Bargaining With God
Bargaining with God is a bold act of faith that is practiced by folks that are in straits of some sort. Of course, the first reality in BWG is the confidence/assurance that God exists & can deliver the “goods” that we need. Today God’s Biblical character & dominion is not commonly accepted due to liberal & atheistic trends. Well, not because of my exceptional faith or righteousness, years ago I did some BWG & He came through for me. I’ve done some since then also. But I haven’t been alone in this – below are other examples of this bold & maybe sometimes reckless spiritual venture.
When I was in High School a friend & neighbor T. Scott had a daughter my age who came down with cancer. T. Scott prayed & told God he would accept Christianity & live for God if God would heal his daughter. The healing happened. The best story is of an Air Force serviceman in the early 80’s who encountered a newborn Korean infant in a So. Korean civil clinic. He prayed that God would allow him & his wife to adopt the baby girl. After substantial S.K. red tape & U.S. military procedures, and getting the serious adoption fee in cash, his locker was robbed the day before the adoption finalized. He prayed again that God would give him enough poker winnings that night to replace the stolen cash, and if so, he would raise the girl right, and not gamble any more. The money came back in a flash, the adoption went through, the baby girl grew up to be an A F medical officer, then became a civilian dental technician, & my hygienist for the last 6-8 years. And she is among the best.
A classic example of BWG in the Bible is Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. She was “to be” the mother of Samuel but was barren for years. She bargained w/God that she would give the baby back to God if He would allow her to conceive. God delivered “the goods”, & Hannah kept her side of the deal. She gave the toddler Samuel to the temple & priest Eli. Amazing & touching story of faith.
Another classic story is King Hezekiah of Judah – 2 Kings 20:1-6. This man came down with a lethal sickness & Bargained WG to heal him for his past righteousness. God heard & delivered the healing & gave Hezekiah 15 more years of life.
-- Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.”
-- Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Jesus the Christ said that.
-- Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
** Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
-- 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.”
Bargaining (or reasoning) with God is a matter of reaching out in faith to a personal God, asking/expecting something to happen personally. And that is what Christianity is all about. We are fortunate to have a God who is big enough, and able & willing to act on our behalf. (We are also fortunate to have God’s Word the Bible which explains all this in great detail . . .) Too many religions in our day expect God to be way out there, & not involved personally in our lives. What good is that?? Without a personal relationship with God, most faiths reduce down to a popularity contest/social club. But I like the notion of a close relationship – and maybe an occasional bold “Bargaining With God”. It all starts with believing “that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” ** Choose Jesus & His salvation. They are ALIVE. See also “Reasoning With God”, link 68.
Many other Titles: www.gospelnotes.org * * F. J. Stone * *
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