Prayers
Yes, God is sovereign, he does whatever he likes:
Dan 4:35- And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
Job 42:2- I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
The above scriptures are definitely true, and a deeper look at them would reveal certain salient truths.
1. God has a will
2. God has a hand
3. God has no limit
But there is a fact on which all these characteristics of God hinge on, as unveiled in the very first chapter of the Bible. There, God devolved his rights to rule on the earth to man.
Gen 1:26-28- And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God set out to create man in his own image, but remember, since God has A WILL- his purpose, end, A HAND- means of achieving his ends, and is UNLIMITED; man in the image of God must exercise the same qualities, if truly he is in the image of God, to indicate who God is.
We know man has a will, and has means to achieve his purposes even now, but we are yet to see man as being limitless, that is, fully like God as the testimony of scriptures tells us, except for the pre-fall Adam.
Heb 2:6-9: But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him.
But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man.
Man, we have seen in the foregoing, was designed to rule over all, but the writer of Hebrews considered that, in reality, that is not the case (v8). The bridge between the intention of God and its realisation is Jesus (v9). We were told in the above passage that Jesus is crowned with glory and honour. Not only that but he said himself that all power has been invested in him, and in his name by God (Matt. 28:18).
God is limitless, and shares the same with man at creation, but since man fell short of the glory of God, he fell short of the ultimate manifestation of the glory of God. Now Jesus is the revelation of that ultimate possibility of God and Christians share that reality through the person and the name of Jesus.
Php 2:5-11 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
According to this scripture, the fact that Jesus Christ died and was raised up gave him the right to have all things under his feet as the authentic second and last Adam (1Cor 15:45), fully expressing all the intention of God for having man in his own image.
The logic therefore is that since Christians have identified with Christ in his death and resurrection, we have become sons of God, the title that was first borne by the first Adam, because of the pristine state he was in (Luke 3:38). As we use the name of Jesus in intercession representing his will (Acts 3:6), we move his hand and unleash his limitlessness, swallowing up our own limitations.
By creating man in his own image, he shares his sovereignty with man. In other words, there is a partnership arrangement in which heaven needs to synchronise with the earth to move things; that is the essence of prayer; that is the essence of intercession.
The original dominion of God shared with man finds ultimate fulfilment in Christ and his brothers which we become as Christians.
In the ultimate sense, there is only one God, but when he created man, in the relative sense, he set out to create many ‘gods’, since the image of God has to be God at least in a relative sense.
Psa 82:6 I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons
of the Most High.
The above rendition by the Psalmist was quoted by Jesus in John 10:34 in defending the fact that he called himself the Son of God. What that means in short is that all sons of God are gods, aligning with the train of thought we have been on till now.
As previously explained ordinary man cannot claim such priviledge. Christians are so priviledged to be limitless by the use of the name of Jesus.
Mat 28:18: And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
The reason why the name of Jesus conveys the limitlessness of God is revealed above. Therefore with Jesus there is the realisation of the partnership intention of God to achieve dominion for man on the earth.
So if man refuses to use the name of Jesus what happens? Nothing!
But you ask “what about the sovereignty of God and the bible verse that says what will be will be?” First, there is no such verse in the bible and if you have been attentive all the while, you will understand that God’s creation of man puts a certain limitation on himself as God. God by his sovereignty has decided that man would share his sovereignty with him.
That is that for the partnership factor that shows that the next move of God is keyed to prayer. Because it is when man prays, willing the will of God, he moves his own hand in prayer (figuratively) to move things in the realm of the spirit, moving the hands of God, linking with the limitlessness of God, and by so doing become limitless, exercising godness in the name of Jesus.
Contact me if you'll want the whole book for free.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
True. Though we are vessels in God's hand, He is our 'Senior' partner. Thanks.
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 797 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Kayode Crown or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 797 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.