The Principles of Prayer XII

 It’s striking that a large swath of those claiming to belong to God consistently choose the lesser over the greater. Even those with a superficial understanding of God are aware that one of God’s attributes is omnipotence. There is no cap on His power; there is nothing outside of His ability to do, yet, every day, men choose baubles and trinkets over substantive, meaningful things that can only come from His hand and are reserved exclusively for His own.

We boast of our spiritual maturity and deep understanding, but the things we choose to focus on and desire are so meaningless and worthless as to expose our boasts as nothing more than a convenient, self-serving lie. It’s akin to being offered the choice between a coupon for one free meal at the local buffet and a bar of gold, and choosing the coupon, fully convinced that we made the right choice.

It takes time to build up our most holy faith, and one would hope that our maturity level grows in tandem, so that when we possess true and abiding faith, the things we pray for have nothing to do with the ease and comfort of the flesh, but with the divine power to which we have access via the person of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, God can do all things. There is nothing beyond His ability, including casting mountains into the sea, but as a good father, He weighs the things we ask for in light of whether or not they will be beneficial to our spiritual man. How exactly will the new car you’ve been praying for aid in your spiritual growth? It won’t, but then again, few people dislike that new car smell.

As spiritual beings, born again and renewed in mind and heart, our focus is on the things above. This world and everything in it are passing away. There is no permanence in brick and mortar, steel and rubber, or silver and gold, for that matter.

Contrary to the belief that we are little gods, a reading of God’s word and a modicum of rational deduction will confirm that we are not. There are specific attributes that God reserves solely for Himself, attributes that are both immutable and exclusive to Him, attributes that define Him as God, not one among many, but unique: One of One. Omnipotence is one of them. Another attribute exclusive to God is that He is eternal. God has no beginning and no end.

It’s hard for temporal beings to wrap their minds around the notion of eternity, but it doesn't negate its reality just because we can’t understand its depth. As my little one once asked, if God was never born, how does He know when to celebrate His birthday? Deep thoughts with a then-four-year-old for sure. Although God gives eternal life to those who receive the life of His Son and are saved, every single one of us had a beginning. We were all born to a mother and a father, we were all once babes in swaddling, and we all followed the same course of growing into maturity. God, however, is without beginning and without end.

If you claim to be a little god, yet cannot prove yourself to be omnipotent or eternal as He has, your assertion is proven false, and by default, you are proven a liar. Being everlasting and being given the gift of eternal life may sound similar in theory, but they are principally different.

While some of His attributes are exclusive to God alone, there are others which He readily makes available to His own, attributes in which we can share, and which we ourselves have the grace to receive and experience.

The Word tells us that God is love, that He is merciful and gracious, and all these attributes can be poured into us via the presence of the person of the Holy Spirit in our hearts when we are born again. Although we can never experience omnipotence, we can experience His love, grace, mercy, and grace on a daily basis, which come from Him and through Him.

There is no greater love than the love God exhibited for mankind in sending Jesus. Even the love of a parent for their child, or the love of a husband for their wife, pales in comparison with the love that God has for His creation. The same can be said for mercy and grace, for only in knowing God can we know the full measure of these things, and not merely a shadow of them.

When we are born again into a new life, the spirit by which we are born again produces in us what we commonly refer to as the fruit of the Spirit. In order for there to be fruit, there must be a seed, and for there to be a seed, a new birth is required.

Ephesians 2:1-7, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

We were once dead in trespasses and sins, but no more. We once walked according to the course of this world, but no more. We were once slaves to the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, but no more. We were once children of wrath, just as the others, but no more. We were made alive together with Christ, and as such, His indwelling presence is active in producing the fruit of the Spirit, which, although attributes of God Himself, are among those He freely shares with us. What wondrous grace, that He would love us even when we were dead in our trespasses, so much so that He would send Jesus that we might have life in Him.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Posted on 26 April 2025 | 11:45 am