If we have free will to obey or disobey God, then why do we ask God to affect people's lives and circumstances? :o If we can get ourselves out of temptation, then why do we ask God in the Lord's Prayer to lead us out of temptation? For that matter, why do we pray for anything if humans make the choices in the universe? :o
The answer is that humans do not make the choices in the universe as the pride of man wants to believe. So we bring our petitions to God who, as Jesus tells us already knows what we need and what God will do. He simply wants us to be humble before him and he gives us the desire to ask him for what he already knows will happen. And that's precisely why Jesus tells us in John 16:24-25, that whatever we ask in His name will be granted. That means that when we pray because we are led to by the Spirit, it will be granted. But praying for sinful desires out of our sinful nature will obviously not be granted.
So the Lord doesn't just know our steps he determines our steps as Proverbs 28:5 says, "In his heart, a man plans his course. But the Lord determines his steps."
God doesn't just know where we will live; he determines where we will live as Acts 17:26 tells us.
God doesn't just know that the Jews will be persecuted in foreign lands, he will bring their enemies against them as Leviticus 26:14-39 tells us. He will bring plagues and disease against His enemies, as he did in Egypt.
God doesn't just know there will be a final anti-Christ, he will raise up the anti-Christ as Zechariah 11:15-17 says.
God doesn't just know who will be saved and who won't be, he determines who will be saved by His soveriegn choice in election before the creation of the world as explained in Romans 9:11-25, Ephesians 1:4, and many more of Christ's words.
God doesn't just allow sin, he bound all men over to disobedience as Romans 11:32 tells us, by using Satan to deceive us. This was His plan, not anyone else's.
So no, none of us has free will any more than we can not think of an elephant when someone tells us not to. The first thing we do is think of an elephant. Paul addresses that beautifully in Romans 7:7-8. And that is precisely why we need a savior who can lead us out of sin and into truth and righteousness.
So, no, we cannot muster up faith on our own because the sinful nature cannot please God. Only the Spirit can show us the truth and give us faith as Romans 8:8-9, and John 14:26 tells us.
And in regard to God's love, God is no more an unloving God than a parent is unloving for disciplining and puishing his children. What humans think love is, on the other hand, is someone giving us what we want.
: But God has shown us the foolishness of human wisdom through his love and his wrath. He gets the last word regardless of whether or not humans think he's fair. In Romans 9:19, Paul addresses the people who will ask him why God still blames us if he's the one who's hardening hearts. Paul answers; "Who are you O man, to talk back to God?...Doesn't the potter have the right to form out of the same lumo of clay some for noble purposes and some for common use?" Man says no. God says yes. 
So as I explained in an earlier OP, Matthew 20 shows us that the employer decides who to hire, who to fire, what he will pay his employees, if at all, and how he will treat his employees, not the employee.
And lastly, Jesus said; "I will keep you from harm". So how can he do that if he's not dictating our lives? He can't. God also tells us that He will not give us any more than we can bear. And Jesus says; "I will make you strong." So again, how can he do that if we are making our own decisions? He can't. God is not a liar so it isn't man who makes himself strong, it's only God's power that can have an affect in the world. I don't think that many Christians realize just how much danger God keeps us from every single day.
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So God is omnipotent as well as omniscient to will us to act according to his good purpose. Everything is going as God planned so that all the events in Revelations can take place the way He wants them to. God can step in any time and change circumstances. So it is he who is dictating the course of the universe, not man, as humans so proudly are deceived into thinking. ;-)
The answer is that humans do not make the choices in the universe as the pride of man wants to believe. So we bring our petitions to God who, as Jesus tells us already knows what we need and what God will do. He simply wants us to be humble before him and he gives us the desire to ask him for what he already knows will happen. And that's precisely why Jesus tells us in John 16:24-25, that whatever we ask in His name will be granted. That means that when we pray because we are led to by the Spirit, it will be granted. But praying for sinful desires out of our sinful nature will obviously not be granted.
So the Lord doesn't just know our steps he determines our steps as Proverbs 28:5 says, "In his heart, a man plans his course. But the Lord determines his steps."
God doesn't just know where we will live; he determines where we will live as Acts 17:26 tells us.
God doesn't just know that the Jews will be persecuted in foreign lands, he will bring their enemies against them as Leviticus 26:14-39 tells us. He will bring plagues and disease against His enemies, as he did in Egypt.
God doesn't just know there will be a final anti-Christ, he will raise up the anti-Christ as Zechariah 11:15-17 says.
God doesn't just know who will be saved and who won't be, he determines who will be saved by His soveriegn choice in election before the creation of the world as explained in Romans 9:11-25, Ephesians 1:4, and many more of Christ's words.
God doesn't just allow sin, he bound all men over to disobedience as Romans 11:32 tells us, by using Satan to deceive us. This was His plan, not anyone else's.
So no, none of us has free will any more than we can not think of an elephant when someone tells us not to. The first thing we do is think of an elephant. Paul addresses that beautifully in Romans 7:7-8. And that is precisely why we need a savior who can lead us out of sin and into truth and righteousness.
So, no, we cannot muster up faith on our own because the sinful nature cannot please God. Only the Spirit can show us the truth and give us faith as Romans 8:8-9, and John 14:26 tells us.
And in regard to God's love, God is no more an unloving God than a parent is unloving for disciplining and puishing his children. What humans think love is, on the other hand, is someone giving us what we want.
: But God has shown us the foolishness of human wisdom through his love and his wrath. He gets the last word regardless of whether or not humans think he's fair. In Romans 9:19, Paul addresses the people who will ask him why God still blames us if he's the one who's hardening hearts. Paul answers; "Who are you O man, to talk back to God?...Doesn't the potter have the right to form out of the same lumo of clay some for noble purposes and some for common use?" Man says no. God says yes. So as I explained in an earlier OP, Matthew 20 shows us that the employer decides who to hire, who to fire, what he will pay his employees, if at all, and how he will treat his employees, not the employee.
And lastly, Jesus said; "I will keep you from harm". So how can he do that if he's not dictating our lives? He can't. God also tells us that He will not give us any more than we can bear. And Jesus says; "I will make you strong." So again, how can he do that if we are making our own decisions? He can't. God is not a liar so it isn't man who makes himself strong, it's only God's power that can have an affect in the world. I don't think that many Christians realize just how much danger God keeps us from every single day.
: So God is omnipotent as well as omniscient to will us to act according to his good purpose. Everything is going as God planned so that all the events in Revelations can take place the way He wants them to. God can step in any time and change circumstances. So it is he who is dictating the course of the universe, not man, as humans so proudly are deceived into thinking. ;-)
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