Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Free Will, Predermination, and Prayer, Oh My!
I am just going to warn you from the start, that this is going to be an extremely odd post. So here goes, recently, our church has been doing a sermon series on the end times. My view on this subject has always been that we aren't supposed to know the day or the hour, so why spend time dwelling on this issue. Our pastor pointed out, however, that it is in the bible, and therefore it is something that God wants us to know and we can't selectively ignore parts of God's word (duh, right). So. anyway, during this series he gives a sermon on the Antichrist, and I have to tell you, I haven't devoted much mental space to this previously, and I found that the concept of this person disturbs me on multiple levels. While the Antichrist clearly ends up totally wicked, and capable of using all possible means to commit unfathomable atrocities, he clearly starts out just like everyone else: someones baby. How does a person become so broken that they wholly abandon good for evil; at what point does this person realize they are the Antichrist? Many of the people who eventually go to Hell, don't believe in Hell, but the Antichrist, as he eventually receives power directly from the devil, clearly knows that he is trading eternal punishment for extremely short term gain. Also, even the most misled of us are generally looking for good, whether in themselves, another religion, or what have you. I just can't get my brain around this choice to consciously and blatantly reject all redemption or goodness , or this evolution from someones little boy, to the epitome of evil; that idea just makes me so sad. Which brings me to my greater dilemma....you know how the bible says to pray for our enemies, those who persecute us? We have no greater enemy than this, and yet, the bible prophesies that these events will come to pass, and they must, for the fulfillment of God's plan. He can't just rewrite the bible because of my little prayer, so is there any point in praying for the Antichrist?(or his mama) How do free will, predetermination, and the power of prayer interact ?????
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Mandi,
ReplyDeleteWe pray because God commands us to pray. Ephesians 6:18-20: Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit's wishes. Plead with Him, reminding Him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere. Pray for me, too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord, and as I explain to them that his salvation is for the Gentiles, too.
Well in this case I would pray for a spirit of wisdom and understanding, which God always gives. :) And even when the Antichrist comes, we can still give thanks that Jesus has already fought and won this war. So we need not fear.
ReplyDeleteAs far as free will, predetermination and prayer.
We have the free will to accept or reject Jesus as our Savior. However the Father already knows what we will choose. As ones that have accepted Christ we are predetermined (according to His will) to bring glory to His name. How could we not? We have the Holy Spirit and it is our hearts one true desire from the moment that Spirit is given to us.
Prayer. The only time God ever changes His mind in the Bible is when He is petitioned through prayer. Will He rewrite the Bible? Nope. But just because you pray for something doesn't mean that you are ASKING God anything. You can give prayers of thanksgiving, adoration and confession. You can skip the asking Him to rewrite the end of times, because that is going to happen. Although I can think of a TON of things I want to pray for, for the end of times. (Namely that I am already with the Father during this time.) So in short...we have free will, we are predestined and we need to be praying (with our eyes open-meaning ALL THE TIME!) Good blog! Really made me think!