All About Prayer
Part One
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After Jesus had finished praying on one occasion, one of his disciples came to him and said: "Lord, teach us to pray" (Lk. 11:2). They knew that followers of Christ should pray. Christ said, "WHEN you pray...." He expects His brothers and sisters to pray! God has a lot to tell us about prayer in His word; so let's find out what He wants us to know on this subject. Because prayer IS important, it being one of the lifelines to God and Christ. WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY? David, a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22), prayed in the MORNING : "My voice shall you hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto you .." (Ps 5:3). Before we start our daily work, we need to talk to our Father in heaven. We need that love and guidance and strength He can give us, to help us through the day we are starting upon. David also ENDED his day in prayer to God: “O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried [in prayer, v.2] day and night before you" (Ps. 88:1). Sometimes we should pray THREE TIMES A DAY: "...Daniel ...kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed......" (Dan.6:10). "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice" (Ps.55:17).
At special times we may have to pray for many hours: "And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). We should always be in an ATTITUDE of prayer. We can pray to God ANYWHERE and at ANY TIME of the day, even if only for a few seconds. This is what Paul meant when he said in I Thes. 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." SECRET PRAYER! MOST of our prayers are to be personal PRIVATE conversations with God: "And Isaac went out to PRAY [margin reading] in the field at the eventide ....."(Gen.25:63). Christ plainly told His followers that when they prayed they were not to be: ".....as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men ..... but you, when you pray, enter into your closet and when you have SHUT YOUR DOOR, PRAY TO YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN SECRET....." (Matt. 6:6). So when you see people on TV religious shows praying, they are doing it in public, and they have not believed the words of Christ, or choose to just ignore them, or maybe like many of their followers they do not read the Gospels. HOW SHOULD WE PRAY? Christ instructed us NOT TO USE VAIN REPETITIONS and profuse speaking: ".....but when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matt. 6:7). To learn and repeat over and over again little "religious" rhymes and sayings which become so well used with repetition that the one using them no longer has his mind on what he is saying, is WRONG! To babble away like a machine gun and yet say very little of heartfelt meaning to God is also condemned here by Christ. We are instructed in Ecc. 5:2 to: "Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and you upon earth: therefore, let your words be few." Even to use the NAME of God or Christ over and over in repetition during our prayers would constitute vain [to no good or useful purpose] talk. We would be breaking the third commandment, which says: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain....." Have you heard people praying and just about every third word is “Lord” “God” “Jesus” ……. It becomes nauseating to hear. Sometimes our prayers will be SILENT: "Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation" (Ps. 5:1). There will be times when we can and should PRAY WITH A LOUD VOICE, see Ps.102:1,2. And at other times we will want to WEEP AS WE PRAY: "Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore " (Ezra 10:1). There are some Christians, mainly men, who have shed no tears over something horrific, and said a few words of prayer. There are times people [men indeed] should weep—— it is written in the Gospel of John “Jesus wept.” There will be many times we will want to PRAY WITH THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE: "..... But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6). "I cried unto Him with my mouth, and he was extolled [praised] with my tongue" (Ps.66:17). Our prayers must be accompanied WITH FAITH, WATCHFULNESS, and A TRUE HEART: "And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive" (Matt.21:22). "Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass....." (Lk. 21:36). "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith....." (Heb. 10:22). We must PRAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD S WILL: "You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). We must study God's word to understand His will (Eph. 5:17). IN WHOSE NAME DO WE PRAY? "Hitherto have you asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive.....At that day you shall ask in my name: and I say unto you that I will pray the Father for you" (John 16:24, 26). All of our prayers should end in the name of Jesus Christ. They should end with something like: "We ask this in Christ's name" or "We pray this in our Savior's name, Christ Jesus." Have you seen the “Christian” movies when prayer is given and they do not say something like “In Jesus name.” There are many of such scenes in religious movies. Our longest or shortest pray should be in the name of Jesus.
TO WHOM DO WE PRAY? Are we to pray to Christ Himself? Or do we pray to the Holy Spirit? Do we pray to the angels, or Gabriel? Jesus set us an example in all He did (I Pet. 2:21). So WHO did Christ pray to? He prayed to the FATHER! (see John 17:1). You cannot find ANYONE or ANYTHING that Christ prayed to but the Father. He always prayed to His Father in Heaven. Christ instructs us: "When you pray, say, OUR FATHER, which art in heaven...." (Lk.11:2). The NT teaches us that Christ is our elder brother, and He is the HEAD of the church. I believe it would not be wrong to talk to Him in prayer at times, as our elder brother and head of the Church. And to praise and thank Him for all that He was willing to come and do for mankind, and for His work today as High Priest in heaven on the Father's right hand. It would nor be a long prayer, but to go through life and never talk to Jesus….., does not make sense to me. When we meet Him in the resurrection at His coming again, if we have never talk to Him He will be a stranger to us. We should be thanking him pretty often for coming and dying for us, shedding His blood in a horrible death, and also for His work now as our High Priest, interceding for us. POSTURES IN PRAYER?
The positioning of our body does not have to be of a single mode. We can use various postures. Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces: "And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron......and they fell upon their faces.....(Num.16:20-22).
