Biblical friendship

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Part of my work is processing social media for Prayer Current. Prayer Current will be at Missionsfest in Vancouver, January 27-29.

Missionsfest Vancouver

Prayer Current is a Christian, bible-based, prayer ministry.

A key working textbook of the ministry is 

SMED, JOHN with HWANG, JUSTINE (2016) Engage: The Conversation with God, with believers, with seekers, Vancouver, Prayer Current.

I was asked to review the text. This is non-exhaustive being consistent with this media format. As per the citation style I was taught within British academia, citations will primarily be in my own words.

Prayer Friendship with Jesus

Praying to God as a friend would be a two-way, conversion. (8). From the New Testament, Jesus Christ, as God the Son, brings in people to a two-way conversation with God, through prayer. (8). As Jesus Christ is both infinite God and perfect man, in obedience to God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, he completed the atoning work and resurrection for the salvation of humanity. Apart from Christ, human beings 'experience a kind of solitary confinement.' (8). Indeed, based on the New Testament, from Acts 4: 12, it is explained human salvation can be obtained from no one or nowhere else, other than through Jesus Christ. This is controversial in some circles, but biblical, none the less.

English Standard Version

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

New American Standard Bible

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Jesus Christ and his atonement and resurrection applied to believers is God's gift to humanity in friendship. (9). The text quotes John 15: 13-16 and from v 16  'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you...' (9).

Readers may recognize that the Prayer Current text states the concept in modern philosophical terms, of compatibilism, which I have discussed thoroughly within my British academic work and on this website. In basics terms it states that God's sovereignty is compatible with human free will; what I define as limited free will. Human beings have a limited free will only, as secondary causes, not primary causes, choosing within their nature. Human nature is corrupted due to the fall (Genesis 3, Romans 1-6), while God's nature is infinitely good. Through the 'search' feature, top right on this website, more related entries on this website can be found.

However, Jesus Christ choosing his disciples and eventually apostles in John 15 as friends, is theologically consistent with Pauline concepts of compatibilism in Ephesians 1 and Romans 8, where persons are chosen in Jesus Christ. True effective, biblical prayer essentially relies on this divine-human connection that within the Reformed tradition, is initiated by God.

Praying For Appointments

I appreciate how theological the 'Engage' text is, as is 'God In The Conversation', which I also reviewed on this website. This is useful:

Quote:

'When you confess your sins you are completely washed clean of them. An old saying captures this truth:

That Jesus died on the cross is history.
That Jesus died for sin in theology.
That Jesus died for my sin is Christianity.' (83).

This application of the atonement and sacrifice for a person involves on the part of a person an embracing of the gospel message, given by God. This leads to the biblical prayer model of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God the Father and humanity (The book of Hebrews).

Politicians & Prayer

Neither Prayer Current or I, is particularly politically focused. But I find the citation below, enlightening.

'Politicians focus on outside issues for good reasons. The heart is harder to change than the environment.' (91).

To whatever extent our global environment is corrupted, and I reason it is, this problem of evil, like all problems of evil, humanly speaking, comes from a corrupted human heart. Environmental problems are symptoms of a corrupted human heart, a corrupted human nature.

I very much agree with the text that 'the inner pollution never gets cleaned up' by simply cleaning the outside (91). Even if humanity cleans up the earth's environment, without the regeneration (Titus 3: 5) work of Jesus Christ applied to persons, problems of sin and evil will continue.

Engage