In His Wisdom

Jerry Bridges:

God is completely sovereign. God is infinite in wisdom. God is perfect in love. God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.

Christianity is a System of Truth

Brian Hear:

Ultimately, Christianity is a system of truth, not a set of practices where we go through the motion every Sunday. Christianity is not the sum of behavior and actions of its adherents – especially those who are not acting according to its truth claims. Christianity, as a religion, does make certain claims about the cause, nature and purpose of the universe including: God physically raised Jesus from the dead, putting a divine [imprint] on his proclamations about the way things are.

Faith’s Work

It is faith’s work in prayer is to make it persistent in pressing for that for which it prays. Faith has the Word of God for its ground, and the name of Christ for its encouragement. William Guthrie writes:

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24 ESV)

What is faith’s work in prayer? It instructs the person of his own need of the unsearchable riches that are in Christ. It makes him cry out, “0 sinful man that I am? I have destroyed and undone myself.” And, on the other hand, it informs the soul of its relief and [escape] from that misery, and of the soul’s portion that is to be had in Christ, and of the fullness thereof; so that there is not the least want, but there is a perfect and complete fullness in Christ, as ye may see in the case of the publican. What was the thing he prayed for? Says he, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Faith instructs as to his sin, and then as to the way of his relief and help from sin, viz., in Christ; so that faith’s first work in prayer is to instruct a sinner of its own condition, and then of its supply, and help. And poor, poor are they that want this grace of faith; and rich, rich are they that have it.

Faith’s work in prayer is to be the hand by which the soul takes hold of the remedy and relief that is in Christ, and offered by Him to us in the gospel. It is the soul’s hand to lay hold of Christ and His fullness, as He is offered and held forth to us. As a poor man puts forth his hand to take that which is offered unto him, so it is with faith in prayer. It is called a receiving, and it is the very hand whereby Christ, and all that is to be had in Him, is to be received or laid hold of. This is an excellent mark in prayer.

The work of faith in prayer is, to enable the soul to wait patiently on God for a return of the petition it hath put up. Faith says, “Ye have prayed, and that is your duty; but see, Sirs, that ye stay still at His door until ye get an answer. Be not like those who shoot blunt-shot, and never look where it goes. ‘I will hear what God the Lord will speak.” “I will stand on my watch, and set me on the tower to see what He will say to me,” says faith to the soul. … It is faith that puts strength into our souls to make them patiently wait on, till God send an answer unto them.