The Sovereignty of God defined
1st of a 5-part teaching series
by Barb Kugle
No one is born accepting God’s sovereignty. A child may accept mom and dad’s authority for awhile, but soon enough he or she will want control of their own lives. This willfulness has been built into the human condition since the fall of man.
This country was founded on the belief that the Lord was in control of its destiny. Americans today, however, have strayed far from that perspective. God’s complete sovereignty was once regularly taught from the pulpit, accepted and understood by most. Nowadays the majority of folks will get their hackles up if it is even remotely suggested that God had a hand in, say, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Sadly, this point of view prevails as well in the Christian church.
“The sovereignty of God,” Theopedia states, “is the biblical teaching that all things are under God’s rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:11). His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted (Isaiah 46:11); nothing takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things, but that He does so, always and without exception. In other words, God is not merely sovereign de jure (in principle), but sovereign de facto (in practice).”
When you declare God’s sovereignty, you are actually confessing that He is:
- God, the Most High.
- Supreme ruler of the armies of Heaven and the inhabitants of Earth.
- Lord who reigns among the nations (Psalm 47:7-9) and who has the power to establish kingdoms and nations, overthrow whole empires, or determine the course of a dynasty as it pleases and serves His purpose.
- Almighty, the possessor of all power in Heaven and Earth; none can defeat His counsel, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Daniel 4:34-35).
- “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (I Timothy 6:15)
Once you have accepted and understood God’s complete sovereignty in your personal life, it frees you to pray His will without fear or reservation. You don’t have to go into His presence wringing your hands, begging and pleading that He will change your circumstances. “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)
You don’t even have to break a sweat figuring out just the right words to sway Him, or how you will present yourself in His presence. This may sound harsh, but if God is absolutely sovereign, He does not need your prayers to activate His predetermined purposes…otherwise His sovereignty would be compromised. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19)
Since you cannot change God’s mind, or influence Him in any way – why pray, you ask? For now, focus on what He does want. He desires your undivided attention, your complete trust in Him and, above all, your worship.
For further study, read the following passages. What do these verses tell you about God’s sovereignty? How will they change today’s intercession for yourself, your family, and for the needs of your country and its leaders?
- I Chronicles 29:11-12
- Daniel 5:35
- Psalm 115:3
- Psalm 86:10
- Deuteronomy 8:18
- John 3:27
- Proverbs 16:14
- Romans 9:17
- John 6:37
- John 19:11
Barb Kugle is a freelance writer and author who has a deep passion for prayer and for repentance and revival in the nation. A member of the Prayer Team’s devotional writing team, Barb lives in southern Colorado.