Friday, September 8th | The Doctrine of Prayer (Pt. 2)

Hello, everyone. Today is Friday, September the 8th. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm Jon Galantis. You're listening to Clear View Today with Dr. Abidhan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com, or if you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or you can email us at contact at ClearViewTodayShow.com.

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We're going to leave a link in the description, so you can do just that. The verse of the day today comes from Matthew 6, verses 22 through 23. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?

That's right. Be careful what you see. Be careful what you watch. I'd feel comfortable saying 95% of sins that we commit, especially men, start with the things that we look at. Our eyes seek out the things we want. And we feel like, if I see it, but I don't act on it, I'm okay. But you're not okay.

Because it stays there. The things that I've seen in my teenage years are still in my mind. I can pull them up anytime I want to. And I want to a lot. You know what I mean? It's not something that's innocent just because I didn't act on it. Seeing it and seeking it out is an act.

It's an act of rebellion. Those thoughts, those visuals stay with you. Your eyes are the gateway to—the verse here says it—your eyes are the gateway to your heart, your soul, your obedience with God. If that lamp is bad, if your perspective, if your eyes are not seeking out godly things, then your body is going to be filled with darkness. But it goes on to say, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? You are only seeing things through that worldview. You are only seeing things through the lens of darkness. You cannot see light.

And the only way the lamp can become good is through a relationship with Christ. It's like it makes sense in every situation except when it comes to my soul. Like, input is what you are going to get output. If I send audio through this channel, I'm going to get it out of this channel.

If I input calculations into a calculator, it's going to output a solution. If I put food into my body, it's going to output waste. It makes sense every single place, but we don't think that the trash that I put into my soul is going to eventually come out. You might be able to rationalize it and say, these are just a music video to a song that I like, or this is just a TV show that I like, and it's got some stuff in there that's questionable, but I know what's good and what's bad. You're still taking that information in through your eyes. You're still taking that into your body. So the little kid song rings true. Be careful, little eyes, what you see.

That's right. Speaking of trashy movies, I really did not plan this. Dane S. writes in, what's your favorite guilty pleasure movie?

I really should have put that verse of the day on a different day. Lewis Buckerts Well, let's go guilty pleasure, not trashy movie. Guilty pleasure movies don't have to necessarily be trashy. Kline Mine's a little trashy. It's a little trashy.

I feel like we can get away with this a little bit of trash. Lewis Buckerts My favorite guilty pleasure movie. So guilty pleasure movie we're talking about here, a movie that you like, but based on certain crowds, you wouldn't push this forward as your favorite movie. Kline If my friends confronted me and was like, do you like that movie? I'd be like, no, no. But inside, I love it.

It's like when you listen to old country music and you feel a little ashamed, but you're by yourself, so you're like, I like this. Lewis Buckerts So I would not be ashamed to tell people that I like this movie, but I don't know. Maybe it would be a little bit hesitant to push it forward as my favorite movie. One of my favorite movies, a guilty pleasure movie, is En Canto.

Kline Okay. Why would you be... Lewis Buckerts I mean, it's a kid's movie. It's a little kid movie.

So as a grown man, I can lean on my kids now. But genuinely, without the kids, I'm listening to the songs in En Canto. Kline That's a bop for you. Lewis Buckerts It's great. I mean, it's so good. Lin-Manuel Miranda.

I mean, the music is phenomenal. It's a great movie. It's a good story. It's heartwarming story of this family who, each person gets a magical gift, and they use it to better the community they live in. The house is magical, but lo and behold, the youngest in the family, well, second youngest, does not have a gift.

She has no magical ability in contrast to her siblings and her aunts and uncles and her cousins. So the story kind of unravels why that is and follows her as the hero of the story. So it's good stuff.

Heartwarming. Kline Yeah. Mine is Mean Girls.

Lewis Buckerts We said different things. Kline I really love Mean Girls. I think it's the perfect teen movie. It's really not inappropriate at all.

It's more or less clean. Lewis Buckerts There's a couple things in there. Kline A couple things here and there that I'd be like, nah, probably not. But just every time it's on, I play like I'm on my phone. I'm like, y'all are watching this dumb movie. And then I'm like, I look back at my phone if I think someone's looking at me.

And then I look and I'm like, eesh. Lewis Buckerts I wonder what Dr. Shaw's guilty pleasure movie is. Kline Probably Nacho Libre. Lewis Buckerts You think?

