Shall Any Teach God Knowledge?
We should trust God's perfect knowledge and love, and not presume to dictate to Him or try to increase His love for us.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes that God possesses complete knowledge and understanding of our lives, rendering our prayers a means of communion rather than a way to inform Him. He reassures us that God's responses to our prayers are based on His infinite wisdom, not on our limited understanding or requests. Meyer encourages believers to trust in God's perfect plan, acknowledging that His ways and thoughts surpass our own. He reminds us that we cannot teach God anything, and thus, we should surrender our desires and trust in His divine guidance.
Text
Shall any teach God knowledge? Job xxi. 22.
WE cannot tell God anything He does not know already. The most fervent and full of our prayers simply unfold in word all that has been patent to his loving, pitying eye. This does not make prayer needless; on the contrary, it incites to prayer, since it is pleasant to talk with one who knows the whole case perfectly; and it is a relief to feel that God's answers depend ‑‑ not on the information we bring Him, or even on the specific requests we make, but ‑‑ on his infinite and perfect acquaintance with circumstances and conditions of which we are altogether ignorant.
"Your Father knoweth." Quicker than lightning is his notice of every transition in your inner life ‑‑ of your downsittings and your uprisings; of every thought in your heart; every word on your tongue; of the fretting of that inward cross; of the anguish of that stake in your flesh; of the enemy that, like a sword in your bones, reproaches you with the derisive challenge. "Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, 0 Lord, thou knowest it altogether." Yes, He knows it all, and loves you better than you know.
Do not presume to dictate to Him; do not dare to say that some other way would be better, some other lot more likely to develop your best self. He knows every track by which to bring sons to glory; and that He has chosen this one is a positive proof that it is the best, the one most adapted to your idiosyncrasies and needs. His ways are, higher than your ways, and his thoughts than your thoughts. You could not teach Him knowledge, or increase his love ‑‑ then trust both.
Sermon Outline
- God's Omniscience
- The Purpose of Prayer
- Humility in Prayer
- The Sufficiency of God's Love
- God loves us better than we know
- Trust both God's knowledge and love
Key Quotes
“Your Father knoweth.” — F.B. Meyer
“Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” — F.B. Meyer
“For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, 0 Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We should approach prayer with humility, trusting God's perfect knowledge and love.
- We should not try to dictate to God what to do, but rather trust His ways and thoughts.
- We should trust God's love for us, rather than trying to increase it.