The Place of Prayer and Praise in Providence
The sovereign God of the universe is working. He is working in all things so that His will is done, according to His good pleasure. His good pleasure is to bring glory to Himself. All glory belongs to God because He is the Maker of all things and in His providence, He is moving everything toward His predetermined ends.
In His predetermined plan and foreknowledge, He predestined a people to praise and worship Him, forever. The plan was for them to be His chosen people from every nation, tribe, and tongue and He would be their God (Jer 32:38; Rev 5:9). He made a covenant of grace to give them assurance of so great a salvation and one that would deliver them from God’s just wrath against sinners (Mt 3:7; Lk 3:7; 1 Thess 1:10).
By God’s design, He set His people apart from the unrighteous, who lived as vessels of wrath being prepared for destruction. God’s elect are aware that they have been selected to receive the Spirit of Christ unto salvation. The Holy Spirit is the token promise of God that full redemption is coming on the last day when, body and soul, Christians will be raised from death to life in the resurrection (Jn 5:28–29; Rom 9:22; 1 Cor 15; 2 Cor 5:5).
With the promises afforded to the children of God, in the Word of God, we walk by faith and not by sight. It is the Spirit who grants faith, and who increases it through trial and tribulation, as believers join in the sufferings of Christ. The Word of truth shines amidst the darkness. It is the Light of the world who has taken up permanent residence in the hearts He has illumined with His Spirit’s permanent abiding presence.
It is the indwelling Spirit of Christ, who causes the Christian to pray to God the Father and praise the three Persons of the Trinitarian Godhead for who they are and the work they do. Prayer and praise are the response to God’s Word and work. In Spirit and in truth, the believer in Jesus worships Him who created the heavens and the earth.
The Christian with the mind of Christ and Spirit working in him, will ascribe all honor and praise and glory to God. He never did this while he lived in the flesh, being spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. Thus, the providential catalyst of the Christian life is the Holy Spirit. He is the third Person of the Trinity, who accomplishes all that concerns us. He works all things together for good for those who love God, and those who love God love Him because they were first loved by Him, who poured out His love in their hearts. The allusion here is again the abiding Spirit of God.
Talking to God is as intimate as one talking to a father or spouse. The Spirit is our heavenly friend who sticks closer than a brother because this is Christ in us. The Christian speaks to his or her resident relative, who is there to help, comfort, teach, lead, and guide. God’s promise is to never leave nor forsake the one chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son and made alive, spiritually, by the Holy Spirit.
It is the ambition of every Spirit-filled Christian to please God. The challenge to live by faith, when the Spirit is at war with the flesh, requires utter dependence upon the Spirit. The life of God in the soul of the regenerate means that God is working providentially in the people of His church, the Israel of God. Joining the Lord of all in what He is doing is like “take your child to work day,” every day. The Father works and the child putzes with the task afforded by the Father. In truth, God is the One working and we are witnesses to His mighty deeds.
The mighty deeds of God are praiseworthy. The believer is being trained by the Spirit to look for God at work in everything. The Christian sees, believes, and offers up sacrifices of praise without ceasing. When sin or circumstances hinder the view to God’s marvelous movements, the Spirit’s prompt is for the child of God to pray.
Prayer does not change the eternal will of God, nor does the working of the plan of God change because of prayers of the saints. God is immutable and the course is set by Him who is all-wise and all-powerful. Rather, the Spirit moves the saint to prayer so that the believer would be an aligned participant in the will and work of God. In this, God the Father thrills His children by allowing them to be witnesses to the supernatural work of God.
The man or woman of prayer makes his or her requests known to God who answers prayer according to His sovereign will. The witness sees the hand of the Lord moving and the manifestation of God’s will when the prayer is answered. How glorious it is for the witness of Christ, the Deliverer, to see a burden lifted or a soul saved.
Child of God, praise Him, today. Then look for the prompt to pray that you might participate in what only God can do to bring glory to Himself. When you witness what He accomplished, then join with all the saints in praising Him all the more. In this way, you will find yourself at the heart of His providence.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
June 27, 2021