Kline Mm-hmm. Lewis Buckerts That is a good one. Kline Probably Nacho Libre. Lewis Buckerts Nacho! Kline He loves Nacho Libre. He loves the scene where he shoves the guy's face into the water and forces him to get baptized.

I've actually never seen the movie. Lewis Buckerts Really? Kline No, I've always wanted to. Lewis Buckerts Oh, man.

It's funny. Kline I've seen clips from it. Lewis Buckerts It's another one of those that you're watching and you're like, why am I watching this?

Kline Yeah. Lewis Buckerts But then you start quoting it with your friends afterward and you're like, all right, there it is. I sometimes forget that Jack Black is a legitimate actor. I know that's kind of a silly movie.

I just forget that he's a legitimate actor sometimes. I don't know. I'll ask Dr. Shaw what his is.

I guarantee you it's going to be Nacho Libre. Lewis Buckerts I think you might be right. We're going to grab Dr. Shaw in just a second and continue with the show, but if you have any questions or suggestions or write in and let us know your guilty pleasure movie, text us at 252-582-5028, or you can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

We'll be back after this. John Gallantis Hey there, listeners. I'm John Gallantis. Elly Gallantis And I'm Elly Gallantis. John Gallantis And we just want to take a quick second and talk to you about Dr. Shaw's and Nicole's book, 30 Days to a New Beginning, daily devotions to help you move forward. Elly Gallantis You know, this is actually the second book in the 30 days series.

And the whole point of this devotional is to help us get unstuck from the ruts of life. John Gallantis You know, when it comes to running the race of life, it matters how you start, but a bad start doesn't ultimately determine how you finish the race. You can have a good finish even with a bad start, and that's where this book comes in. Elly Gallantis No matter who you are or where you are in life, you're going to get stuck.

Instead of going out and buying some gadget or some planner, like I know I've done several times. John Gallantis I know that's right. Elly Gallantis 30 Days encourages you to find your fresh start in God's word. John Gallantis Life doesn't have a reset button, but our God is a God who does new things.

His mercies are new every day, which means every day is a new chance for you to start over. Elly Gallantis You can grab 30 Days to a New Beginning on Amazon.com. We're going to leave a link in the description box below.

And if you already have the book, let us know what you think about it. John Gallantis That's right. Send us a text 252-582-5028. Share what God has done in your life through this devotional. Hey, maybe we'll even read your story on the air. Elly, you ready to get back to the show? Elly Gallantis Let's do it. John Gallantis Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. Or if you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028. Elly Gallantis That's right. If today's your first time ever joining us here on the Clear View Today Show, we want to welcome you and let you know exactly who's talking to you today. Dr. Abbadon Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of Today's Show.

You can find all of his work on his website. That's AbbadonShah.com. John Gallantis Guys, we are... I just got to say this before we move any further.

We are looking very sharp with the graphic short sleeve button down. Elly Gallantis Happy Friday. John Gallantis Oh, man. Elly Gallantis What if I just pop them right there, just pop the button to peacock on the air? Most of the radio show can't even hear it, so it's not going to offend them. The only person bothered is you.

Dr. Shah doesn't seem to mind. You're the only one with the problem. John Gallantis I was trying to compliment your shirt and you took it somewhere else. Elly Gallantis Speaking of problems, thank you, by the way. I like Dr. Shah's shirt.

The Cowboys are working for me. We all have guilty pleasures in life. We all have movies that we watch where we're like, if the right crowd was around, I would deny liking it because it's kind of lame.

But inside, I really like it. What is your guilty pleasure movie? John Gallantis I love watching The Gods Must Be Crazy. Elly Gallantis What is that?

I've never heard that. John Gallantis You've never heard of that movie? John Gallantis No, let me go through it real quick. John Gallantis The Gods Must Be Crazy?

Elly Gallantis I thought for sure you were going to say Nacho Libre. John Gallantis The Gods Must Be Crazy. No, The Gods Must Be Crazy. Oh, my goodness. You guys are missing out on life.

The Gods Must Be Crazy. The moment you watch these movies, your lives will be changed forever. This is about in the deep, dark Kalahari desert where these little pygmy people live and a Coke bottle falls from the sky and it completely disrupts their community. It's about the simpler life and how our modern world with stress and anxiety and all the garbage that comes with that.

We just we are messed up because we because of sometimes over advancement. And this community living in the deep Kalahari just have the simple life. And I promise you, you'll laugh and laugh and laugh. John Gallantis I promise you. Elly Gallantis There's a whole series. John Gallantis Yeah, I'm going to watch it tonight. Elly Gallantis There's two. John Gallantis The Gods Must Be Crazy. Elly Gallantis Your lives will be changed forever.

