Saturday, January 1, 2022

A Prayer from Heaven – The Model Prayer as Evidence for the Deity of Christ, W. Terry Varner


 A Prayer from Heaven – The Model Prayer as Evidence for the Deity of Christ, W. Terry Varner

One of the intriguing questions I ponder, relating to the false view that God is not involved in the fate of nations or the affairs of men, is this: why did Jesus teach His disciples to pray as John had taught his disciples to pray too (Luke 11:1)?

If one of the tenets of deism is that God “wound up the world” and lets it spin on its own without further action or intervention by God, then why would we be taught about prayer and encouraged to pray by the Son of God? The fact of the matter is that many underestimate God’s actions in the world. They seem to think that God only operates supernaturally rather than through His natural laws to accomplish His will. This is one of the subjects of Habakkuk—God is active among the nations even when these nations are unable to detect His actions. The founding fathers of our nation recognized that God was active in the rise and fall of nations, as seen in their reference to Him as “Divine Providence”, and they sought His assistance in the formation of these United States. Sadly, the founding fathers of our nation are often misrepresented or misunderstood.

This book drives at fundamental points relating to the model prayer: God exists! God listens! God takes action! I appreciate the way Charles C. Pugh III describes this book as exegetical, devotional, and apologetic too. To some, the concept of the model prayer and apologetics may seem rather tenuous; however, if there is no God then to whom are we praying and for what reason? Indeed prayer and apologetics go together! W. Terry Varner, as Editor of Sufficient Evidence and co-founder of the Warren Christian Apologetics Center, certainly knows his way around the apologetics field!

The book is devoted to several themes relating to the model prayer: reverence, adoration, sovereignty, obedience, dependence, forgiveness, guidance, deliverance, and praise. Each of these themes is discussed in the context of the model prayer. The material is rich and well worth the study. In addition, there is a helpful appendix relating to our model, our example, Jesus Christ and how He was a man of prayer too. The book also includes a helpful Scripture Index, plus each chapter has a detailed bibliography for those seeking to consult additional works on the subject.

One wonders how many of our problems today could be alleviated if we prayed more? Do we pray enough? Do we pray at all? We need to be people who listen to God through His word and talk to Him through the blessed avenue of prayer vouchsafed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham Lincoln said “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” We have someplace else to go, and we should bow the knee every day in prayer along life’s journey to that destination!

Originally printed in the West Virginia Christian, Vol. 24, No. 5, May 2017, p. 8. Reprinted by permission.

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