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WEDNESDAY EVENING (November 20th) * Prayer & Providence * What Exactly is Providence? It's not uncommon to hear people say, "It's a miracle!" even under very non-miraculous circumstances. Providence and miracles are sometimes confused. A miracle could be defined as a deed or event that is impossible under the ordinary circumstances and limitations of the universe. When we talk About providence, we are not talking about miracles. Providence is a force that does not violate certain things: • The freedom of the human will. • The nature or laws of God. Our English word providence sterns from the Latin provtdentia, a term that literally means "to foresee, to see before." Two parallel Greek words express the principle of providence: • Pronoeo - "to have regard for" (Rom 12:17; 2 Cor 8:21; 1 Tim 5:8). • Pronoia - "forethought, foresight, care, to make provision" (Acts 24:1-3; Rom 13:14). Providence as it relates to God presupposes certain things: • His creation of the universe and his government in and over that which he created. • This Creator is eternal in his being, absolute in his attributes, and sovereign over all. • The Bible is his infallible revelation concerning himself and his plan for his creation.from his revelation to mankind and our own personal experiences, we learn: • We live under a natural order; we are subject to natural laws and consequences. Within the scope of this natural order, we experience blessings, accidents, suffering, and death. • God has the power to guide and influence us without interfering with our freedom. • God can directly alter the course of events if he wills, in answer to human prayer, or without it. A key word to remember as we wrap our minds around providence? PURPOSE. Read and meditate on Ephesians 1:7-12, Romans 8:18-30, Ephesians 3:8-12, and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. What is being revealed in these passages of Scripture concerning Gael's providence? Call you think of some examples of God's providence that: have been preserved in the Bible?