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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