Prayer and Revelation - Online Christian Library

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in doing this under the Old Covenant, but under the New Covenant, it would bemeaningless to do what he did. In fact, the only meaning conveyed by praying towardJerusalem today would be a denial of the work of Christ. God is not bound to any point inspace, or even especially associated with any point in space. Jerusalem is not anespecially holy place today, and there is no such thing as a "holy land" from the Christianperspective.Pilgrimage to a certain geographical area is unnecessary, and betrays not only a lack ofunderstanding, but also a shirking of real spiritual duty, which pertains more to thingslike doctrine, prayer, and good works. So what if you travel to the empty tomb whereJesus occupied? Why would you feel "closer" to him? Jesus is no longer there; he left thatplace two thousand years ago. Now, perhaps visiting some of the biblical sites may exciteyou about the biblical narratives you have already read, and because of this you feelcloser to God. But feeling is deceptive, and any real intimacy comes from thinking aboutthe words that you have already read from Scripture, and you can do that at home. TheBible says that only those who believe the truth and obey his commands are close to God.Any real benefit that you may receive from visiting these sites occurs only because theyremind you of what you have already read from the Bible, which brings us back to thepoint that true spirituality depends on the intellect and its relationship with revealed truth;it has nothing to do with your location. But since these benefits occur only in the mind,you can receive them by reading your Bible wherever you are, only that the benefits willbe greater, since you are spending more time reading and thinking, rather than sightseeing,and trying to convince yourself that you are getting closer to God by doing so. Mypoint is that you must not treat God as if he is local; God is spirit, and you must treat himas such by worshiping him in spirit and in truth, and not by going to Jerusalem. You arealso spirit, created in his image, and therefore you can associate with him by interactingwith the words of the Bible, which is his revelation to you.One of my classmates in high school was a Muslim. He had a prayer carpet with acompass sewn into it so that he could face the direction of Mecca when he prayed.Muslims are very concerned with Mecca; their faith is entwined with this place. ThusRobert Morey wisely suggests that the United States should threaten to destroy Mecca inorder to deter the Muslim terrorists. 59I saw a five-ton statue of Buddha in Thailand that was made out of fine gold. The monkscovered it up with mud during wartime to protect it. The statue could not protect itself; itcould not talk, hear, or do anything. When the Christian God commanded the use ofphysical objects in worship, he still made it clear that he himself transcended thoseobjects, and had no direct relationship with them. So when Uzzah reached out to steadythe ark of the covenant during transportation, God struck him dead (1 Chronicles 13:9-10). He will not be treated like a Buddhist statue.The Catholics take care to secure the "bread and wine" of communion, lest they spill thebody and blood of Christ! Even some who call themselves Christians act as if the Bible59 Robert Morey, Winning the War Against Radical Islam; Christian Scholars Press, 2002.44
itself – that is, the physical object consisting of paper and ink – is especially holy, andsome act as if the crucifix has special powers. But the power of God is not tied to thesephysical objects, and the power of the Bible is in its words, not the physical book itself.We appropriate the power of the "Bible," not by physically wielding it, but by reading itand believing its doctrines. The Christian must repudiate the sort of practices andsuperstitions found in Islam, Buddhism, and Catholicism. We worship God "in spirit andin truth," and not by facing a certain direction or by kissing a book.You approach God by knowledge and by faith, not by physical technique or posture.Prayer is not better when you do it in a church, or when you are in Jerusalem, but youmust pray "in spirit and in truth." If you are in ignorance or in unbelief when it comes tobiblical doctrines, or if you praise God with your lips while your heart is far from him,then you will not be heard, and you are not close to God even if you are face to face withChrist.It follows from God's transcendence that we can pray anywhere and at anytime. You caneven pray with your mind and God will hear you, for even before Psalm 139 mentions hisomnipresence, it says, "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You knowwhen I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my goingout and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on mytongue you know it completely, O LORD" (v. 1-4). The French philosopher Jean-PaulSartre could not stand the idea of Someone constantly "staring" at him, and who is awareof all that he thinks and does, and thus he needed to be an atheist. Now, although thedivine attributes may produce in Christians a holy fear, they also bring invincible peaceand comfort, and we would have it no other way.45
Page 1 and 2: PRAYER & REVELATIONVincent CheungCo
Page 3 and 4: PREFACEIn his book, With Christ in
Page 5 and 6: PRAYER AND THE TRIUNE GODThe doctri
Page 7 and 8: interpretation of Christianity, the
Page 9 and 10: of metaphysics (or reality), which
Page 11 and 12: nevertheless sound reluctant to blu
Page 13 and 14: 2. PRAYING TO THE FATHERThis, then,
Page 15 and 16: The above leads us to reject the no
Page 17 and 18: I urge you to read the sermon, "Sin
Page 19 and 20: 3. PRAYING BY THE SPIRITFor through
Page 21 and 22: First, we need to clarify what "gro
Page 23 and 24: The passage indeed implies that bel
Page 25 and 26: the limitations of our minds. Howev
Page 27 and 28: It is significant that when believe
Page 29 and 30: PRAYER AND THE DIVINE NATUREIn the
Page 31 and 32: 4. PRAYER AND SOVEREIGNTYI form the
Page 33 and 34: figures of speech; technically spea
Page 35 and 36: 5. PRAYER AND OMNISCIENCEAnd when y
Page 37 and 38: does not provide justification for
Page 39 and 40: that the man may receive the money
Page 41 and 42: Whatever we do, the principle remai
Page 43: this period of redemptive history i
Page 47 and 48: 7. PRAYER AND MOTIVATIONAnd when yo
Page 49 and 50: sin that lingers. You must struggle
Page 51 and 52: 8. PRAYER AND OBEDIENCEIf anyone tu
Page 53 and 54: commands and remain in his love." I
Page 55 and 56: 9. PRAYER AND PERSISTENCEThen Jesus
Page 57 and 58: necessarily apply to our relationsh
Page 59 and 60: Then Jesus told his disciples a par
Page 61 and 62: to it intelligible information, 66
Page 63 and 64: PRAYER AND THE INNER LIFEThe inner
Page 65 and 66: 10. PRAYER AND EXPERIENCEOne day Je
Page 67 and 68: cannot tell me if you can catch all
Page 69 and 70: Would you condemn me to justify you
Page 71 and 72: elieve! Trust God! This is what God
Page 73 and 74: Our culture favors the free express
Page 75 and 76: we cannot overemphasize the importa

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