We can pray while standing: "And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord ..... and spread forth his hands toward heaven and he said....." (I Kings 8:22,23). Jesus gave us the example of kneeling: "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed....." (Lk. 22:41). We may pray with uplifted hands: "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands ....." (I Tim. 2:8). Sometimes we are to pray with a bowed head, or bowing and kneeling combined: “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker" (Ps. 95:6). "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven..... saying, God be merciful to me a sinner" (Lk. 18:13). Spreading forth the hands is another way to pray: "And when you spread forth your hands.....when you make many prayers...." (Isa. 1:15). And in some prayers we can lift up our eyes: "These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up His eyes unto heaven and said....." (John 17:1). BASIC OUTLINE OF PRAYER The so-called "Lord's prayer" in Matt. 6:9-15 is not so much a prayer of Christ, but is an outline He gave to His followers to use as a guide in what they should pray about. Christ said: "After THIS MANNER, therefore, pray you....." In other words, pray like this outline I give you. OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN. God is OUR Father. There are many sons and daughters He has called to be in His family. God is the example of complete UN-selfishness. He wants to share His glory, power and eternal life with millions of humans. How wonderful it is to be able to call Him FATHER. Very few Christians even understand the meaning of this. A large number believe God is a closed triangle, a trinity. The doctrine of the trinity is a false pagan Satanic theory which has been foisted on this world to deceive people from the true purpose of why God made mankind. If you want to know why you were put here, read my study article "A Christian's Destiny." The truth about the Trinity is explained in "The Holy Spirit - A Personal Being?" Such studies are on my website—— keithhunt.com The NT is full of the glorious truth concerning the fact that we Christians are the very children of God and that He is our very Father. HALLOWED BE THY NAME. God is the creator of all things. All good gifts come from Him (James 1:17). He gives us all the air we breathe. He sends the rain down on the just and the unjust. He gives us food, clothing, shelter. We are all blessed with some kind of talent, be it music, painting, singing, cooking, writing, sports, etc. We can ALL find many things to PRAISE and HALLOW God for. David, king of Israel was constantly praising and thanking God for His blessings and mercy. Many of his Psalms begin by saying, "Praise the Lord, give thanks unto God." David was a man after God's own heart. Christ told us to praise and hallow His name. THY KINGDOM COME. Oh, again, so few really understand just WHAT the Kingdom of God is! Some think it's only a spiritual something in the hearts of people. Others think it's only the church. Some think it's Britain. The prophets of the Old Testament understood what it is. Christ knew what it was. But Christianity seems all confused about it. Christ preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God. He told us to pray for it to come. So it has not YET fully arrived; it is STILL to come, in the sense that Christ put that Kingdom in the future, we are to pray that it will yet come. Concerning that yet coming Kingdom, I have a full in-depth study on the subject, in fact TWO studies, one to do with proving the literal coming of Christ in glory, called "Christ's Coming" and the other is all about the final last days and the world tomorrow, called "Armageddon and the Age to Come." As we look around us, as we observe all that is going on in all nations, as we listen to and see the news, we are aware of the sins, the evils, the sickness, the pollutions of mind, body, and the "good green earth" and hence we see the need to continue to pray for "thy Kingdom come." There are so many prophecies as to what that Kingdom will be like, we should praise God for it all, mentioning some of the promises He tells us will come one day. THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Christians are to pray that God's WILL be done? But has not God's will been done away with? Christians do not have to do God's will today, do they? Are we not under grace today? Obedience to God is not required, is it? Did not Paul say that we are not under obedience to the law, but under grace? Did Paul CONTRADICT the plain teachings of Christ? Christ said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil ..... whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven .....For I say unto you, that except your righteousness [and righteousness is putting to use the commandments of God, Ps. 119:172] shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven." And, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, [claiming to be a Christian ] shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Also, "..... But if you will enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt. 5:17 20; 7:21; 19:17). Christ said to his followers: "If you love me, keep my commandments." "If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love." "If a man love me he will keep my words." (John 14:15, 23; 15:10). The instructions of Christ were to obey God - do His will - keep His commandments. This should be as plain as the nose on your face IF you are reading the Gospels. What IS the will of God? The will of God is that we live by His every word (Matt. 4:4). That includes all from Genesis to Revelation in what we call the Holy Bible today. Christ taught His disciples not only to DO God the Father's commands, but to PRAY that His WILL would be done in the lives of others, with the whole earth eventually to be obeying God when He sends Christ back to establish His Kingdom - as foretold by Isaiah and Micah (Isa. 2; Mic. 4). We especially pray for those children of the Father that have surrendered all to Him in humble REPENTANCE, and that they will continue to not only love the truth but who also hunger and thirst after righteousness, that they will have the mind of Christ in them (Phil.2:5), be a living sacrifice (Rom.12:1), and shine forth as lights in a dark world. We pray that they will resist the Devil, overcome the lusts of the world, and kill the flesh with its carnality, so enduring to the end that they may be in that blessed resurrection at the coming of Christ Jesus in the last days. GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. Certainly for Christians the foremost daily need is SPIRITUAL food. For God knows we are in need of the physical things even before we ask him (Matt. 6: 25-34). We receive our spiritual bread through God s word and prayer. We should ask for His spirit to guide us into all truth, as promised (Jn. 16:13). We must be humble and teachable always ready to change when God corrects us or reveals more truth to us. We must always be led by His Spirit (Rom. 8:14). We are to GROW in grace and knowledge of God (2 Pet.3:18). Christians are to study to show themselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). We should ask God for understanding and wisdom in all our daily activities, as David and Solomon did. And let’s not forget to ask for correction. God does correct every child He loves (Heb. 12:5-11). Ask God to correct in love, not anger, lest we be destroyed (Jer. 10:23-24). Certainly, we can ask God to provide us with whatever physical needs we shall be in need of for that day. Notice, it is "Give us this day" not "Give us this month or year." God wants us to ask Him for our spiritual and physical needs daily. Many of His children are in need of comfort and strength, mentally and emotionally, as they face the trials and tests of life. Many are in need of physical healing and/or strength to endure their sicknesses to the will of God. We should pray with these things in mind also. AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS. The Christian life is a life of enduring and overcoming (Matt. 24:13) - overcoming the self, the world, and Satan. God desires us to obey and keep His commandments, just as Paul did. "Wherefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good ..... For we know that the law is spiritual ..... For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:12, 14, 22).