Very funny. John Gallantis Well, on yesterday's episode, we started talking about this very important concept, the doctrine of prayer and how doctrine undergirds everything that we talk about, especially where prayer is concerned. Because it changes not just how we view prayer, but even how we pray, how we approach God and the concerns that we bring to the table. And we began talking about this book that you recommended, Dr. Shah, The Providence and Prayer by Terence Thiessen and the four concepts that he outlines in that book. And the subtitle of this book will make sense. It is How Does God Work in the World?

I mean, this is a question, guys, I've been struggling with for 20 years. And still, I'm in the process of answering that question. Now, don't misunderstand me. I do believe God is sovereign. I do believe he's in control. But at the same time, I also believe there's a place for human will.

There's a place where you make a decision. So how does all that work in the topic of prayer? So all these are on a spectrum, okay? From being very loose, like the semi-deist, the clockmaker who made the world and then disappeared behind the curtain, to all the way the fatalist where there's nothing you can do about it. Why are you praying?

It's a waste of time. So these are two ends of the spectrum. And in between, you have a lot of different views. My challenge to our viewers and listeners is definitely pray, because prayer works. I can also say prayer changes things. But at the same time, learn more about the doctrine of prayer.

Become more, I don't know how to say this, but become more conversant when it comes to the doctrine behind prayer, the sovereignty of God. Does God have middle knowledge? Middle knowledge is where this is what is going to happen, and this is what could happen. Does God have middle knowledge? I believe he has all knowledge in the world, right? But how does middle knowledge work? In some of the Calvinist type views, there is no place for middle knowledge. So there's a lot we have to understand here. Openness theology also may decry or deny middle knowledge. So I don't know, I went a little too much for some of you. So let me back up a little bit.

They're coming out of their turtle shells like, can I come out? My challenge to you is get to know God. See Jeremiah 9.24, that's the passage I was looking for. Jeremiah 9.24 says, but let him who glories. So we think glorying is a bad thing. You should give God the glory. No, there is a place for you to take glory.

And it's not in your accomplishments and your looks and your children and your money, in your education. No, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me. Don't take glory in the fact that you know how to make a buck or how to make a business work or how to, you know, start a trend or whatever it is, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me. And then it goes on to say that I am the Lord exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord.

So God wants us to know his loving kindness, his judgment, his righteousness. And that's all connected in a sense to prayer as well. So this is a great book. I recommend it. But if you want to read this book also side by side, read a book that is falling apart because I've read it so many times is a book called Prayer Asking and Receiving by John R. Rice. Those are my favorite.

I always look for those on your shelves, the ones that are falling apart. Yeah. You know, there's some good stuff in it. So John R. Rice was back in the day. I mean, he was a very conservative, Bible believing person who was preaching and teaching at a time liberalism was just invading our churches. And so he came up with a newspaper or a kind of a monthly thing called Sword of the Lord.

And my dad, my dad, for a brief time when he left seminary, he could not find good, solid biblical teaching. So he actually turned to the Sword of the Lord. And then he, it was kind of a nourishment for him. Sword of the, Sword of the, like the sword. Oh, I thought you were saying Sword of the Lord.

Like he's kind of the Lord. Like Sword of the Lord. Sword of the Lord. Got it. Got it. Okay. Okay. Not, not Sword of the Lord. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I got you. Like it's... Sword. He is the Lord. Yeah. And here is his sword. I mean, he's Sword of the Lord. Yeah.

Like, got it. He's the sword. He's coming from Gideon. Remember the, Gideon's, how does it say?

The Sword of the Lord and Gideon. Yeah. Yeah. So that's where it's coming from. Wow.

I love that. So let's, let's dig into this work by, by Terrence Thiessen, Providence in Prayer. We, we started talking about these, these four concepts that he outlines, but let's, let's dig a little deeper into what each one of these and see how it impacts our understanding of prayer in our prayer lives.

Absolutely. So some of it is coming from the book. Some of it is coming from my own research, systematic theologies.

Like, I mean, Ed Erickson, Millard Erickson or Wayne Grudem or Henry Thiessen and so many others. So God's providential control is comprehensive, detailed, capable, loving and best. So I want to begin with the Providence of God. When we talk about prayer, you cannot do that without talking about the Providence. I didn't know that until I came to this book and I'm like, Oh, wait, Providence.

