Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Awareness of Spiritual Need
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Matthew 5:3
People who are economically poor are well aware of their need. It is very likely that, if they pray at all, they pray for money, for prosperity. One does not need to have a revelation from God to see that kind of need. But what should the poor be praying for? They ought to be praying for the desire to work, for the understanding of their responsibility to their families, for the right kind of ambition that will motivate them, for the love that will make them lay down their lives to support their dependents, and for the drive that will energize them to find a job. These are the things God wants us to ask for because they are qualities that He has. By nature, we like to short-circuit the process and pray, "God, give me money. Give me a job." He would rather we ask for these other things, and He is far more likely to respond to us when we do. The poor in spirit are the best prayers of all. Their title, "poor of spirit" or "poor in spirit," shows that they are people who properly evaluate themselves against God. They see how rich God is in terms of love, generosity, kindness, mercy, wisdom—all the good qualities—and they see how poor they are in comparison. Wanting to be like God, they askHim for the qualities He has. Those are the kinds of prayers God responds to. In contrast, the proud will not be good at praying because they are secure in themselves, unable to see their need.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Prayer and Fervency
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Galatians 5:17
To a growing Christian, internal conflict frequently intensifies, a puzzling and distressing "side effect" to sanctification or holiness. This inner turmoil occurs because the person is growing and is thus more intensely aware of how far he is from God's perfection. He begins to "see" God far more clearly than ever, and he becomes distressed because he realizes that he does not even begin to measure up to what God is. He is ashamed of his impurity, that he is so rank with sin, that his character is so weak, that he allows his tongue to say things he knows he should not, that thoughts go through his mind that he knows are filthy. He sees hate in his character, which distresses him. But, if he were not growing, he would never have seen it! This revulsion is the very thing that makes him want to change. An adult understands far more in a given situation than a child. It is a significant mark of the adult's experience and maturity. A professional grasps much more of his profession than a novice. This same principle is at work in the mind of the one growing in holiness. The expert is always more aware than the novice. As an apprentice welder, many of the welds I had to make were on critical pipe joints, where there was perhaps 600-1200 pounds of steam pressure inside that line. Whenever I, not yet a journeyman welder, was assigned to a job in that kind of a high-pressure situation, my welds had to be inspected by a journeyman. I would make the weld, but the journeyman had to look at it. Frequently, I would make the weld and think I had done a pretty good job. The journeyman with all his experience would look at it and point out all the flaws in my weld. He could see from experience what my less-trained eyes and hands had failed to do. In essence, this applies to our spiritual growth. Christians who are really growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ—being sanctified—begin to become distressed the more they learn and experience. They see their flesh lusting against the Spirit. They are being pulled in each direction. Many years before, they would not have even been aware of what was happening inside them. But they are beginning to become trained in the holiness of God, and it distresses them that they fall so far short.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Nine)
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Revelation 3:15-20
We are, to a great measure, victims of an age that is certainly not apathetic to seeking its own pleasure but is apathetic about having a true relationship with God. Would anybody in all honesty not care to eat or to have fellowship with Jesus Christ? Yet, verse 20 says He is standing at the door and knocking, and He will come in and dine with them if they just open the door. Many would like to eat and fellowship with Christ just to say that they had that novel experience. But the irony here is that God is seeking His people, and they are too uncaring to even rouse themselves to answer the door! The message to this church shows that the problem is that they are so far from Him they are not even aware of their spiritual need and thus have no desire to be near Him. No desire, no prayer. No prayer, no relationship. No relationship, no awareness of spiritual need. It goes in a vicious cycle. God is hoping that He can stir us up enough to repent and to break out of the cycle. He says, "Repent. Be zealous." Zeal indicates heat, passion, and feeling. He is hoping to break us out of this circle by rekindling an awareness of our spiritual need. An awareness of need resides in us because we are close enough to Him to see how holy, gracious, kind, merciful, and good He is and desire to be like Him. In other words, we admire Him so much and respect His personality and character so much that we want to be near Him—right across the table from Him, as it were. We do not want to be near Him just to have a novel experience but to exalt Him and honor Him by being like Him. Is not imitation the most sincere form of praise?
John W. Ritenbaugh
Prayer and Seeking God
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