And as John wrote, "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar; and the truth is not in him. And hereby do we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments" (1 John 1:3,4). Does that mean a Christian is perfect - that he never sins? John answers: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). A Christian may at times fall down - sin - break God's law [sin is the transgression of the law, see 1 John 3:4 and Rom.7:7]. The human doesn't want to, but under temptation and weakness of the flesh, and not being as close to God as he/she should he, the human sins. What must he/she do then? Again, God’s mercy or grace is needed! "And if any man sin, he has an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous" (Christ is there to intercede, for us, advocate means intercessor. Christ pleads our cause. He knows what it's like to be human (see Heb. 4:14-16), And He is the propitiation [atonement] for our sins ..... " (1 John 2:1-2). Christ's sacrifice - His shed blood can be applied. We can again be forgiven. What are we to DO? We are to CONFESS and FORSAKE sin! "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13). "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). And that brings us back to what Christ said: "AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS." The little word "as" joins the first part of this sentence with the second, "and forgive us our debts AS [inasmuch as - in like manner as] we forgive our debtors." As we forgive those who sin against us, we can ask God to forgive us when we sin against Him. Christ said, "And when you stand praying, FORGIVE, if you have aught against any: that [in order that] your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25,26). Again, he said another time, ".... Forgive, and you shall be forgiven" (Luke 6:37). How many times must we forgive others? This is what the apostle Peter asked Christ: "Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?" Should my forgiveness be limited is what Peter wanted to know. Jesus said unto him: "I say not unto you that you should forgive only seven times, but until forever, as many times as you have to, until seven is multiplied by forever" (paraphrased myself, Matt.18:21-22). We need to ask God to give us the nature to forgive - to show mercy on others. Then we can be assured He will have mercy an us. AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION. James says God does not tempt any man (James 1:13). Is this a contradiction of the scriptures? No! The Greek for temptation means: a putting to proof, discipline [see Strong's Con.]. God does not say, "Ah I will tempt this person today to do evil." He is not rubbing His hands together in glee over ways He can think up to lead us astray or tempt us to sin. BUT God does chasten and correct every child He loves (Heb. 12:6-8). Christ is telling us here not only to endure discipline (As Paul also said, see Heb. 12:7,9-11), but to ask God that we will LEARN - be TEACHABLE - always be of a HUMBLE REPENTANT attitude, so God will NOT HAVE TO put us to the test - discipline us very often. Just as a child grows older he should need less and less discipline from his father or mother [we are speaking of a correctly raised child], so children of God should need less discipline from their heavenly Father. Yes, we should pray that God will lead - give us the nature of obedience to Him build a teachable spirit, wanting to learn, to change and become more like Him - allowing Christ to live in us, so that God will not then have to test us with His discipline. Remember that TRIALS of various kinds will come to every child of God, for it is ".....through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God" (Act 14:22). Trials are to work patience in us (James 1:3), and the patience of the saints is keeping God's commandments (Rev. 14:12). Trials develop righteous obedient character. We learn to trust God for help to obey Him. Trials will come as a matter of course (time and chance can happen to anyone so Solomon wrote in his book of Ecclesiastes 9:11), but discipline from God comes as we need or deserve it. We are to pray that God will not have to discipline us; pray that we can be so yielded to Him that His chastening will not be necessary. BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL. This is more correctly translated from the Greek as "But deliver us from the evil one." Most modern translations so render it. The evil one is Satan and his demons. He truly goes about today like a lion, trying to devour whom he can, as Peter was inspired to tell us (1 Peter 5:8). Satan has hundreds of false ideas, ways to live, ideologies, religions, philosophies. God has one truth - His word(John 17:17). The Eternal has one way to salvation - Christ (John 14:6). We are to pray with all our being that God will not only give us His Spirit and mind to resist Satan and his demons, but we need to ask God to show us all of Satan's false ways - his false doctrines, philosophies and paganism. We need to ask God to show us His truth - to show us how He wants us to live - what His ways are - what He calls sin. We are to seek and ask God for the armour of salvation to resist the spiritual wickedness of Satan and sin (Eph. 6:10-17).
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER, AMEN. Christ again brings us back to praising God - to thinking about His Kingdom that is promised to every son of His, and that will come in a literal way at Christ's return. This Father of ours has power to bring about all that He has planned. He is able to glorify His children just as He did His firstborn son, Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:29; 1:3-4; 1 John 3:2; Heb. 1:3; 2:6-13). Yes, God is to be praised for His wonderful works, promises and plans. All About Prayer Part Two OTHER THINGS TO PRAY ABOUT |
Pray that God will send forth labourers - ministers - into the work of God:
"But when He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion on
them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep
having no shepherd. Then said He unto His disciples, the
harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray you
therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth
labourers into his harvest" (Matt. 9:36-38).