What is Providence? A classic passage is Matthew 6 26, where Jesus says, look at the birds of the air for the neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you or you of little faith? And then chapter 10, verse 29, this is sort of outside the Beatitudes, but still, or the sermon on the Mount, it says, and not one of them talking about the sparrows and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear.

Therefore for you are of much more value than many sparrows. So, so that that's the place I want, I want everybody to begin is the Providence of God, which is comprehensive, detailed, capable, loving, and best. I mean, just think about those words. Comprehensive means there's not a single cubit square inch of space, a cubit inch of space in the universe where God is not there. And there's not a single spot of ground anywhere in this universe where God is not intricately involved. You know what that reminds me of is when we went traveling, when we went not only to the Grand Canyon, but the Badlands, just standing out on that precipice and looking out over all of creation and being like, there's no, I would be a fool to think this just happened. And looking out, there's no blade of grass, there's no pebble, there's no tiny little bug that's out in that wild expanse that God doesn't know about and he's not sovereign over.

So think about the creation, like as in ground or sea or water or whatever, but also think about the expanse out there, the space out there, trillions and trillions of light years away. And in that little spot, somewhere out there, God is still just as much involved. And he cares about it and he is capable of taking care of it. And he loves every part of this creation, especially the human beings who are the crown of his creation. And he has the best in mind for everything. That's providence. But then also we're talking about prayer, right? So people act freely within God's overall will. So the best way to think about that is imagine a road trip growing up, mom and dad will get to the destination, but it's up to us as to how we will enjoy the trip. Pretty relatable.

Some children, hard-headed youngins will certainly ruin a road trip. Yes, goodness. Sometimes everybody is just nice and taking care of one another and, oh, we're having a good time. We're singing songs on the radio and then he's touching me. He's looking at me.

He ate all the Oreos, giving back my tablet. Me and my sister used to do that. I'd be like poking her in the head and then when my parents look back, I'd stop and she'd be crying and squalling. And my parents didn't think I could reach her. So they'd be like, Caitlin, he cannot even reach you from up there.

Yes, I can. When it comes to human beings, God's sovereign will is always done, even if his moral will may be rejected. Now there are people I would say on this spectrum who will deny that and say, no, God's moral will is also done. But then I have to ask the question, which is biblical as well as present day and past. Why did many, many times people did things contrary to the will of God, right? Why did the people kill each other? Why is there abuse in this world? Yeah, you can't really say that his moral will was always carried out because then that means all those evil things would have had to be in his moral will.

So God wanted those evil things to happen. Now we've got a whole nother problem that we have to, we have to tackle. And again, I will be the first to admit that I don't have everything clean and neat and neatly laid out. There are still areas that I'm still struggling with and working through. I mean, like as we speak right now, I'm working through the whole freewill debate. I'm dealing with ordering of time, reading T. Ryan Byerly's work. I'm working through that.

And it's very hard to work through that because it's full of equations and logic and propositions and all that stuff. But God's purpose was to bring the people into the promised land. Think about that for a moment. This was a preparation for the coming of the Messiah one day and God's purpose was done. Nevertheless, they all had a choice in how they would live in the land.

That's right. Or if they would even make it into the land, because you do know the first generation, their carcasses lay out there in the wilderness because they disobeyed God. They failed to trust God. They failed to obey God. So they died in the wilderness. It's a sobering thought.

Yeah. I mean, you think about like, we've been looking this whole past year, Dr. Shanna, I've been looking at the Book of Samuel. There would have never been a need for a king in the first place. There would have never been that conflict with Saul had they been obedient and had they been within God's moral will.

You know what I mean? Like, yeah, they inhabited the land, but that wasn't the happily ever after that it was supposed to be. That distinction is helpful, too, between sovereign will and moral will, because that helps answer a lot of questions like, is it God's will that all this evil happens, that babies are harmed and murder happens? Is that God's will? No, that's not God's sovereign. That's part of underneath God's sovereign will, but it is against God's moral will that that happens. Even evil is allowed to exist, but there is a limit set.

You know, Job talks about that. And in his divine wisdom, God allows it for a purpose. Isaiah 46 10 says, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. So God's will is done, albeit the moral side.

That's when human beings do things that are evil and contrary to the will of God. Right. But then here's another another point that's coming out of the book, plus coming out of my own study, which is God works in us to bring us in partnership with his will. And he uses prayers as a major means.

Hmm. So partnership. God has a will. You have a free will when it comes to moral things, but then God wants you to partner with him. Now, this happens through scripture, prayer and fellowship with other believers. Yeah.

