same manner and in the same sense that the apostolic church did we pray to the sovereign god of heaven and earth the sovereign god who created heaven and earth the sovereign god who governs all his creatures and all their actions that's meant to encourage you and invocation isn't simply calling upon god but it's also understanding and rehearsing who god is it's confessing him it's understanding it's praying according to knowledge it's realizing the target of our petition is the one who has absolute ability to to carry out what he has promised and purposed matthew poole makes this observation he says the creation and government of the world is a good consideration to confirm us under all things that befall us here listen to that again the creation and government of the world is a good consideration to confirm us under all things that befall us here the god to whom we pray the god we pour out our burdens to is the god who made all things the god who governs all things and you'll notice that when they come to the application of psalm 2 in their current situation they know that this enmity from the sanhedrin against that they know that this rage of the nations targeting yahweh and his christ and those who have solidarity with christ they know this is under god's sovereignty they're not for a moment thinking you know lord you've lost control you know lord there's something out of your your your hand here these people have gone rogue they've they've become renegades they've become mavericks and they're persecuting poor little us no they never give any inkling of that whatsoever they are through and through convinced that god is over even the threatenings of the sanhedrin leveled against these men such that they stop preaching the gospel of our lord jesus christ brethren that is the vantage point upon which we pray we don't come to a god who is crippled we don't come to a god who is hindered we don't come to a god who is neutered we don't come to a god who is silent we don't come to a god who is absent but we come to the god who made the world and all things in it we come to the god who governs all his creatures and all their actions we come to the god who holds the hearts of all men in his hand we come to solve
Clip: God isn't crippled, hindered, silent, or absent
Summary
ExpositoryBecause God is the sovereign creator and governor of all things, Christians pray with boldness, not as suppliants to a diminished deity, but as petitioners to the omnipotent Lord who holds all events in his hand.
The sovereignty of God over creation and providence is the proper ground of confident, bold prayer. Drawing on Acts 4 and Psalm 2, this excerpt shows how the apostolic church prayed not to a God diminished by circumstance but to the God who made and governs all things — including the threats of the Sanhedrin against the early church. The vantage point of God's absolute sovereignty is what makes petition coherent and emboldening rather than desperate.
Key quotes
The god to whom we pray the god we pour out our burdens to is the god who made all things the god who governs all things.
We don't come to a god who is crippled we don't come to a god who is hindered we don't come to a god who is neutered we don't come to a god who is silent we don't come to a god who is absent but we come to the god who made the world and all things in it.
The creation and government of the world is a good consideration to confirm us under all things that befall us here.
Applications
- Pray to God as the one who governs all his creatures and all their actions, not as one who might have lost control of your circumstances.
- When facing opposition or threat, resist the temptation to think that hostile forces have gone beyond God's sovereign reach.
- Confess the character of God — his creative power and providential rule — as part of the act of prayer itself, not merely as a theological abstraction.
Questions this sermon answers
Why does God's sovereignty matter when we pray?
Because prayer is directed to the God who made and governs all things, his sovereignty means he has absolute ability to carry out what he has promised — petition is therefore never futile or uncertain of its object.
How did the early church respond to persecution with prayer?
The apostolic church grounded their prayer in Psalm 2, recognising that even the threats of the Sanhedrin were under God's sovereign governance, and so they prayed without any suggestion that God had lost control.
What is invocation in prayer?
Invocation is not simply calling upon God but confessing and rehearsing who he is — praying according to knowledge of his character and his absolute ability to accomplish his purposes.
Study notes
Theological terms
- Divine Providence×3
- Divine Sovereignty×4
- Invocation
- Solidarity with Christ
People cited
- Matthew Poole