Hannah's Prayer Statement of Faith
We believe:
* That the 66 books of the Bible, in their entirety, are the only inspired, infallible, supreme, and final Word of God and authority in faith and life. (Catholics welcome at Hannah's Prayer Ministries. We recognize that the Roman Catholic church includes the Apocrypha in its canon. We ask that in matters of discussion and encouragement within Hannah's Prayer, all uses of Holy Scripture be confined to the 66 books held in common.) ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
* That there is only one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ~ Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 1:1-2
* In the deity of Jesus Christ, who is both totally God and totally man. ~ 1 John 1:1-3
* That Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and willingly offered His own life as payment for our sins by death on the cross. ~ Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14; Romans 8:3-4; 1 Peter 2:24
* That Jesus bodily arose from and conquered death, and ascended into Heaven, where He now mediates for us as High Priest at the right hand of the Father. ~ Luke 24:6-7; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 4:15-16; Hebrews 7:24-28
* That Jesus will physically return to earth in power and glory some day. ~ Titus 2:13
* In the bodily resurrection of the saved to eternal life and blessing, and in the resurrection of the lost to everlasting, conscious torment and punishment. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 14:1-4; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 13:40-43; Revelation 20:15
* That all have sinned and earned eternal death, but by the grace of God, all who place their personal faith in Jesus Christ have eternal life. ~ Romans 3:22-26; Romans 6:23; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 10:27-29
* That the Holy Spirit indwells, instructs, empowers, encourages, convicts, and guides all who have believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. ~ John 3:3-8; Acts 1:8; John 14:16-21, 26; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Romans 8:14
Issues Not Foundational for Salvation, Yet Important to this Ministry
We also believe:
* That man was created in the image of God; thus every human life, from the moment the DNA lines up creating a unique individual (in standard conception this happens when a sperm penetrates an egg), is of inestimable value and has a purpose planned by God. We stand unashamedly on the belief that God is "pro-life," hence we are "pro-life" as well. While we do not condone the concept or practice of cloning, we believe children created by cloning are human beings. We believe in the sanctity of human life regardless of the method of conception. ~ Genesis 1:27-28; Luke 1:39-44; Psalm 127:3-5; Jeremiah 1:5
* That God's grace extends to cover the lives of children who die before, at, or shortly after birth, and that these children are issued directly into Heaven at the time of death. ~ Matthew 18:3-5, 10; 2 Samuel 12:23; Genesis 18:23-25; Psalm 22:9-10; Psalm 71:6
* That since God first created us "in His image," then the desire to procreate biological children (in our own image) is God-given. ~ Genesis 1:27-28
* That God deeply cares about the pain we face through infertility and lovingly gives us many examples of barren couples throughout the Bible so that we might know just how much our pain matters to Him. ~ Luke 8:43-48; Genesis 16:1; Genesis 25:21; Genesis 30:1; Judges 13:2-3; 1 Samuel 1:1 - 2:11; Proverbs 30:15-16; 2 Kings 4:14-17; Luke 1:5-7
* That God knows the pain of grieving parents because He watched His only Son die the most painful death. ~ 2 Kings 4:18-37; Job 1:18-22; Jeremiah 31:15; Psalm 116:1-5; 2 Samuel 12:16-18; Romans 8:32
* That human adoption is a beautiful picture of God's adoptive love for us. ~ Ephesians 1:4-6; Galatians 3:26 - 4:7; Romans 8:15-17
Hannah's Prayer Ministries Biblical Issues Position Statement: Faith and Fertility
The Hannah's Prayer Board of Directors has issued the following "position paper" on the topic of faith, waiting, and sin. Many times exchanges of views are punctuated with Scripture that is misquoted or misused. We understand that in most cases, this misuse of Scripture is not a deliberate attempt to mislead others. However, regardless of intent, the results of misused Scripture can be shattering to the faith of some other individuals. You do not have to agree with all of the statements below, but it is important for you to understand where the leadership of Hannah's Prayer Ministries stands on these issues. Your interaction with members of Hannah's Prayer (such as participation in our Community Forums) will be with the understanding that these are the official views of the ministry. We ask you to respect these views when exchanging ideas with other members.
We share with you the following concepts for your prayerful consideration:
1) Many Christians like to claim, "Every promise in the Book (Bible) is mine." However, not all of the promises of the Bible are to be claimed and practiced by Christian believers. Before you stop reading, please consider the following:
* Many of the promises of the Old Testament are for the nation of Israel before Jesus Christ came to earth.
* Many of these Old Testament promises were given to Israel as a nation at that time, and were never promised to individuals, then or now.
* Many statements, especially in the Old Testament, that are claimed as promises by some Christians, were never given by God as promises, but only as a general statement or principle for living.
* Some of the promises of the Bible are to Satan and his followers concerning their doom. God never intended for Christians to claim these personally!
2) In Genesis 18, Sarah, Abraham's wife, laughed when God told Abraham they would have a baby in a year. It was not Sarah's faith, but God's working in spite of her lack of faith that produced the child, Isaac.
3) In Luke 1:6-7, Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, were "upright in the sight of God. But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren." Notice that there was no particular sin in the life of either Zechariah or Elizabeth that was the cause of their childlessness. God kept Elizabeth childless until the proper time on His calendar. Notice also that when Elizabeth did finally conceive, she said the Lord had removed her shame "in the sight of PEOPLE" (Luke 1:25), not "in the sight of God."
4) Even Jesus, the night before His death, asked God to "take away the cup" of the crucifixion. The Father did not spare His Son the pain of the cross, and we have salvation today because of Christ's suffering and the resurrection. God's will is always more important than our own desires (see Matthew 26:39 and 42, Mark 14:35, and Luke 2:42).
5) Job was a righteous man. Even God said so! Yet God allowed Satan to take all of Job's physical blessings: health, wealth, prosperity, and all of his children. Job's suffering brought glory to God alone (see the book of Job).
6) The Apostle Paul, the human author of most of our New Testament books, had a physical problem of some kind. He repeatedly asked God to take this problem away. God's reply was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
7) In the book of Hebrews, the entire second half of the very "faith" chapter itself is devoted to those who did NOT receive promises on earth, yet trusted God anyway (Hebrews 11:36-39). They are held up as examples of faith for us to follow rather than as failure stories.
God's character is that of a Father who delights in giving good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:9-11; James 1:17), thus our hope is sustained when all seems grim. With such a loving Lord we can live in peace, knowing that His plans have our eternal best at heart (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28). God does say that our heart's desires will be fulfilled when we seek after Him (see Psalm 37:4), but truly seeking after Him requires allowing Him to change our human desires to align with His holy will for each of our lives. It is the view of Hannah's Prayer leadership that God does not promise pregnancy or a baby to every Christian walking in His ways. However, He does promise that He will direct our ways when we trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5-6) and that His grace will be sufficient for the times of trial.
