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Supernatural Power For Everyday People

DAY 3 OF 5

Perhaps the primary reason that in times of difficulty or loneliness we think of God as being silent is because we equate “God’s voice” with material blessings, physical comfort, and happy feelings. When good things are happening, we are rarely troubled by God’s silence, even if we never talk to him ourselves or read his Word.

The idea that blessings equate to God speaking while hardships equate to God’s silence is a symptom of the way we tend to think of blessings as “normal” and hardship as “odd.” Given the fallenness of humanity and the consequential brokenness of creation, this viewpoint is exactly upside down. God is never really silent with us, not even in our loneliest and darkest circumstances. Hearing him may indeed be more difficult, and we may find “feeling” his presence harder still—that is only natural. Nonetheless, he is always with us and he is always speaking. Engaging in this heavenly conversation is the essence of walking by faith, not by sight. . . . The key to the supernatural life, then, is engaging in this divine dialogue for which all Christians are empowered to participate.

What is the divine dialogue? Put very simply, it works like this: God speaks to us in his Word, and we respond to him in prayer. God may speak to us in other ways, and we to him, but these are subjective and not normative. No, there is no other way around this truth: the primary way any Christian will participate in a friendship with God is by Bible study and prayer.

Prayer is, fundamentally, our way of participating in the divine dialogue begun by the Spirit in the Bible. It is helpful to think of prayer this way because it demystifies prayer a bit and makes it more practical and thus more doable. It also helps us guard against unbiblical thinking about prayer and its impact in our world.

Is prayer powerful? Yes, definitely, but specifically because the one being prayed to is powerful. The one doing the praying is, by her praying, demonstrating that she has no power in and of herself. That is functionally what prayer is—an expression of helplessness. If we were powerful, we wouldn’t need to pray.

Scripture

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About this Plan

Supernatural Power For Everyday People

Acclaimed writer and pastor Jared C. Wilson reveals how God has a plan for you that involves doing the ordinary, mundane stuff of life in a supernatural way. Would it change your life to know that there is a way to live your everyday life supernaturally? Most of us would say “yes,” and Jared C. Wilson’s new book reveals how. For the homemaker wondering how to get through the stress of washing dishes and making meals nobody seems to appreciate; for the cubicle jockey punching her time-card every day wondering if what she does really matters; for the teacher or leader wondering if he is making an impact; for the student afraid of the future; for every believer struggling to get through daily life, Supernatural Power for Everyday People offers the hope of meaning and purpose, and also the promise of power. We can get beyond just “getting by." We can prevail and live a life of far more joy, contentment, and peace than we ever thought possible. A practical book written in a devotional tone, Supernatural Power for Everyday People shows readers how to rely more fully on the power of the Holy Spirit for growth and satisfaction in their lives.

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