In Kleinig's Grace Upon Grace, he talks about the power of prayer. "Only if we begin and end with our spiritual weakness can we safely appreciate the true power of prayer" (page 193). "When we pray, we do not tap our latent spiritual potential, nor do we even exercise the power that we possess by virtue of our Baptism or conversion" (pages 193-194).
He says it's not about the power Christians have been given in their regeneration. Even though we have been called "God's sons," even though we have been declared holy, even though we have the Holy Spirit working within us, our "power" is not ours; it is something we receive, not something we possess. We are weak. Really really weak.
On a related note, it makes me wonder about those who sputter objections about "too much Gospel." Some people keep bringing us back to the Law; they want "enough Law" to be preached so that Christians will be encouraged to do good works. It sounds like they think we are able to harness some power within us to Be Good.
It makes me wonder if such people do not themselves know the freedom of the Gospel and the power of the Gospel. Maybe they think "all that Gospel" cannot possibly "work" because they cannot begin to conceive of people actually doing good except to earn a reward or avoid a punishment. But if a person believes in the Law, if a person lives by the Law, then it's no surprise that he would think the Law is where we find our motivation.
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As always, Thank You so much. You have a gift for rearranging and distilling, yet always staying with the essence of what is said.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate that.