Take a
position on "fleece" praying; is it correct in the Church Age?
Should it be taught to congregations? Is it a lack of faith if
"fleece" praying is employed?
While it may
appear to some that Earley is advocating fleece praying, if we take a closer
look at the context of this quote, we come to understand that he is advocating
for specific prayer. I for one do not believe that we should do fleece praying
because that is asking God to prove himself when he owes us no proof. When the
Pharisees and Sadducees wanted a sign from Christ, He told them, “ He answered them, “When it is evening,
you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It
will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to
interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the
times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be
given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.” (Matthew
16:2-4 ESV)
We should
however teach those under our charge to pray specific prayers seeking the will
of God. In James four he tells his audience that “You do not have, because you
do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on
your passions.” (James 4:2-3 ESV) We in fact should be asking because when we
ask in accordance to Gods will it is a good thing. In the garden of Gethsemane
Christ prayed that the cup would pass before me, however not my will but your
will be done (Matt. 26:39) Also, in 1 John 5:14-15 we know that if we ask those
things according to His will He hears us.
It is hard
to answer if it is a lack of faith if fleece praying is employed. I say yes and
no; let me explain. It is a lack of faith in ourselves and the relationship
that we have with God. Paul tells us, “…for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2
Corinthians 5:7 ESV) Therefore is we are walking by faith and our sense of the
Spirit is at a high level we should be able to sense what he wants us to do.
John MacArthur and Kevin DeYoung both have books about seeking God’s will for
your life without having mysterious revelations. I do not believe that we have
a lack of faith in God when we pray a fleece prayer, we do not trust ourselves
enough therefore are seeking validation. We should not continually implement
fleece prayers, but grow ourselves and those around us into a more intimate
relationship with the Lord; that way we can know what He is guiding us to do.
