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To pray in faith in accordance with the will of God, we must know
what the will of God is. This is not difficult, as the will of
God is revealed in the Word of God.
Jesus said:
"The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that
they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
-- John 10:10-11
The Apostle John said:
To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy
the works of the devil. -- 1 John 3:8b
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. How did he do that?
Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, paid the
penalty for our sin, and taught repentance, love, and faith. That
tells me that the works of the devil have something to do with
making people sick, killing them prematurely, sending in demons,
tempting to sin, and teaching sin, hatred, and fear. Thank God
for Jesus! I'll choose Jesus' free gift of life over the enemy's
offer of death any day!
It will help your faith and prayer life to really grasp in your
heart what this means. God is good. The devil is bad. God does
good things. The devil does bad things. The devil even tries to
blame God for the evil he does, and sometimes even fools
Christians for a while. I have often heard of someone blaming God
for some tragedy, like the death of a child or other loved one
before God wanted them to go.
Jesus said:
"Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven
that one of these little ones should perish." -- Matt 18:14
The Apostle Peter wrote:
"The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count
slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance." -- 2 Peter 3:9
God's will is explicitly revealed in God's Word. It says quite
clearly that God's will is that all should come to repentance and
be saved. It is also quite clear that not everyone does that.
It seems amazing, but God gave us free will, and that means that
the will of a man or woman can (and too often does) override
God's will in this world. This is true for repentance and
salvation, as well as for other things. For example, God says
"You shall not commit murder," yet people commit murder. Does
than mean that God "took" the murder victim? No way! If the
victim had been saved, then he or she will walk right into the
presence of Jesus and live on with Him, so God does limit the
damage people can do, but the ultimate responsibility for a
person's actions rest with that person.
Likewise, with sickness and disease, these are works of the devil
and a product of sin in the world (not necessarily due to any
specific sin of the sick person). If a believer gets sick and
dies, does that mean it must have been God's will? NO WAY! That
isn't what Jesus does. Search the New Testament yourself and
count all the times Jesus made someone sick (zero). Now count all
the healings, and you find that there were so many that you
really can't count them.
Sure, God may have placed (or more properly permitted) plagues on
his enemies, like the Egyptian slavemasters who oppressed His
people, but He desires to bless His people who seek to do His
will. Sickness is a curse, and not a blessing, according to
Deuteronomy.
God is good. God is our healer and redeemer. The Bible tells me
so, and the Holy Spirit confirms His Word. Praise God!
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___
Michael Paul Johnson aka Soaring Golden Eagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://eBible.org/mpj Rocky Mountain Outpost 207 New Creation Church
Jesus Christ is Lord! If Jesus came back today, would you be READY?
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