Pray for those ministers already in God s work:
"Brethren, pray for us" (1 Thes.5:25).
Pray for deliverance from affliction (James 5:13).
Pray for the sick:
"..... And pray one for another, that you may be healed ....."
(James 5:16).
Pray for your enemies and persecutors (Matt. 5:44).
The rulers of our nation need our prayers that they will seek God’s
guidance (Romans 13:1-7). We should pray for them.
We can pray for our physical parents - brothers and sisters in
the flesh and in the church.
We can pray for our own children and their needs.
God does not limit us in things to pray about, as long as it is
according to His will. And His will is revealed in His word.
Study it, and you will come to know His will. You will then
find lots to pray about.
BOLDNESS IN PRAYER
God was going to utterly destroy every soul in Sodom and Gomorrah
because their sin was great. Abraham stood yet before God and was
humbly BOLD in pleading for any righteous in those cities
(Gen.18:20-23).
Israel, with their rebelliousness and disbelief, pushed God to
the limit. He was about to destroy them all, and build a nation
from the man Moses, when Moses interceded for them. God heard,
and changed His mind (Num. 14:1-20).
Paul was inspired to write:
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need" (Heb.
4:16).
Notice the verses before. Even when we have sinned, because
Christ was human and tempted as we are, because He knows what we
have to overcome, He is a great High Priest. We can come boldly
to God and obtain mercy.
GOD PROMISES TO ANSWER!
To those who are seeking and serving God with all their heart and
mind, God has promised to hear and answer their requests,
petitions and prayers. David wrote:
"As for me, I will call upon God .....evening, and morning, and
at noon, will I pray and cry aloud. And He SHALL HEAR my voice"
(Ps.55:16).
Psalm 65:2 tells us that God does hear prayers.
Isaiah was inspired to write:
"Then you shall call, and the Lord SHALL ANSWER; you shall cry,
and He shall say, Here I am" (Isa. 58:9).
Again, in Isaiah 65:24 we read:
"It shall come to pass that before they call I WILL ANSWER; and
while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
God, through Jeremiah, says to us:
"Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto
me, and I WILL HARKEN unto you ....." (Jer. 29:12).
Then, in Jeremiah 33:3 we have this wonderful promise:
"Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and
mighty things, which you know not."
Who is this "YOU" that God says He will answer? Let Him tell us:
"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but
the prayer of the upright is His delight. The Lord is far from
the wicked: but He heareth the PRAYER OF THE RIGHTEOUS"
(Prov.15:8,29).
"The eyes of the Lord are UPON THE RIGHTEOUS, and His ears are
open unto their cry" (Ps. 34:15).
"If my people which are called by my name shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; THEN WILL I HEAR from heaven ....."
(2 Chron. 7:14).
"And thou, Solomon [and all true followers of God] my son, know
you the God of your father [John wrote, 'We know that we know
Him if we keep His commandments' 1 John 2:3] and serve Him with
a perfect heart and with a willing mind ...... If you seek
Him, He will be found of thee ...." (I Chron. 28:9).
To those who are serving God in righteousness [and all of God's
commandments are righteousness - Ps. 119:172], to those who want
to obey Him, who have the spirit of humility, who love His ways,
laws, statutes and judgements, to those who look to Him in faith
through Christ Jesus - to them is His delight - to them His face
shines upon. To those individuals He PROMISES to hear and answer
their prayers..
But HOW does He answer? In what WAYS does He answer?
ANSWER EXCEEDS PETITION!
Christ said we must ask and we will receive:
"And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do If you
ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14).
"Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, He will give
it you. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full"
(John 16:23-24).
All of our asking must be qualified by this verse in 1 John
5:14,15.
"This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know
that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desire of Him."
God has given us examples in His word, that at times His answer
far exceeded what was asked for. In I Kings 3:7-9 we read this
about Solomon:
"And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king
instead of David my father, and I am but a little child: I know
not how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst
of your people ..... a great people ..... Give therefore your
servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may
discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge your so
great a people."
God was so pleased with Solomon because he asked for the right
things. He asked according to God's will, that God said he would
not only have great WISDOM but he would also be given great
wealth. He would be given that which he did not ask for (verses
10-13).
When Peter was imprisoned, the church prayed for him (Act.12:5).
The answer God gave them included Peter's deliverance (verses
11-17).
ANSWER TO, DIFFERENT FROM THE REQUEST
Sometimes God chooses to answer us in a way we were not expecting
or maybe desiring.
Moses asked to be permitted to cross Jordan. The answer was
permission to view the land of promise (Deut. 3:23-27), but not to enter.
Martha and Mary asked Jesus to come and heal their brother
Lazarus. Jesus delayed, but raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
Paul asked that the thorn in his flesh be removed. The answer was
a promise of grace to endure it (2 Cor. 12: 8,9).
ANSWER TO PRAYER DELAYED
God will not always answer our prayers immediately!
"Also [Jesus] told them a parable, to the effect that they
ought always to pray and not to turn coward - faint, lose heart
and give up" (Luke 18:1, Amplified Bible).
