Systematic Theology – Creation and Providence

Providence and Prayer

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Genre: Speech

Lesson: 11 of 17

Track: #11

Year:

Dictation Name: 11 Providence and prayer.

[Rushdoony] Our Lord and our God we thank Thee for the privilege of being Thy people, and of studying Thy word and of growing in Thy grace. Bless us this evening and always that we may be prosperous by Thy word and by Thy spirit, that we may exercise dominion in every area of life and thought to the glory of Thy name, in Jesus name, amen.

This evening our first subject is providence and prayer. It is often been held that if one believes in predestination, and in providence, this makes any concept of responsibility in prayer impossible. If all things are predestined, why pray? Now that’s a question that is often raised. The argument is very logical, in fact it is unanswerable; if we insist that the limits of logic and possibility are what Aristotle and Humanism say they are. But this we can never grant, because if logic and possibility are to be governed by the human mind, then indeed our world is a very limited one. The limits of possibility are what scripture say they are. The limits of possibility are what God ordains. All the doctrines of the Bible are illogical if we begin with the logic of humanism, if we begin with Aristotle’s logic. So that we can never say there is simply one kind of logic and it’s the logic, say, that is taught in the universities.

Within limits such teaching has its place, but it has a basic fallacy in that all such logic beings and ends with human possibility, with the concept of possibility as conceived by man. But the Bible says that with God all things are possible; whereas with men all things are neither possible nor comprehensible. Man cannot comprehend all things. God is incomprehensible to man; the universe itself is incomprehensible to the mind of man. Our mind staggers at the immensity of the very universe, how then can we impose our logic on that universe? How can we govern the universe by our concept of possibility?

The Bible affirms predestination and providence. It also affirms human responsibility and prayer. As a result we cannot say these things are illogical and impossible for us, because we have no right to impose our concept of logic and possibility upon God and His creation.

Calvin when He deals with the subject of prayer declares that prayer is not only a privilege but a commandment. He tells us very plainly that prayer is an order in scripture, so that to be prayer less is to be lawless. Moreover he says both at the beginning and end of His chapter on prayer, and His institutes of the Christian religion, that prayer and providence are inseparably linked. Incidentally Calvin in His institutes gives so much attention to prayer that it really constitutes a small book in itself. The very beginning of that section he writes: “When He (God) enjoins us to pray the commandment itself implies a charge of impious contumacy if we disobey it. No command can be more precise than that in the Psalm, ‘call upon me in the day of trouble.’ It is evident that all those who turn their backs on God, or do not directly approach Him, are not only guilty of disobedience and rebellion, but also convicted of unbelief because they distrust the promises.”

Then at the end of his chapter he declares and I quote: “it is certainly not without reason that our heavenly Father declares that the only fortress of salvation consists in invocation of his name ; by which we call to our aid the presence of his providence, which watches over all our concerns ; of His power which supports us when weak and ready to faint; and of His goodness which receives us into His favor, though miserably burdened with sins in which finally we call upon Him to manifest His presence with us and all His attributes.” Again he writes “If with minds composed to this obedience we suffer ourselves to be governed by the laws of divine providence we shall easily learn to persevere in prayer and with suspended desires to wait patiently for the Lord. Assured, though He does not discover Himself, yet that He is always near us; and in His own time will declare that His ears have not been deaf to those prayers which to human apprehension seemed to be neglected.”

For Calvin the central exercise of faith is prayer. Not because prayer takes priority over obedience to God’s law, but rather because it is the summation of the exercise of faith. A man of faith and obedience, for Calvin, is the man of prayer. Calvin tells us that He sees for rules in scripture with respect to prayer. First He says: “Our heart and mind must set aside all other matter and give itself over to conversation with God.” Second he says: “In asking we must truly feel our wants and believe that the Lord is the supplier thereof. This means that we must have faith in God’s absolute government and providence, otherwise we look to ourselves to supply our needs. To be prayerless is to have a feeling of self-sufficiency, to believe that we can do it all.” Third he says: “We must divest ourselves of all vain glorious thoughts, it is a sense of autonomy that makes us prayerless. We see ourselves as our own Gods, able to handle all our own problems; and so we really don’t feel any need to rely on God.” And fourth: We are prayerless (he says) unless we believe God, and that God can and will supply our needs.”

What Calvin says in setting up these four rules which are things scripture speaks of, we cannot limit God thereby. God tells us this is the way to pray, but God will hear prayers at times that are not in terms to these rules. A classic example of this is that he heard the prayer of Ahab. Ahab was a godless man under judgment, but we read in I King 21 verses 25-29 that Ahab prayed, God heard his prayer. Prayer must be in the name of the Lord. Solomon tells us in proverbs 10:18 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” The name of the Lord is for us Jesus Christ, God incarnate, He is the great name, and hence we pray in Jesus name, because we have no access to the throne of God apart from Him, nor do we have any merit other than His merit. He is our mediator. The only prayer that is not in Jesus name is the Lord ’s Prayer because it is in Jesus very words.

Calvin says with respect to the Lord’s prayer, and I quote: “it is certain that from the beginning no prayers have been heard but for the sake of the mediator. For this reason the Lord had appointed in the law that the priest alone should enter the sanctuary bearing on his shoulders the names of the tribes of Israel and the same number of precious stones before his breast. But that the people should stand without in the court, and there unite their prayers with those of the priest. The use of the sacrifice was to render their prayers effectual. The meaning therefore of that shadowy ceremony of the law was that we are all banished from the presence of God and therefore need a mediator to appear in our name; to bear us on His shoulders and bind us on His breast that we might be heard in His person; moreover that the sprinkling of His blood purifies our prayers which have been asserted to be otherwise never free from defilement.”

Prayer is so important to God that His very temple a house of prayer. The focus of prayer is given to us in the Lord’s Prayer. It is the kingdom of God, and our place and our service therein, our provision, or protection, and our deliverance. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the heart of all prayer, we pray for Christ’s kingdom, and we pray in terms of our place therein. For Calvin providence and prayer are closely aligned, they are united. The focus is the kingdom of God. This is why the very fact of prayer becomes vague and pointless and man centered if our perspective is not postmillennial. We must pray “Thy kingdom come.” And the more we pray, the more we grow into the providence of God; finding in God’s government our peace. We become agents of His government, exercising dominion in His name. We become the governed of God who govern in His name, His instruments for His dominion; and the Spirit prays within us in terms of these things.

Paul says in I Corinthians 16:22 “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let Him be anathema (or cursed).” Maranatha, that’s very interesting maranatha is very often used in many circles, and it is used to mean “Come, Lord Jesus.” Actually what it does mean is “Our Lord has come.” So that the meaning of maranatha is not that we look forward to his coming, but that He has come; that He is the very present Lord and ruler. He is the ruler to whom God has given all things by right of power and authority, and He is the ruler who is now putting all things under His feet in actual fact. So the Psalm says “blessed are all they that trust in Him.” Thus prayer and providence are inseparably linked. To pray is to say that we believe in God’s government, we believe that He has called us to have a place therein.;we believe that as we grow in grace, as we grow in faith and in obedience to God’s word, we grow also in prayer and we find that’s God’s government, God’s providence is that which we rely on. It means that progressively we cast our every care upon Him knowing that He cares for us. If we pray apart from a belief in providence our prayers then become hopeful and vain words hurled against the darkness; because then we do not believe that the very present God is making all things work together for good to them that love Him, to them that are the called according to His purpose. Then we do not trust in what God is doing, and we put our hope in what we may do.

Are there any questions now? Well if not we’ll take a brief break and then we’ll continue with the second session.