The Bible-Prayer & Life with God

By Dr. Fred C. Sullivan

It is hoped that this book will help bring seekers to the knowledge of Christ and assist Christians in loving God and others with a better Christian attitude. The author hopes to help his readers have a better relationship with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512728828

Dr. Fred C. Sullivan

The author was born in Louisiana in 1938. He received his BBA from Loyola in New Orleans and his master’s and doctorate in biblical studies from Louisiana Baptist University. He received CPE training from Baylor Hospital in Dallas and was a volunteer chaplain. He and his wife, Joan, live in Dallas, Texas.

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Copyright © 2016 Dr. Fred C. Sullivan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2883-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2884-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2882-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016901533

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/29/2016

CONTENTS

Introduction

Book I: The Bible

Chapter 1   God’s Love Letter to the Human Race

Chapter 2   The History of God Speaking in the Old Testament

Chapter 3   God Speaking in the New Testament

Book II: Prayer

Chapter 4   Time Alone With God

Chapter 5   What the Bible Says about Successful Prayer

Chapter 6   To Heal a Nation

Chapter 7   Prayer and Revival

Book III: Life With God

Chapter 8   Understanding That God Rules

Chapter 9   Salvation—The Turning Point in Life

Chapter 10   Honoring God in Worship

Chapter 11   God Has a Plan

Chapter 12   Without Relationships We Die

Chapter 13   Facing the Hard Times of Life

Chapter 14   Keys to Victorious Living

Chapter 15   Mission Impossible—Let’s Go For It

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

Endnotes

I would like to thank and to dedicate this book to some important people in my life. First, my wife, Joan. She has seen me through and encouraged me through my master’s and my doctorate. She encouraged me to take the CPE training to become a hospital chaplain. She has encouraged me to write and helped proofread every page of two books so far. What a wonderful life partner God has given to me.

I would like to thank family and friends for their support and encouragement through all this. I may not have been there for everything, but I wanted to be.

I would like to add to this list Louisiana Baptist University and Seminary. They stuck with me through eleven years of studies while I held down a full-time job.

I dedicate this book also to my pastor, Pastor Pat Brown of Northlake Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as well as my fellow deacons, church staff, and members for their prayers and encouragement and support. I think I was their best dishwasher ever.

Also to the staff of Westbow Press, who helped me take pages of typed words and turn them now into our second book. What a helpful, knowledgeable, Christian team of people.

And most of all, I dedicate this book to God, the Holy Spirit, for seeing me through so much in my life and for his guidance while writing. I do not claim to be a prophet nor an apostle, but I, like many others, feel that he has led and guided me through this project. But for him nothing would have been done.

INTRODUCTION

In my prior book, PRAYER or Conversations with GOD, I wrote that you would begin a journey to a better way of life and a better, happier, and more peaceful future.

In this book I hope you will continue your journey. I discuss the Bible and the history of God speaking to people in the Bible. I talk about prayer time and how important it is to set a specific appointment with God. We make appointments with people we consider important in our lives. Why not an appointment with God? Isn’t he important to you? Or is he?

I talk about successful prayer. Everybody who prays wants their prayers to go higher than the ceiling. We also want those prayers to be heard and answered by God.

I talk about healing our nation and making it a godly nation again. I even talk about a revival. Our country, our state, our city, and even our church could use a revival.

The book closes with some thoughts on the fact that God rules. Atheists, secularists, and others do not believe this. What a shock when they learn they are wrong. The big bang theory. That’s an effect. Who or what was the cause of this effect? They have no good answer. Man evolved from something else? It takes less ifs, ifs, ifs to believe in God’s creation.

Proving God is like trying to prove a negative. I can’t do it. It takes faith. Recent archeological digs have verified a good bit of the Bible. None have found the Bible to be in error. Open-minded scientists are beginning to believe the Bible. Imagine it, science and the Bible in agreement! But some are too stubborn or (fill in your own adjective) to admit their errors.

Book 1

THE BIBLE

CHAPTER 1

GOD’S LOVE LETTER TO THE HUMAN RACE

In the first chapter of the Bible, we find these words: And God said. About 2,000 times we read these or similar words in the Bible. This should let us know that God wants to communicate with us. His desire to speak to us is the entire idea behind the Bible. We should not use the Bible to prove what we want it to say. We need to read it to find out what God wants to say to us. We have the Bible so we can learn about God and understand him.

Regular daily reading is needed if we want to develop a close relationship with God. The following five steps help us appreciate and discover the gems contained in God’s letter to us. These five steps are pray, read, observe, interpret, and apply.

