Friday, October 28, 2022

John E. McKinley on Jesus Providing us with the Provision of Empowering Grace Through Prayer

 

for those who follow Jesus, the provision of empowering grace through prayer is clear from the repeated emphasis on this biblical theme. Believers are to pray constantly about everything (1 Thess 5:17). Scripture tells a general theme that God will work in the individual who commits himself to God’s care (e.g. Prov 3:5; Ps 21:2; 37:4; Rom 8:28-29; 2 Cor 10:5; Phil 2:12-13). The pattern for prayer that Jesus gave his disciples includes a petition about temptation and the devil’s deceptions (Matt 6:13). Peter gives his readers motivation to pray in the midst of temptations by assuring them that God can rescue them especially from temptation (2 Pet 2:9). Hebrews 4:15-16 exhorts the readers to see God’s help in prayer specifically in relation to temptation, and the certain ground for assurance is Jesus’ own empathy and success in his own experience of temptation. (John E. McKinley, Tempted for Us: Theological Models and the Practical Relevance of Christ’s Impeccability and Temptation [Paternoster Theological Monographs; Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2009], 307)

 

Apart from the efficacy of prayer, I also bring this up as 1 Thess 5:21, part of the same pericope as v. 17 referenced above, is touted by some as biblical evidence for Sola Scriptura. For more against this doctrine, see:


Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura