Myth-Buster Series: Prayer Doesn't Work?

Someone once told me that prayer does not work. She said that she had asked God to heal someone she loved who was sick, but this person died anyway. Many people have similar stories of times when they went to God about something important to them, but He did not do what they asked. Does this mean that prayer does not work or that God does not care?

There’s an assumption being made here that goes something like this: "If God is real and He cares about us, then it would only make sense that He would give us what we ask, at least most of the time." But this is a human-centered, self-serving view of God and prayer. We often see God as the means to our ends. Prayer, we suppose, is the way to access His power and bring it to bear on the problem or issue we're facing. But there’s a problem with this mindset because it contradicts what we read about God in Scripture:

"[A]ll the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?” - Daniel 4:35

The Bible tells us that God is sovereign, meaning He alone is in control and has all of the means and authority to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. It is His will, His agenda, that is carried out, not man's. Surely if this is who God is, He has the right to say “No” whenever He wants. It may not suit our desires or preferences, but "No" is a perfectly valid answer. If God had to do everything we ask of Him, who would really be in control?

As children, we have to deal with "No" when it comes from our parents. Even caring, loving parents say, "No" to their children out of a desire to do what is best for them. Just like earthly fathers, God also says "Yes" at times, but He is under no obligation to do so! He has the prerogative to say, "Yes," "No," or "Not now," whenever He deems it appropriate. Just because God says “No” does not mean He is not real (or does not care) and just because He does not always explain Himself does not mean His decisions are without reason. 

When we go to God in prayer, we must drop any attitude of entitlement. God made us and gave us life, but we rebel against Him every day. We all deserve death for this treason, but while we were still sinners, He sent the Son, Jesus Christ to die for the unrighteous (Romans 5:8) and promises eternal life to all who repent from sin and put their trust in Jesus (Mark 1:15; John 3:16). For some reason, we need to be constantly reminded that we owe God everything, He owes us nothing, and yet He keeps giving!

In addition to God's sovereignty, Scripture also describes God's immutability, which means He does not change. Since God is completely perfect and has always been perfect, He has no need to grow, learn, or change in any way. Thus, it should not surprise us to learn that God never changes His mind (Numbers 23:19). However, we might start to wonder, "If God never changes His mind, why do we bother to pray?" Again, if we approach prayer with the idea that we can somehow get God to do what WE want, then we've missed something very important. We must remember that's not the way that Jesus taught us to pray:

"Pray then like this:
'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.'" - Matthew 6:9-10

Prayer is about bending our will to God's will, not the other way around. We are to pray for HIS will to be done, not ours. We are to pray for HIS kingdom to rule over the earth, not ours. Our goal is to pray for God's agenda to succeed rather than ours. Again, some may ask, "If God is sovereign and does as He pleases anyway, why do we need to pray for God to do His own will?" Obviously, God does not need us to pray to do what He wants. However, even though He can accomplish His will however He wants, God lets us be part of the process. Prayer is about how God gets us on board with His plan as He works in us to change our desires so that they look more and more like His desires (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

As our desires change, what we ask of God also changes. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus instructs us to ask God for what we need, "our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11) even though He says in verse 8 that “your Father knows what you need before you ask.” Again, we might ask, "What's the point?" Clearly, prayer is not about informing God of our needs or wants; He already knows everything. Rather, prayer is about acknowledging our dependence on God. When we pray for something, we are admitting that we cannot do it without God. Prayer makes us more aware of just how much we need God and how great and awesome He is. Through this process, we experience a deeper relationship with Him and He is glorified (John 14:13).

Also, when we realize that God already knows everything, we are free to pray whatever is on our heart. We cannot hide anything from God, so we might as well be real with Him. Even when we are in a bad mood, we can be honest with God. We can admit to Him that we know our hearts are not in the right place and then ask Him to help us adjust our attitudes.

When we pray in this way, we acknowledge that we are the ones who need to change, not God. Prayer is not a system that can be worked to get what we want; we cannot manipulate God. But when we stop asking God to do us favors and start asking Him to make us more like Jesus, we are praying according to His plan rather than ours (Romans 8:28-29). Prayer only "works" when we desire God more than the things He can give us. So the next time you pray, try to pay more attention to what God does IN you rather than FOR you.

For more insights on prayer, you can read or listen to a sermon by John Piper here.

Myth-Buster Series: Does Science Disprove God?

"There's no such thing as God," someone may claim. When asked how they know this to be true, the answer is often a simple, one-word answer: "Science!"* Game over. Issue settled. What can we say, right? If that's what "science" says then there's no need for further discussion . . . or is there?

If you ever find yourself in a position like this, you have three choices: 1.) You can drop the matter and retreat with your tail between your legs 2.) You can start firing off theistic, scientific arguments related to creation or intelligent design or 3.) You can challenge the underlying assumptions using the truth of God's Word. (Yes, there are also several, less-civilized options you could employ involving punching and/or name-calling, but I'm assuming you care - at least a little bit - about preserving your Christian witness.)