We should pray before reading, asking God to open our minds and hearts in order that we might receive what he wants us to learn from our reading. In our prayer we ask him to teach us.

It is advisable to read an entire book to get its overall idea before studying individual passages. Reading an entire book gives us the big picture.

As we read and study the Bible, we need to observe repeated phrases and words. Note the names of people mentioned. Also, take note of connecting words such as but, if, so that, and therefore. We need to be able to answer the questions of who did what to whom when and why.

We need to interpret the motive of the person who wrote that book. To get a good understanding of each book of the Bible, it helps to know who wrote it, when, to whom it was written, and why it was written.

The ultimate goal in studying the Bible is to apply its truths in our lives. The more we apply to our lives what we read in the Bible, the stronger our relationship with God becomes. The more we taste of what the Bible has to say, the more of it we will want.

The Bible tells us his advanced weaponry allowed Joshua to conquer the various people living in the Promised Land. His advanced weaponry was his time spent with God. Take time to read Joshua 1:7‒98. Joshua was told to study (meditate) on it day and night. He gained strength and wisdom from his daily time with God. God fulfilled all his promises to Israel.

The Bible does not shy away from life in our fallen world. Whether it is adultery, fraud, murder, rape, or theft, the Bible discusses it and does not cover it up. One of the most gruesome stories in the Bible is the one at Judges 19:29, concerning the Levite and his concubine. The story shows how Israel had turned away from God and became such a corrupt society. We see God’s Scriptures are faithful in their stories of human reality. God hates sin and the consequences it brings.

The manner in which we come to God is very important. So often we come to God telling him what we want him to do. Who are we to instruct God on how to accomplish anything? Our knowledge is not superior to his. Our plans or ideas may contain unforeseen circumstances.

It must have been one of the worst days in King David’s life. His son, Absalom, led a revolt against the king and forced David to flee the capital. The Bible tells us in 2 Samuel 16:14 that David arrived at his destination and there refreshed himself. We ask ourselves how he could refresh himself after such a day. David probably did what he liked to do, and that was to meet with his God. This was one way David found strength to overcome adversity. God is as faithful to us today. When we have had a bad day and feel the world is against us, God gives us peace and comfort when we stop, read, and meditate on his Holy Word.

Second Samuel 22:31 reads, As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.¹ The word sincere means honestly and without cover-ups. That’s what God means when he says the Bible is flawless. The Bible is God’s Holy Word. It is the genuine article and without fault. We live in a world full of false advertising and hype, but God’s Word is true.

The year was 622 BC, and the Israelite king, Joshua, had a repair crew working in the temple. In 2 Kings 22:8 we find, "Hilkiah, the high priest said to Shaphan, the secretary, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.’ He gave it to Shaphan who read it."² This was a time when the Babylonians were taking over the power from the Assyrians. The world was in turmoil. This discovery of the book of Deuteronomy made everything else seem incidental. When the king had it read to the people, a revival broke out.

When Jehoshaphat became king of Judah, he fortified many cities against attack. He also sent the Levites out to teach the Bible to his people. Second Chronicles 17:9 says, They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.³ The Book of the Law was their greatest treasure. As they taught, they saw their people transformed. To them, it became an honor to take God’s Word to those people who would not otherwise know the Scriptures.

In Ezra 7:10 we read, For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.⁴ Ezra’s life is the example of three important steps in spiritual leadership. He studied the Scriptures, he applied them to his own life, and he began to teach them to others. Application must be the main goal in Bible study. To study the Bible and not apply it would be like building a home and not living in it. We have to live by the Scriptures to have any authority.

In Nehemiah 8:2–6 we read that Ezra stood and read the book of the law of Moses to all the Israelites who were able to hear and understand. Something special seems to happen when we read the Bible out loud. Romans 10:17 says, "Consequently faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."⁵ The apostle Paul encouraged the young Timothy to spend a lot of time in the public reading of God’s Word. When we use our mouths to speak what we are reading and our ears to hear the Scriptures, it has a different effect on us.

George Muller, born in Germany in 1805, spent most of his adult life in London, England. He was responsible for rescuing hundreds of starving orphans. He started at least one orphanage. He believed an intimate relationship with God depended on daily Bible reading. Look at Psalm 1:1–3. It tells us that a blessed man meditates on God’s Word. I know it works for me!

Take a look at Psalm 78:52: But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the desert.⁶ It is estimated that Moses led about three million people out of Egypt. Can you imagine how much food and water it took to keep that many people and their cattle, goats, and sheep alive for forty years? They often forgot what God had done for them in the past and complained. They did not stop to meditate on how much he had done for them. Meditating on