The parable is contained in verses 2-5. Christ said we should
hear what the Judge says (verses 4-5). The widow did not give
up. She persisted in her request until the judge answered her
petition.
God in His great wisdom may hold back His answer to us, or delay
our request; but He will have a very good reason for so doing. We
are not to lose heart and give up our prayer to Him. We are to be
persistent. He will answer us. We must do as David did:
"I WAITED PATIENTLY for the Lord, and He inclined unto me, and
heard my cry" (Ps.40:1).
This brings us to the next point.
PRAYER AND FAITH
When we pray we must have faith that God is, and is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him:
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that
cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).
An example is given to us by James:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally ..... and it shall be given him. But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth [doubts]
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For
let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the
Lord" (James 1:5-6).
And Christ told us:
"All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you
shall receive" (Matt.11:24).
We must have trust - confidence that God hears us, and will
answer us and grant us our petitions and requests. We are His
children, we do obey Him, we do pray according to His will. He
has promised to hear us and give to us. We must claim that
promise. God cannot lie.
"Therefore I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when
you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have
them" (Mark 11:24).
God knew I wanted a beautiful Palomino horse [very close to looking
like Roy Rogers’ Trigger] when I was 7 years old , seeing my first color
Roy Rogers movie.
I never forgot that wish. God answered and gave me my boyhood wish
when I was 62 years old. She [a mare] is most beautiful, smart, and tender,
and loves to run even at now 20 years old. I’ve have her now for 15 years
- as of 2020].
TOKENS ASKED FOR, AS ASSURANCE OF AN ANSWER
When we have a very difficult decision to make or need special
guidance in something, we can go to God and specifically ask for
a token from Him to tell us how we should go or what He wants us
to do. Abraham sent his eldest servant out to find a wife for
Isaac his son (Gen. 24:1-4). He came into Mesopotamia unto the
city Nahor (verse 10). He waited by a well, knowing that many
women would come by. He spoke to God and said:
"Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters
of the city come out to draw water. And let it come to pass,
that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down your pitcher, I
pray you, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I
will give your camels drink also. Let the same be she that you
have appointed for your servant Isaac. And thereby shall I know
that you have showed kindness unto my master" (verses 13-14).
God did indeed answer that petition as requested. Read verses 15
through 27.
Gideon wanted to know if God would deliver Israel out of the
hands of their enemies if he went up to fight them. Gideon asked
God for a token, a sign that He would be with Israel in this
battle. God answered him by performing his request - by working a
miracle (Judges 6:29-40).
FAMILY PRAYER?
Should husband and wife and children pray together at times? What
does God's word say about this? What is the principle? Would it
constitute "praying to be seen of men" which Christ spoke against
doing?
The examples sometimes given to show we should have family prayer
(Gen. 12:5,8; 35:3; Act 10:2) are, I believe, vague in this
matter. But we do have the clear teaching that in marriage man
and woman become one flesh (Gen 2:23-24). So to pray together
(and with their children who are the same flesh) would NOT be
praying to be seen of men.
Family prayer would have God's fullest approval and blessing.
PUBLIC PRAYER?
We should note very carefully the examples of social or public
prayer recorded in the Bible.
Such examples are found in Josh. 7:6-9; I Chron. 29:10-19; 2
Chron. 6:1-42; Matt. 14:23; Lk. 3:21; John 11:41,42; 12:27,28;
17:1-26).
Note that they were done by one individual - not many people
taking turns. Most were done in front of the church [Israel was
the church in the wilderness - Act 7:38], not in front of the
heathen.
Most of these public prayers were very short. You can say or read
many of them in a matter of seconds.
Those prayers that were longer were given at very special times
on special occasions, such as ordinations, dedications, national
calamities, and in Jesus' case (John 17) just before His death.
Otherwise, public prayers were SHORT, to the POINT and done
MAINLY in front of the church or other followers of God.
PRAYER MEETINGS?
There is no verse that commands or shows us an example of any
regular weekly "church prayer meeting" as held by many modern
churches of today. Our prayer life is mainly to be on a private
individual basis, done in secret, behind closed doors as Jesus
taught us. As the husband and wife and their children are looked
upon as a unit of ONE by the heavenly Father, it is certainly not
wrong to have FAMILY prayer as I have already stated.
But the question may be asked: Did the NT Church ever come
together at any time to have what could be called a prayer
meeting, are there any examples of such in the New Testament?
Yes, indeed there is!
Notice Acts 1:12-14. After Jesus had ascended into heaven the
disciples were in the upper room where they "continued with one
accord in PRAYER and SUPPLICATION, with the women, and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with His brethren."
This had to be some kind of unified "church prayer meeting."
Those who would try to reason around it so being must resort to
some pretty fancy foot work and deceptive mind bending.
Now turn to Acts 12 and read verses one to twelve. In the house
of Mary the mother of John there were MANY gathered together
PRAYING over the imprisonment of Peter. This obviously had to be
what is today called "a prayer meeting."
These above examples were unique situation that the church was
encountering but nevertheless the honest reader of the Bible
cannot fail to see that the apostolic Church of God did from time
to time, when needed, have a PRAYER MEETING.
Some would argue they just got together as a group and sat there
quietly as a group while everyone prayed silently within
themselves. Well.....possible I guess, but not very likely, the
Jewish people are not that reserved or straight-laced.
I must finish this section by answering the question about
"church" prayer and KNEELING.
