Topical Bible: The Law of God: Saints: Pray for Power to Keep

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Topical Encyclopedia

The Law of God, as revealed in the Scriptures, is a divine standard of righteousness and holiness that reflects God's character and will for humanity. It encompasses moral, ceremonial, and civil precepts given to guide the lives of His people. The saints, those who are set apart for God, recognize the importance of adhering to His law and often seek divine assistance through prayer to faithfully keep it.

Biblical Foundation

The Law of God is first introduced in the Old Testament, with the Ten Commandments serving as its cornerstone (Exodus 20:1-17). These commandments encapsulate the moral law, which is eternal and universally applicable. The psalmist expresses a deep love and reverence for God's law, stating, "Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation" (Psalm 119:97). This love for the law is a hallmark of the saints, who desire to live in accordance with God's will.

Prayer for Power to Keep the Law

Recognizing human frailty and the propensity to sin, the saints understand the necessity of divine empowerment to keep God's law. The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, highlights the struggle between the flesh and the spirit, acknowledging the need for God's intervention: "For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do" (Romans 7:19). This internal conflict drives the saints to seek God's strength through prayer.

The psalmist's prayer in Psalm 119 serves as a model for the saints: "Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me" (Psalm 119:133). This plea for guidance and protection from sin underscores the reliance on God's power to uphold His law.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

The New Testament reveals the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering believers to keep God's law. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as a Helper who would guide His followers into all truth (John 16:13). The Apostle Paul further explains that "the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6), indicating that the Spirit enables the saints to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law.

In Galatians, Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit, emphasizing that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). The Spirit's indwelling presence equips the saints to live in obedience to God's law, producing love, joy, peace, and other virtues that align with His commandments.

The Example of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, the perfect embodiment of the law, serves as the ultimate example for the saints. He declared, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the law's demands and provided a way for believers to walk in righteousness.

The saints, following Christ's example, pray for the grace to emulate His obedience. The Apostle John encourages believers, stating, "Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked" (1 John 2:6). This call to imitate Christ drives the saints to seek divine assistance in their pursuit of holiness.

Conclusion

The saints' prayer for power to keep the law of God is a testament to their desire to live in accordance with His will. Through prayer, reliance on the Holy Spirit, and the example of Jesus Christ, they strive to uphold the divine standard set forth in the Scriptures.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; yes, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Man's Inability to Keep the Moral Law
... 5) He really endeavours to obey God's law perfectly; and ... righteous are mixed with
sin, yet God sees they ... The saints' obedience, though short of legal perfection ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/3 1 mans inability to keep.htm

Putting God to Work
... daughters, his sons, and his sons-in-law, he had ... is made up of the prayers of God's
saints on earth ... God's secrets, councils and cause have never been committed ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bounds/the weapon of prayer/ii putting god to work.htm

Prayer Essential to God
... to honour, God's efficient agent in saving men and in edifying the saints. ... sin of
idolatry, at the time when Moses was receiving the law at God's hands, the ...
/.../bounds/the weapon of prayer/i prayer essential to god.htm

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the ...
... alone, nor to join with others who pray for thee. ... shall offend in one point of the
law" (wilfully) "is ... This all God's saints, whilst they lived here, knew well ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/meditations on the hindrances which.htm

The Unity of God
... The saints above know not our wants; if they did, we have no warrant
to pray to them. ... It is a sin condemned by the law of God. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/11 the unity of god.htm

Walking with God
... Paul to Timothy); And this book of the law, (says God to ... Watch, therefore, I pray
you, O believers, the motions of God's ... And such honor have all God's saints. ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/walking with god.htm

Thirty-First Lesson. Pray Without Ceasing;'
... and supplication in the Spirit for all the saints and for ... us are the creatures of
time, under the law of growth ... And He that lives so near God, and knows that He ...
/.../thirty-first lesson pray without ceasing.htm

Perseverance of Saints.
... and of the influence of the sanctions of moral law. ... Peter says, of all the elect
or saints, 1 Peter 1:5 ... of confidence with the apostles was, that God and Christ ...
/.../finney/systematic theology/lecture l perseverance of saints.htm

Jehovah-Shammah: a Glorious Name for the New Year
... and love the doctrine of the cross, not by force of law, but because ... of his family
fall out, and chide, and fight Saints who dwell with God love each ...
/.../spurgeons sermons volume 37 1891/jehovah-shammah a glorious name for.htm

Fenelon -- the Saints Converse with God
... THE SAINTS CONVERSE WITH GOD. ... when you prefer your own will to His, and make His
law yield to ... the coming of His reign, and do not desire that God should grant ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons vol 2/fenelon the saints converse.htm