I Will Rejoice in Doing Them Good

"I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul." Jer 32:41

I am on the continual quest to learn how to pray. I think this quest will continue until I finally learn in glory. But, recently I heard a compelling sermon that refreshed /  renewed / revised my way approaching prayer. Listen here. Out of several good observations, J.D. Greear's made one point that has struck home with me: "God delights to do good things for his children."

This truth, of course is grounded in the gospel. God has already given us the one really good gift, new life in Christ. We have been justified, purified, ransomed, and adopted. Because of all this, won't God also give us the relatively smaller things?

Perhaps the best way to frame the impact of the truth of this sermon is to say it has not so much changed my prayer requests as it has changed my attitude and approach in prayer. I still grasp and affirm God's sovereignty and I realize (at least as much as my sinful mind allows) the selfishness of many of my prayers. Yet in the midst of that, to view God not as a king or a president, to be petitioned nor as the IRS to be approached in just the right way nor as a vending machine / genie to get everything I've ever wanted, but rather as the best, perfect, truly loving Father who really wants what is best for us. Isn't that the point of Rom 8:28? Of course, it is his best for us, not necessarily our best for us that's in view.

So, as you pray, remember "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" Jer 29:12-13

To God Alone be the Glory