Some think that it is just too sanctimonious or externally
religious for a church group to KNEEL while praying. Did any of
the NT churches ever do it? Yes, indeed they did! Turn to
Acts 20 and 21, read those chapters and you will find TWO
examples of Paul and church members praying and kneeling
together. Once more you will notice these were special times
when Paul and the local church kneeled to pray, but what I want
you to note is that it was done!! For a local church and/or one
that belongs to a larger organized body of local churches, to go
through its entire existence, with trials, tests, problems,
special events and concerns, and NEVER get down on their knees to
pray as a congregation, is just not following the Bible in its
full revelation and examples given to us to live by.
The example given to us of Paul and the congregation was of a man
who had worked among them, was beloved by the church very much,
and who was now leaving them, perhaps never to be seen by them
again as a congregation, and they kneeled and prayed on his
departure.
PRAYERS GOD WILL NOT ANSWER
It is recorded that God will not hear the prayers of sinners.
But, on the other hand, he that does the Father's will; him He
will hear (John 9:31).
Also, it is written in Prov. 15:8,29, "The sacrifice of the
wicked is an abomination to the Lord ..... The Lord is far from
the wicked....."
But someone will say: Are we not all sinners? Does not John say
that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves? (1 John 1:8).
So what does it mean - God will not hear sinners?
Let's go back to Proverbs 15:29 and read the rest of it:
"The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of
the righteous."
Now, righteousness is the keeping of God's commandments (Ps.
119:172). So, on the one hand we have people who will obey God,
will do His will, keep His laws; and they are called the
righteous. On the other hand, we have the wicked - those who will
not obey God - who will not be ruled by Him - who will not keep
His commandments. James says, that to him who knows to do good
and does not do it, to him it is sin (Jam. 4:17). Paul says in
Romans that by or through the law is the knowledge of sin, and
when he came to the law (read it, studied it) he was shown what
sin was.
The whole Bible is an amplification of what sin is and what
righteousness is! When righteousness - God's commandments - are
revealed to us, if we refused to do them (to do good), then to us
that is sin. And as long as we rebel against God, we are living
in an attitude and life of sin. We are one of the wicked whose
prayers God will not hear. There is a vast difference between
sinning in ignorance, and through the weakness of the flesh, and
sinning with an attitude of knowing better but choosing to
wilfully to sin after we have received the knowledge of the truth
(see Heb.10:26).
When we have truly repented of breaking God's holy, just and good
law (as Paul called it), when we have accepted Christ's sacrifice
of His death in our stead (for the law has claimed out lives.
Compare Rom. 3:23; I John 3:4; Rom. 6:23), when we realize that
to accept Christ's sacrifice - to come under God's grace - does
NOT MEAN we can just go on breaking His law (Rom. 6:1-2), but
that we must serve, live, obey, yield to righteousness
[obeying that law that at first slew us], then sin [breaking
God's law, I John 3:4] must not any longer have dominion over us
(Rom. 6:12-14). As we are now under the grace of God, we must
not go back to serving sin [just breaking with impunity God's
law]; for if we do, the grace of God will no longer be applied.
Christ's blood will not cover the sins of those who willingly
break God's spiritual law. Those people will again be under the
sentence [death penalty] of the law (Rom. 6:15-23).
When we know all this, and desire with all our heart and mind to
love and serve God, then we are living in righteousness; our
attitude is correct. We ARE righteous [through Christ's
sacrifice and He living His life in us, Gal. 2:20] and GOD HEARS
OUR PRAYER!!
Those who DO NOT have that submissive yielded attitude of
obedience to God. Those who DO NOT say with Christ, "not MY will
be done, but THINE." Those who are rebellious in attitude and
life, who have been called to know right from wrong, who are not
ignorant, who are not deceived, but will not follow the will of
the Lord - they are the ones who God calls as " the wicked" that
He is against. Their prayers will not go any further than the
ceiling.
Anyone who is serving to the best of their knowledge what God has
so far revealed to them, He will HEAR. It is only when God
reveals more and that person refuses to live and walk in it that
He then stops hearing that person's prayers.
Truly, God hears not sinners but heareth the prayer of the
righteous!
Prayers are unanswered when:
It is substituted for necessary action (Joshua 7:7-15).
It seeks to change God's declared decrees. God can not act
contrary to Himself (Deut.3:23-27).
It seeks to avert deserved and necessary chastisement (2 Sam.12:
16-18).
It is offered in arrogance and foolish pride (Prov.8:13).
It totally disregards the known revealed will of God
(1 Sam.8:9,10).
It is prompted by selfish ulterior motives (Mat.6:5; James
4:2,3).
It arises out of a heart full of ill will and hatred towards
others (Mat.5:24).
HELP IN PRAYING
Do you know that God gives us help in praying:
"The Spirit also helps our infirmities, For we know not what we
should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself makes
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered" (Rom. 8:26).
That Spirit that helps us is Christ (2 Cor. 3:17). And the CONTEXT
of Romans 8 also proves it is Christ.
God is indeed great, and greatly to be PRAISED. He even helps us
through the work of Christ, to pray to Him as we ought.
Let us avail ourselves of this great privilege
LET US PRAY TO GOD.
..............................
Written in 1984 and revised in 1994
To be continued with Appendix
All articles and studies by Keith Hunt may be copied, published,
e-mailed, and distributed as led by the Spirit. Mr.Hunt trusts
nothing will be changed without his consent.
