Bible Study Principles

 

The Genesis of Prayer

Principles

 

1. God is a God of purpose, and His purposes are eternal.

2. God created mankind for and with a desired purpose.

3. God desired offspring with whom He could share a relationship of love, as well as rulership and dominion.

4. God created mankind in His image, with His nature and moral character, and with a sovereign will.

5. God gave mankind the freedom to function as the legal authority on earth. He placed His will for the earth on the cooperation of man's will. This purpose never changed, even after the fall of mankind.

6. God's willis His purpose for mankind. To fulfill what they were created to be and do, men and women must desire to do God's will.

7. Prayer is an expression of mankind's unity and relationship of love with God. It is also an expression of mankind's affirmation of and participation in God's purposes.

8. Prayer is the involvement of one's whole self with God.

9. Prayer is the medium through which the human spirit affects and is affected by the will and purpose of the divine creator.

10. Prayer is not optional. It is essential for the fulfillment of God's purposes on earth.

11. Prayer is man giving God the freedom to intervene in earth's affairs.

12. When we know God's purpose and will, when we are obedient to it, and when we ask God to fulfill it, God will grant what we ask of Him.

13. When Adam and Eve broke their relationship with God, their effectiveness in prayer was also broken. True prayer is maintained through oneness of heart and purpose with God.

 

 

The Authority of Prayer

Principles

 

 

1. God's plan of redemption is consistent with His character and purposes. He redeemed man while keeping man's free will and earthly authority intact.

2. Through Christ we are restored to our purpose, and through Him we have a right to pray with authority.

3. As the Second Adam, Christ is the image of God, exhibits a relationship of love with God, lives to do God’s will, and reigns as King of the earth and Judge of mankind.

4. Christ reclaimed our earthly authority in these ways:

• Jesus came as a man. Thus He was qualified as a Representative of earthly authority.

• Jesus was perfectly obedient and sinless. Thus He was qualified to be the Son of God and to restore man's relationship with the Father by overcoming sin and death through His sacrifice on the cross.

• Jesus rose victoriously. Thus He was qualified to defeat sin and Satan, regain authority over the earth, and be its rightful King. 

   5. The position and authority that Jesus won have been transferred back to mankind through spiritual rebirth in Christ (John 3:5).

   6. When we do not live in our position of authority, it is because we do not recognize or accept our calling in Christ, because we do not know our  

       covenant rights.

    7. Man's redemption allows him to have dominion. This means that Satan and sin have no authority over us, we have authority and access to the

       Father through Jesus' name, and we have authority through the Word of God.

    8. Jesus is our model of dominion authority. What He accomplished on earth, He accomplished in His humanity, even though He was also divine. He

        relied on the grace and Spirit of God, as we can.

    9. Our right to pray comes from both our calling in creation and our redemption in Christ.