So how do we "challenge assumptions"? In theory, it's simple: you ask questions. But there's an art to it. You want to ask good questions that get a person to think about things they normally take for granted. In this case, a question like, "What do you mean by 'science'?" would be a great place to start.

Many people do not realize that "science" has become a loaded term. It doesn't merely refer to the scientific method anymore - the process of making observations, stating a question/problem, forming a hypothesis, testing it through experiments, analyzing the data, and coming to a conclusion. Rather, today, the word "science" has morphed to include naturalism - the philosophical belief that everything arises from physical properties and causes while excluding and discounting any and all supernatural explanations. However, naturalism has nothing to do with science. In fact, it's quite unscientific in that it rules out a whole spectrum of possibilities before the process even begins. But since many (though not all) scientists come from a naturalistic mindset, their assumptions have been grafted into the discipline itself. Ironically, such scientists are displaying their own faith-commitments with these assumptions despite their condemnation of the "faith-based" nature of other "religions".

But even if we just stick to the scientific method itself without accusing anyone of imposing their own beliefs
on it, we find that the whole system itself relies on MANY assumptions which we can challenge by asking questions. Consider the following:

1.) Assumption: The very name, "science" comes from the Latin word for "knowledge" which assumes that truth exists and it is possible to know it.
Question: How do we know that truth exists in the first place?

2.) Assumption: Science is based entirely upon human observation which assumes truth can be known through our senses.
Question: Why do we assume that our senses are reliable?

3.) Assumption: When we use experiments to test a hypothesis, we assume that we can use the laws of logic to tell the difference between "true" and "false."
Question: How do we know we can trust these laws to give us truth?

4.) Assumption: When we make predictions about the future based on past experiments, we assume the laws of nature won't change and that future will be like the past (known as "uniformity of nature").
Question: How do we know the future will be like the past?

How can anyone answer these kinds of questions? If the person in our example wants to stick to the mantra, "Science!" they have a bit  of a problem. The scientific method cannot account for the concepts of truth, knowledge, the laws of logic, or uniformity of nature because they are preexisting conditions, which means they must already be in place for it to work. To use science to explain where things like truth and knowledge come from would actually involve committing a logical fallacy called begging the question (a form of circular reasoning) which means to assume as true what you are trying to prove as true. It's like when you use a word in it's own definition. So if science can't answer this question for us, where do we turn?

Well, naturalism can't help us here because truth, knowledge, logic, etc. are abstract (nonphysical) concepts. How can we get the notion of truth from matter and energy? Can you measure logic in terms of mass or volume? Does knowledge give off light or heat? Of course not. Yet, the very same naturalist who says that everything has a physical cause will use these nonphysical principles in his scientific research even though he cannot adequately explain their existence.

With good questions, we can point out the inconsistencies that arise when we try to take God out of the picture. Then, if we get the opportunity, we can show how God's Word tells us where truth, knowledge and logic come from: “in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3) Any kind of knowledge or understanding we have about the world comes from God because He is the creator and source of all things visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16). God owns the universe and everything in it, including science and all of the laws upon which it rests (Psalm 24:1).

Does that mean only Christians are able to do science? Clearly not. Every day, unbelievers live in God's world and borrow from the laws He put in place all the while denying His existence. For a time, God graciously allows people to live in His world, study it, and unlock its mysteries even though they don't give Him any credit or praise for creating it in the first place. But that isn't to say He does not eventually take just action against them:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:18-21)

God has made Himself clearly known to us through what He has made (Psalm 19:1-2). The unbeliever's problem is not a lack of scientific evidence (there's plenty!), but it is the sinful rebellion against God that prevents him from acknowledging his Maker. Thus, the denial of God's existence is not based in intelligence or science, but in foolishness:

                                     “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God."
                                          They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
                                          there is none who does good.” (Psalm 14:1)

In conclusion, real science (i.e. the scientific method) does not disprove God, but it relies on nonphysical principles which can only be explained by God's existence. Science, in it's pure form, leads us to a deeper understanding of God through what He has made. We must not allow the faith-based assumptions of naturalists cloud the notion of what is "scientific" and what is not. They cannot account for truth, knowledge, and logic, but Christians can. Therefore, we must not avoid or shy away from science because of "anti-God" stigmas. Rather, we should use good questions to challenge faulty assumptions and reveal the foolishness of denying the God who has made Himself clearly known through His creation. Our ultimate goal is not to win arguments, but to gently and lovingly lead people to a knowledge of the truth in the hope that God will grant them repentance from their sin as well as faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

*I recognize that many people take a much more sophisticated approach to arguing against the existence of God than the example given in this post, but since I have found it to be a common line of dialogue I thought it would serve as a good starting point.