"By their works?"

I am on a quest to read through the Bible in 6 months. Usually, I read from Genesis to Revelation, in book order. This time, I am reading a selection from the First Testament (minus Psalms and Proverbs) a selection from the New Testament, a Psalm and and a few verses from Proverbs every day. The juxtaposition of thoughts is sometimes startling, either because they seem so different, or, as today, because the readings, especially the First and New Testament readings, seem so closely in harmony.
In Deuteronomy 13, Moses tells the Children of Israel to be careful about people who come as prophets. Verses 1 and 2 give the "fruit" test for a prophet - they predict the future, and their prediction is accurate, or they perform some sign or wonder. In other words, the prophets seem to be acting by the power of God, because they are correct in their foreseeing or demonstration of power. Verse 3 gives the warning - unless their teaching is in line with that of Moses, their demonstrations of power are to be ignored.
In Matthew 7 (parallel to Luke where I was reading in the NT), Jesus warns about "servants" who have done miraculous things. "Lord, Lord, in your name we did these amazing things... even raising the dead..." (my paraphrase of Matt 7:22) But just before this section, which is a lot like Moses in Deuteronomy, Jesus tells us that we can know people by their "fruit" - the things they do.
Jesus and Moses both seem to be saying that demonstrations of power are not the justification of a person's life. Just because someone can do amazing things is not proof that they are living a righteous or godly life. Demonstrations of power are also not sufficient to prove that what someone says is correct, or godly, or proper. For the people of Israel, they were to follow God even if a powerful person tried to convince them otherwise. For followers of Jesus, acts of power are not sufficient to guarantee eternal life.
For believers today, the fact that God is using someone to bring about His purpose does not mean that the person is blessed by God. In all cases, we must weigh our own actions by the commands of God; we must carefully consider the teachings of others, and ensure they are aligned with the Word of God. I am not responsible for you, though I have a responsibility to you. I am responsible for my own actions, attitudes, and behaviours before God,just as you are responsible for yours. Though we walk this Christian life together, we stand or fall alone before the holy God.

Why We Call On God: Lessons from Pharaoh

I was reading this morning in Exodus 5, and was first distracted by thinking about the plagues on Egypt, what they mean, and how they "mock" the gods of Egypt. But along the way, my thoughts were arrested by the actions of Pharaoh. At the beginning, he probably felt that this upstart, Moses, (who may have been his adopted brother, or uncle), was attacking Pharaoh's authority by demanding the release of the Hebrew slaves. As his own religious people were able to duplicate the actions of God (water to blood, frogs appearing), he was likely not terribly impressed. In Exodus 5:5, he instructs Moses to pray to Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, for respite from the frogs. When the respite comes, Pharaoh refuses to release the slaves, even though this was part of his offering to Moses in return for Moses' prayers. The focus of the text is not on the prayers or Moses, or the negotiations of Pharaoh. Rather the focus of the text is on the power of God, and his actions in arranging the exodus of His chosen people from Egypt.

I notice in reading this account of the plagues of Egypt, that Pharaoh makes bargains with God through Moses to achieve Pharaoh's desires, but that as soon as those desires are met, the bargain is forgotten. Two thoughts occur to me in this regard, and I must confess that both of them caused me to seriously examine my own life and practise. The first of these thoughts is that, when people come to God, they typically either come as negotiators in a business transaction or as supplicants bargaining/pleading for a desired outcome. Pharaoh is both, at different times. "I will do this for you, if you will do this for me." When we come to God in this fashion, it behoves us to make sure we follow through on our part when God does His. He takes His word seriously, and expects the same of us. In fact, in Matthew 5:33-37, we are told not even to swear to the truth, but to simply let our "Yes" or "No" be sufficient.

The second manner in which many people come to God is as a supplicant. In this approach, we recognise that we cannot accomplish what is needed, so we come to God and ask Him to do it. "God, heal my child." There is nothing necessarily wrong with this approach, either, unless it is performed with endless repetition, pleading, and begging.This endless repetition may indicate a false belief of one form or another. Does God only hear you because you are the loudest? Does God only act because you have convinced Him that your seriousness deserves it?

As I see it, neither of these approaches is necessarily wrong, but either may indicate a problem with our perception of God, and if that is the case, they they are definitely the wrong approach. When I come to God as a negotiator, I come as His equal, and I am not. Nothing I have to offer is anything less than He is already owed. If I am in relationship with Him, it is on the basis of salvation, which means, as Paul says, that I am "not my own, I am bought with a price". Whatever good I do is simply what is owed to Him already. So what can I bring as my part of any bargain? Even if I am not in relationship with God, He created me, sustains me, provides the air that I breathe, and the food that I eat. First of all, what am I giving Him in exchange? Secondly, if all I have comes from Him already, with what can I bargain?

If, on the other hand, I come as supplicant, with endless pleading, begging, and repetition, it may indicate that I think I have to convince God that I deserve this intervention. It may also indicate any one of a number of false beliefs- God does not really want to do this good thing; or God does not love me but if I grovel enough He will act anyway. The issue is not with the manner of my prayer, but with the belief at the base of my actions. For one person, the endless repetition is simply an indication of the depth of their desire, and not a reflection of their underlying beliefs. They know God heard them the first time, they know He is both willing and able to act in any and all situations, their prayers are a mechanism of reminder for themselves. "I am praying this because God is the only one who can act effectively, and this prayer reminds me to trust Him for the best answer."

Assuming you pray, how do you pray? What are the beliefs about God that underlie the prayers you pray? Is God good? Does He love you without conditions? Does He want the best for you? Are you praying this because you are a "worker together with God", or because you don't think God wants it for you and you are hoping to change His mind? If your beliefs are correct, then pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all manner of prayers. Pray the prayer of faith. However, if your beliefs are not correct, cease. Confess to God, learn to hold correct beliefs, and then bring your requests to God. Then, "the peace of God that goes beyond our comprehension will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus."

I am not trying, in this post, to say that you must be perfect in your faith and belief before you can pray. I am, however, trying to encourage you to think about how and why you pray, to examine your beliefs about God, yourself, and prayer, and to make any changes that may be required.