All About Prayer
Part Three: Appendices
APPENDIX ONE
What about Matthew 21:22.......ALL THINGS...BELIEVING...SHALL
RECEIVE.
Does this mean we can pray:
1. Please God, I'm late for work, I must speed at 65 in a 45
miles per hour zone. Give me freedom from the police and from
killing someone in a crash.
2. I'm out of work Lord, I have a good job offer but I must work
on the Sabbath for half a day. Please let that be okay with you.
3. Father, I need to embezzle some money to pay the hospital
bills for my sick mother. Please help me find a good way to
embezzle money.
4. My ex wife/husband is a rotten person (taking me to court,
abusing the children, making life hell on earth for me), so
please Lord, help me find the right "hit man" who will blow them
away.
5. I think the President of the USA is an evil man, help me oh
Lord to assassinate him, give me the right opportunity and a good
aim as I pull the trigger.
Can we really pray for "all things" and believing we shall
receive?
I think you will see from the examples I gave that as a
Christian, and knowing the laws and character of God, it is not
possible to just pray for "all things" and receive it from the
Lord.
Matthew 21:22 must be understood in the context of the WHOLE
Bible and many other verses on this subject of prayer. Some of
the other verses we must keep in mind are:
James 4:3
Eph.5:17
1 John 5:14,15
Again, go back over the above pages and meditate upon the section
"Prayers are unanswered when."
NOW, I want you to turn to Matthew 5 and read verses 25,26. Jesus
is talking to His DISCIPLES!! Jesus is talking to any Christian.
Jesus is saying that if a Christian has done wrong, make it right
with those wronged. If the Christian is in the wrong better try
and solve the problem and make it right if possible. If you do
not, don't expect God to erase the physical penalty you may have
to pay - don't expect God to get you off "scot free" from the
physical penalty that may be imposed on you by those you have
wronged.
Please read Romans 13:1-7.
Clearly the powers that be are there because the Lord allows them
to function, and in many cases they are His servants to execute
punishment on those who break laws. James tells us that it is
through law that we have liberty. If there were no laws then
everyone would be a law unto themselves, doing it "my way” as a
popular song was entitled. With no laws we would have anarchy,
people driving as they wanted, as fast as they wanted. Imagine
our towns and cities without any laws governing traffic - it
would be a horror show all the time.
Examples:
1. You are stopped and given a speeding ticket by the police -
you ARE guilty and you know it. Will God deliver you from paying
the fine? Even if you pray all night long, I doubt if the
Lord will set you free from the physical penalty - Romans 13
takes effect. If we are guilty the laws of the land usually deal
out some penalty and that is the way the Lord has decreed it
must be, if we are willing to let Romans 13 teach us the truth of
the matter. Sometimes the judge may give you some mercy depending
on the whole situation.
2. You rob a bank by "white collar" work - you are guilty. Will
you pay a physical penalty?
Sure you will, the courts of the land will impose some punishment
on you and God will allow it, for they are His servants to
execute punishment upon those who do wrong.
3. Your son/daughter pulls a knife on another classmate and
threatens them with harm. They are guilty. Can you expect God to
give them complete freedom from some sort of punishment from
society for the evil they have done? According to Romans 13 you
must expect a penalty to be paid.
4. Teenagers - you deal in drugs - you get caught - you are
guilty. Don't ask our God to answer our prayers to get you off
"scot free" without some penalty having to be paid. Romans
13 says God's servants will render punishment upon those who do
wrong.
5. If you "drink and drive" and kill someone - you are guilty -
better get ready to pay the price, Romans 13 will kick into gear.
It is very unlikely God will hear any prayers for a "no
punishment" sentence.
God can and will forgive ANY sin/evil upon genuine repentance
the spiritual side of the sin is forgiven and no death penalty is
handed out, but God does not always remove the physical
punishment that He or His servants the judges say must be paid by
the offender - Romans 13.
Here is an outline of what I think our attitude should be in
prayer when a son/daughter/mother/father/brother/sister/close
friend etc. runs amok of the law of the land, when they are
guilty and Romans 13 faces them:
Our heavenly Father, help them to see their error and sin, help
them to turn to you in deep sorrow and repentance. Please help
them and us to FACE and ACCEPT the physical punishment from your
servants the judges(Rom.13). If it is your will, grant that the
judges will be able (if there is evidence) to show some mercy to
be applied in some cases. I have faith that whatever the penalty,
it is your will for your purpose for the ultimate good.
APPENDIX TWO
DOES THE ETERNAL HEAR PRAYERS
FROM PEOPLE NOT IN THE
CHURCH OF GOD?
The woman that went into history as the doctor who delivered
7, yes 7 babies all alive into the world, being interviewed about
it all, said: "To many people God is abstract, but let me tell
you God is not abstract" and then put her face in her hands and
cried.
On the evening of December 24th 1997, the NBC program
DATELINE had a special one hour documentary on mother Bobby
(including her husband and others as well) and her
REMARKABLE pregnancy and delivery of 7 small (but not as small as
could have been expected for sure) babies. The world was WATCHING
and had been for some weeks before.
Don't know about you but I praise the Lord when He now and
again lets the whole world KNOW He is still alive and well, still
ANSWERING prayers, and still able to perform ANYTHING He wills.
What a joy to know and to believe that it is still true, "Nothing
is impossible with God."
