This again can lead into an even deeper level, that of intercession, which we will also address more in a later post.

The most important thing, whether we are just beginning our journey of prayer or are seasoned prayer warriors, is to remember that it is all about relationship. Just as any earthly relationship needs communication to keep it going, so does our relationship with God.

Are you a Christian called to intercession? Would you like to be part of King of Glory Ministries International’s intercessors network, The King’s Warriors?

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The Book of Hebrews Part 1

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THE BOOK OF HEBREWS – PART 1

The Book of Hebrews sits in the New Testament between the epistles of Paul and those of the other apostles. The reason for this is simple: nobody is really sure who wrote the book of Hebrews. Traditionally, it was accredited to Paul, and certainly the ideas it presents are totally in accord with Paul’s teachings, but the structure of the letter in Greek is so unlike the writings of Paul that most scholars today do not believe he was the author. Some have suggested Luke, Barnabas or Apollos as possible authors.

The fact that the author speaks about the Temple in the present tense, with no suggestion that it had been destroyed, indicates that the book was probably written before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Other than that, there is no indication of a more precise date.

Very clearly, the book was written to Jewish Christians who, because of the pressures around them, were in danger of slipping away from their Christian faith. Some were being drawn back into the ritual and tradition of Judaism, others were staggering under persecution, others were simply losing site of the person of Jesus and growing cold in their relationship with Him. These Jewish Christians may have been in one specific location (some believe in Rome, others in Jerusalem), or the book may have been addressed to Jewish believers in general, and circulated among them.

More than any other book of the Bible, Hebrews focuses on Jesus, presenting Him as “better” in every possible aspect. He is superior to the prophets and the angels. He is superior to Moses and to the Levitical priesthood. The covenant He brought about is better than that brought through Moses. His sacrifice is better than the Old Covenant sacrifices. He has entered into a greater tabernacle than the Temple. His blood is more effective than the blood of bulls and goats.

As a result, the readers are urged to a greater faith and greater perseverance. The book is scattered with increasingly stern warnings about the dangers of falling away from faith. In the light of “such great salvation” (2:3), how could anybody want to turn back to the old way of living?

So, let’s begin to look closely at this wonderful book. (NB: Because of copyright restrictions, I will be using the public domain version, the World English Bible.)

1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son

God is the subject of the first sentence in Hebrews, setting the tone for the whole book. In fact, its thirteen short chapters contain the word “God” sixty-eight times. The writer wants to make it very clear from the outset that the things he is going to be discussing do not originate in man.

What’s more, God chooses to communicate with man. It is God Who spoke in the past, it is God Who is speaking now. He is not off in some far distant corner of the universe doing His own thing; rather, He is and always has been vitally involved in the affairs of man.

The fact that God speaks to man is in itself awesome. The infinite creator and ruler of the universe lowers Himself to speak to such tiny, finite creatures. The Holy One speaks to sinners! We could spend a month or more just meditating on the wonder of that truth.

In the past, under the Old Covenant, much of the verbal communication from God to man was done through the prophets. Of course, there was always the non-verbal communication of nature, as Paul points out in Romans, and even without the spoken word this should have been enough to make us aware of God’s reality and power. However, God wanted to communicate more directly and specifically, so He did so through human instruments.

Under the Old Covenant, the people did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit as believers do under the New Covenant. Rather, the Spirit of God would come upon the prophet in such a way that the prophet knew the words God wanted spoken, and delivered them to the people.

The system worked, but not perfectly. The words of God were still filtered through the human vessel, and as we read through the Old Testament we can recognize the individual characteristics and personalities of the prophets as they brought forth God’s word. Think for a moment of Jonah, walking through the streets of Nineveh and calling the people to repentance. The words were God’s, but the heart of Jonah was very different from the heart of God. Jonah wanted the people to be destroyed, God wanted them to be delivered. Jonah was bringing them God’s message, but not demonstrating to them God’s character.

Now, God has spoken through His Son. This is not a new revelation. It is still God speaking. There is a continuity from all that God has spoken before. All that He has spoken in the past has been a preparation for this present communication.

The great difference is, the Son not only brings God’s words: He also brings His character. The Son does not merely bring God’s message: He is God’s message. He doesn’t just hear God’s words: He is the Word.

(2b) … whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds;

In their turn, each of the prophets stepped into the pages of history. Each played his or her part, presented his or her message, then exited.

Jesus, however transcends the whole of history. When all is finished, and the universe has been rolled up like a worn-out garment, Jesus will stand as the heir of all things. After time is over, He will be there. Not only that, but He was there before time began. Everything that exists came into being through Him. Although He spent only a brief period actually walking on this earth, He – and, therefore, His message – is not limited by time.

(Our study of Hebrews will continue in future posts.)

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