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In the dispensation of Grace, God has changed a lot of the details of life, or the rules of living, as opposed to those for Israel under the law. We do not live in the law dispensation, so we cannot expect to experience life in the same way that we read in the Old Testament or the Gospels. We also cannot expect God to respond to us today as He did in the old ways under the law.
Where the old ways were focused on the external, the way of grace puts focus on the internal. Under the old law dispensation, Jews required signs (1 Cor.1:22), God's glory was present behind a veil in a stone temple, signs and miracles were visible in the natural realm, bodies were healed, circumstances could be changed by prayer, and the flesh was appeased in all these temporal ways because God was working according to the rules of life defined under this old law dispensation.
Today, the rules of the grace dispensation do not focus greatly on the physical and the external. God's focus is on our spirit and He is working on our inner man, that regenerated new creature as we read in Paul's second book to the Corinthians, (2 Cor.5:17). God does not take away the hardships and trials and illness and tragedies, because these are the very tools that shape us, and refine and strengthen us. God takes us through these, not because He is angry, or to punish us. He does not abandon us in our hour of need, NO! God never promised that our salvation would cause us to walk the high road of ease, or allow us to lie down in a bed of roses. What God does promise us is the miracle of GRACE. His grace will carry us through to the other side. His grace will work things out for our good. His grace will help us to be a testimony for others and show them His love. His grace will make our faith stronger and earn for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
God shows Himself strong today by the working of His grace in the inner man. The physical and temporal things are of less consequence than the state of our heart. The inner man is of greatest concern to Him. The miracles and wonders occurring today are evident on the inside of us. God resides in us through the Holy Spirit and His Word (as much as we expose ourselves to it), is in constant operation, sanctifying our thoughts and desires so that the outflow of life through us results in faith in Him, and love, joy, and peace.
If we want to look at evidence of God's love for us, we look to Calvary's Cross rather than our circumstances. In Christ, God has given us, as believers, internal provisions to strengthen us. Tragedies do not have to destroy us. God will not change our circumstances, but He will change us inside (in our soul's mindset) as we endure those circumstances. This is the basis of grace prayer according to "the dispensation of the grace of God," reinforcing in our minds with what is the truth for today.
2 Cor.4:16 "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Despite our outward circumstances, whether good or bad, our "inward (soul) man" is being "renewed day by day" (2 Cor.4:16) The body man is weakening, aging, and dying, but our inward soul-man grows stronger day by day. As sound Bible doctrine renews our mind causing us to think about our problems the way God does.
Eph.3:16 tells us how "the Spirit of God" works: "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner (innermost) man (in our spirit); ...." The "Spirit of God" works from the inside out into the soul-man, then leading our body. He takes sound Bible doctrine that we study and believe and works IN us.
1 Thess.2:13 "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."
The internal work of the Holy Spirit will produce outward behaviour. Grace moves from internal to external.
Concerning people enduring tragedies, there are really two classes of individuals for whom to pray. There are lost people (non-Christians) and there are saved people (real Christians). What should we pray for them? Again, what is God’s will during this current dispensation of grace? Go back to 1 Tim.2:3-4 as seen earlier.
First, God wants all lost people to be "saved" by grace, trusting in His Son Jesus Christ and His saving crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins. This is "the gospel of the Grace of God." (Acts 20:24). Lost people can replace material possessions, but they cannot replace their soul.
"… what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt.16:26).
- More than anything, during or after tragedy, we need to pray that these lost people be saved from their sins now, that they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ now. When we pray this, and one of two things will happen. Either we will eventually go out and share the Gospel with them, or God's Word will work in other Christians and they will share the Gospel with them... then the free-will choice is there's to receive Christ as Savior.
- God wants all Christians to know the truths of His Word for today, as to how grace works in our lives as believers. This is the Message of the Grace of God.
These two parts of God's will involve grace; a) justification by grace through faith, and b) sanctification by grace through faith!
What about praying for Christians enduring tragedy. Satan will use their misfortunes to distract them from God's unconditional love in Christ. In Rom. 8, the Holy Spirit speaks of a "who" that is exploiting our difficult circumstances, trying to cause us to believe those problems mean God doesn't love us.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Rom.8:35).
The "who" here is Satan who uses various life problems to divert our attention from God's "word of truth." We need to pray for our Christian brethren enduring calamity, for them to remember the love God has commended to them at Calvary. Their sins, they are already justified (paid for) "in Christ," what they need to be saved from is 'erroneous thinking.' The Spirit needs to enlighten and strengthen them with God's grace, mercy, peace, and joy. With those truths in mind and heart, they can endure to get through anything!
* The shaded part above is quoted verbatim from the website of Arthur Licursi. It strengthens the subject matter in this post and provides wonderful confirmation of how a grace believer today would pray effective prayers and how they should understand and respond with endurance through natural catastrophes. The full four-part article, called: "Praying for Those Enduring Natural Catastrophes", can be found on Arthur's website, here.
For additional posts with this topic, see:
- Prayer in the Grace Dispensation
May God's grace and peace continue to enrich your lives.
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