jacob did not let go god if god did not bless him first, and god blessed jacob and an entire nation.
how can we negotiate with god?
how can we negotiate with god?
can we negotiate with god?
- Thread starter lambofgod43985889
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Should we negotiate with God?
Another biblical example is Abraham negotiating with God over the destruction of The cities of the plain. He asked if God would destroy it if there a certain number of righteous people, then he lowered the number, etc. Of course, God already knew the situation, and destroyed it anyway.
Negotiating with God who already knows the future and has your best interest at heart may not benefit much.
On the other hand with the case of Israel, his willingness to not let go showed that he wanted God despite the pain, despite not prevailing in their wrestling, etc. Jacob showed his faith that he was not willing to be without God in his life, whereas his earlier life had a lot of seemingly less faithful moments.
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I am curious to know what exactly do you think you have that God is willing to negotiate for? I would argue that the only thing you can hope to do is either ask or demand. I wouldn't dare demand anything from God.
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- Aug 1, 2017
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God's plans are always better. If God's will is our highest value, we will be more accepting of a change in plans.
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." This is the desire that Jesus modeled.
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- Nov 14, 2017
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We don't negotiate (reach an agreement) with God ... we are to pray in His will and if it's His will .... He will answer and we will be blessed.
Jacob was in fervent prayer to the Lord.
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The Scripture is fairly clear about how we process requests to God. Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication make your requests, with thanksgiving, known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ."
When we are walking in the Spirit, we are being led by the Spirit. Therefore, we surrender ourselves to His will. He has promised to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory, and we can rest in that. But He doesn't provide our wants unless through His sovereign will He decides that having that item will be beneficial for us.
There is no evidence in the New Testament that anyone every negotiated with God. There is nothing in the gospels that anyone, including the disciples negotiated with Jesus over any issue.
The notion that some have that they can negotiate with God suggests that they have something to negotiate with. The reality is that we have absolutely nothing of value to offer to God as a basis for negotiation. We come to Christ as worthless sinners, deserving of hell. The only reasoning we have with God is to confess our sins, plead for forgiveness and cleansing and to be genuinely converted to Christ.
To think that one has any basis for negotiation with God over any issue, shows an attitude of pride and a notion God has an obligation to enter into a negotiation, when in reality, God owes us nothing, and we owe Him a debt that we can never repay.
When we are walking in the Spirit, we are being led by the Spirit. Therefore, we surrender ourselves to His will. He has promised to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory, and we can rest in that. But He doesn't provide our wants unless through His sovereign will He decides that having that item will be beneficial for us.
There is no evidence in the New Testament that anyone every negotiated with God. There is nothing in the gospels that anyone, including the disciples negotiated with Jesus over any issue.
The notion that some have that they can negotiate with God suggests that they have something to negotiate with. The reality is that we have absolutely nothing of value to offer to God as a basis for negotiation. We come to Christ as worthless sinners, deserving of hell. The only reasoning we have with God is to confess our sins, plead for forgiveness and cleansing and to be genuinely converted to Christ.
To think that one has any basis for negotiation with God over any issue, shows an attitude of pride and a notion God has an obligation to enter into a negotiation, when in reality, God owes us nothing, and we owe Him a debt that we can never repay.
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Or you could just trust 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. I guarantee that whatever the reason for you being in that "place" it is because God allowed it for a reason that is good.Negotiation with God is Prayer.
You know how many, "Please God if you let me make it back out of this place I'll proclaim your power." I've said?
Too many to count. So far so good.
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Absolutely. Be humble and realise/confess you can't meet the requirements:
Luke 14
32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
Most people are taught there are no requirements and boy! are they in for a nasty surprise!
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There is only one issue in our entire lives. It's a binary, either yes or no. There is no in between.
Against/for. Gather/scatter. God/mammon.
Luke 11
23"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
Luke 14
32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
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Name one issue. I'll explain how it relates to being either considerate of others or being selfish.
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That’s a great topic to discuss, in order to see how it relates to choosing between living for others and living for self.
Matthew 19
10The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11But He said to them, “Not all men canaccept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.
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1 Corinthians 7
32But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 33but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
............
The greatest command is to love God, “secure undistracted devotion to the Lord”. We can make many mistakes about theology, but we can never go wrong if we obey this command. God is love, and He desires that we love Him. Since loving Him involves being loving in all our actions, when we show love to others we are definitely obeying Him. Again a clearer description of loving others, the best thing we can do in this task, is to convince others to follow God: gathering. People will have the greatest blessing when they follow God.
When we marry, this act reduces the resources we can devote to “gathering”, "concerned about the things of the Lord". Scripture teaches it is better not to marry.
But God created us to multiply. To do this, we have appetites, drives, impulses. These drives are a good thing. How can we multiply if we do not feel hunger, desire? If I feel hunger, I’m happy. It means my body is working properly. If I feel desire, it’s the same. However, some are given the gift to control their drives so that they can do with the least amount of satisfaction. That's a wonderful gift, allowing men like Paul to “secure undistracted devotion to the Lord”.
But not everybody has been given this strength. So Scripture teaches it is better to marry than to burn. Obviously there is no need to marry more than one wife, if the purpose is only to satisfy a drive.
This is one example of a negotiation, asking for exemption from “undistracted devotion to the Lord”.
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