Predestination, Free Will and Praying

[Debbie]

Prayer to me is a personal relationship like any other, except that God is in charge of this relationship. The Bible says we are to pray without ceasing. Constantly in prayer, whether silently while at work while simultaneously doing something else, etc. That's my guess.

 

[Christsoldier]

Imallforgod,

I pray and I just talk(ramble)to God all the time! When nobody else is listening, I know He is!!

 

[ThrdJohn13]

THe BIble both teaches predestination and free-will. It seems to me that neither Jesus, nor the Apostles saw these as mutually exclusive. Furthermore, the value of the atonement is not in "how many sins did Christ pay for." The Bible in no sense describes redemption this way. Christ didn't come to simply "pay for sin", He came to completely redeem a group of people who were united to Him before the foundation of the world. It is for those people whom Christ's death and resurrection was efficacious. This truth, along with the fact that God desires for all to come to repentance, though seeming contradictory, also was not a problem for either Jesus or the Apostles.

About prayer: The Bible is clear that nothing that happens in this world is outside God's sovereign will. However, it also clearly teaches that we are to pray. In our minds these 2 things seem at odds. Apparently, according to the Authors of the Bible, they're really not.

Any questions, drop me an email

Also, I'd recommend reading Hodge's Systematic Theology (volume 2), Herman Bavinck's "Doctrine of God", and maybe also John Murray's Collected Writings (volume 2). These expositions of Scripture are helpful