Then we come alongside God and do what God wants us to do. Yeah. It's what God is trying to do.

Right. And it's a word that I don't typically associate Christians with. The king is in partnership, but it is it's his will. It's us acting out his will that he has for us. And what a, what a beautiful privilege that God invites us into a partnership with him. He's so much more infinitely capable and competent than we are, but through prayer brings us alongside into that partnership and makes us agents within his will. I guess it's because we think of partnership as that we're equals rather than, I think what he's saying here is that his will is now our will. I want the things that you want.

Yeah. It's like when I was, um, no, we were living at the other house, the parsonage, and I would be out there cutting grass. Now we have somebody cutting grass for us because at times sake, it helps me out, but sometimes the girls would come out and say, can I help? Can I help? Okay, well you can ride the lawnmower with me. And they did help because they would get up and I would, they would be riding with me and I would stop and say, go pick up that, that stick and throw it in the woods or go get that basketball out of the way.

Now I can stop and go do that myself, but I choose to bring my kids along. And are they really helping? Yes. This is not a game.

This is really helping me. So in that sense, it is real. It's not make-believe. It's not some, yeah, you're doing it, but it really doesn't matter what you do because God's going to fix that anyway. It's like sometimes we parents do that with our kids. It's like, Hey, okay, baby, go ahead. And, um, you want to go ahead and, um, and cook something for us. Okay.

Yeah, I will. And you start doing something, but then dad or mom has the real ingredients on the side. So once you're done playing with that dough, they're going to throw that away, but then they have the real dough. So I don't think prayer is like that. I think when God gives you that dough to make whatever you're making, it's a real dough and he's going to help you and he's going to fix things and you will see the product, which you helped God create an illustration. I love that. And that happens in our daily lives, where we ask God for things in our lives. We say, God, would you help me?

I really want to pay this bill. Okay. Okay.

All right. So here's how it's going to happen. And money comes in and you pay your bill, but in the process you give God the glory. People see what God is doing in your life through prayer. Their lives are being changed. They're coming to know Jesus Christ. They're walking closer with God. And that doesn't mean that every prayer everywhere is being answered.

No, there are disappointments. There are moments to wait. There are moments to just trust God's heart. All that is part of growing in God. And it brings back to the forefront that question of, does prayer matter? If God has everything laid out, why even pray?

Well, here's the answer to that because God in His wisdom and His knowledge has made us agents within His will, so that in His wisdom, He's even allowed prayer to do things like shift His mind in a sense, not changing the outcome way far in the future of His sovereign will, but it impacts the immediate plan of God. That's right. So ultimately, all of this is connected to God's plan to redeem humanity through Jesus Christ. Every single prayer that we pray is somehow connected with Christ. I believe that.

Yeah, I agree. You know, so do I need to pray for a Ferrari? It would be great to have one sitting in my driveway and then on Sunday afternoon, take it for a drive. No, I don't because how does the gospel of Jesus Christ fit into that?

Right, right. Well, maybe you could get it to church on time, or maybe you could like drive it to a friend's house and tell them about Jesus, or go in some very high-profile neighborhoods and drive the Ferrari, and then they come out and ask me, hey, so who are you? And then I can share the gospel with them.

It's like the perfect Hollywood script in my mind. Yeah, no, none of that works. Okay, so Romans 8 26 says, likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now, he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So it is not in the will of God for me to get a Ferrari. Now, maybe it's in the will of God for somebody else to get a Ferrari. How is that going to work in God's great plan?

I don't know, but I think it will. Maybe not for me, but maybe for them. Do I need to resent that person for getting a Ferrari because they prayed for it? No, maybe God's going to bring glory to his name through this person having a Ferrari and that's fine.

I may not get it. Yeah. And that's fine too.

Yeah. So I hope you're not discouraged, those who are listening or watching us by this discussion. I hope you're not discouraged by this discussion or hope you don't tune us out because these are the questions that help us grow in our prayer life.

That's right. These are not just lofty discussions. These are the questions that help us to buckle down, get on our knees, get up early in the morning and just hang on to the throne of God and pray for those things. And more than anything, I hope you're praying for souls. Amen.

So important for us. If you guys enjoyed today's episode or maybe you'd like some resources or some help re-igniting the passion behind your prayer life, text in and let us know 252-582-5028. Of course, you can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com and you can partner with us financially. Scroll down to the bottom of that page, click that donate button and let us know that it's coming from our Clear View Today Show family. We love you guys. We'll see you next time on Clear View Today.