Has that question ever popped into your head? D.A. Carson takes a few minutes to answer that conundrum and gives some wise insights into prayer.
Continue reading about Why Should I Pray If God Know’s Everything?
One of the most heartbreaking episodes in my Christian experience is the occasional encounter with the person who has become disillusioned with the faith or defeated in their spiritual life and concluded “Jesus is not enough.” Having passed through a particularly difficult event or hardship or test of obedience, they are left joyless, defeated and hopeless. They “tried Jesus,” but He just couldn’t fix their relationship or absorb their grief or “help” them to “be good enough.”
A few men get together each Tuesday morning to enjoy friendship, a great cup of coffee and discussion of a good book. We are just finishing up John Piper’s The Pleasures of God and it has been rich. I think the author digs down to the source of this kind of disquiet in a wounded soul and demonstrates how Jesus can be, as one friend described Him, super-adequate:
Here we see the key to the triumph of obedience over disobedience. The key is confidence that what Christ offers is better than the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” Moses looked to the reward of God’s promises, he weighed that against the rewards of unrighteousness, and he rested satisfied in God… The writer of Hebrews calls this liberating contentment “faith”… The definition of faith behind this usage is given in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.” In other words, faith is the satisfied assurance that God will work things out in the future far better than I could work them out by relying on myself or by departing from the path of obedience – even if obedience means suffering now. Being satisfied with all that God is for me in Christ – past, present, and future – is the power to resist the alluring temptations of disobedience.
Simple faith in Jesus is the “liberating contentment” that will enable you and I to live a life that pleases God. Trusting in Christ brings that “satisfied assurance” that God has my best interests at heart, even when I am under intense pressure or suffering beyond my capacity to endure. Finding our complete pleasure and satisfaction in Jesus is the power behind our ability to resist the baubles and trinkets that will pass away in a moment at His coming. In other words, Jesus is more than enough for any and all situations we face in this life.
If you find yourself wondering if Jesus is enough… if He really can deliver on those promises you embraced at some time in the past, turn from your self-savior project and trust in Jesus. Ask Him to be the Lord of your life, to meet your every need and to reveal Himself to you, as He did in Psalm 16:11. Then you can join David in singing:
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