Here were two parents, who found that they were possibly
going to have SEVEN babies. It just blows your mind to think
about it. As far as they knew it had never happened before in the
USA, and who knows where else, maybe no other country has
anything on record like it either. These parents did not ask the
Eternal to give them seven children, seven babies all AT ONCE!
They just found they were the parents of seven babies, growing
inside Bobby's womb! For most young couples without the Lord in
their lives there is probably no way they would have tried to
carry seven babies to birth - natural reduction would have been
chosen. The doctor's offered this to Bobby - a picking of what
would be considered as the healthiest of the babies, and ABORTING
the rest. But as Bobby said, because they believe LIFE begins at
CONCEPTION (which indeed it does as proved not only by physical
science but the Bible) such a choice was NO CHOICE. There would
be NO THOUGHT of such a thing, and as she said they did not want
ANY doctor serving them who would want to regularly badger them
with such an idea. For Bobby and her husband, it was full steam
ahead, and let the Lord work His work, as He wished it to be.
This young couple were and are a SINCERELY religious couple,
faithful members of their church. They have a personal faith in
the Almighty and His Son. Soon the whole congregation knew about
this wonder taking place. For a number of months they were asked
to keep it a secret from the world. They did. But all who knew
were busy PRAYING for the hand of the Supreme One to be watching
over this young pregnant mother carrying seven babies. There were
times a prayer chain was called when things seemed very difficult
for one reason or another. Answers in the positive came. Finally,
Bobby could not go on any further without having to deliver the
children. Once more, in the hospital with members of the family
and church there, prayers were sent up to heaven that all would
go well, and that the Lord would grant all seven of the babies to
live through the birth and on from there into further life.
Well, once more the Eternal answered in the affirmative, all
were delivered, and as the woman doctor that did the deliveries
said, "To many God is abstract, but let me tell you God is not
abstract." I guess she really knew it that day if she had any
doubts about it before.
The last to be born had his problems not long after, pretty
serious it was, the doctor's did what they could, but...... they
just did not know if...... So the prayer chain in the church
was called into action once again. And sure enough in no time at
all it would seem, the answer came back on the plus side. The
problem was cleared up and just gone!
All seven are doing well. Does all this mean they will grow
up with a silver spoon in their mouth as we say. No, it does not!
At this time we have no way to know what lies ahead for anyone of
these seven little children. That is not our concern here. We
just need to focus in on the reality of what the Lord has done in
granting this mother and father, and their community, these seven
babies as they are now, alive, healthy and to be raised.
Not only brethren is this a wonderful strengthener of faith
in the fact that the true Eternal Father is in heaven above and
still working His miracles here below, but it carries another
very important lesson for us who tend to pride ourselves as being
the true children of God, with more "truth" and "enlightenment"
than any of the others who call themselves "Christian." Far too
often we think and even believe as a doctrine, that God only
hears and answers prayers from......well the "elect" - only from
people like ourselves, ones who have been given all the special
truths of God, that others do not see, will not see, or who are
just too blinded to see. Ah, and in those last words is part of
the important answer to all this.
Of all people on this earth, we in the Church of God who have
been granted to know the very plan of salvation for this whole
world, from Adam to the New Jerusalem and the new earth, should
realize that that is where it lies, for it is written, the whole
are BLINDED, and only the few chosen to grace and light. Many may
be called to hear the word of the Lord, but relatively few go on
to really understand it and live by every word that God has
written for us. What is true about Israel is also true for all
nations. Read carefully again the message of Paul, the truth of
the Lord, as found in Romans chapters 9 to 11. This world
naturally lies in deception, for Satan the devil has been allowed
by God to deceive this whole earth(Rev.12:9). He is the god of
this world the one who has in the main blinded the minds of men
who believe not (2 Cor.4:4) lest the light of the glorious gospel
should shine unto them. And even among those who "do believe" -
who do have a zeal for God as many of Paul's country-men did,
they have a zeal "not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2), not
according to the correct understanding of the truths of the Lord
as is given to those who are the "elect" that cannot be deceived
(Mat.24: 24).
But, with all that said, with all that as it is, those who
are BLINDED but still "do believe" are so because God has not
then chosen to REMOVE that blindness. It was Jesus Himself who
said that UNLESS the Father called a person - removed the
covering of blindness from their eyes - NO ONE could come to Him
- John 6:44,65.
And, some do come to Christ, some do believe there is a God
in heaven, but never go on to "grow in grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Christ Jesus." They may be sincere but often
they are still sincerely wrong in their religious beliefs and
practices.
We in the Church of God, who have been given the light of
knowing the great and wonderful plan of salvation for all who
have ever lived on this earth as pictured through the Festivals
of the Eternal, need to remember it really is true that "there go
I but by the grace of God." We need to remember there are
millions out there among the Roman Catholics and Protestant
churches that are very sincere in their love, in their service,
for God and fellow man. They really do want to live as best they
know how and with what has been revealed to them about the
Almighty and His Son. And if their zeal towards God is in part
without knowledge, THAT IS SO BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT
YET CHOSEN TO REMOVE THE BLINDNESS!
Can the Father LOVE such persons? Can He HELP such persons?
Can He GIVE to them? Can He ANSWER THEIR PRAYERS? Oh, if it is
written "The Lord sends the rain on the just and on the unjust"
SURELY He can help, serve, love, give, answer the prayers of
those who have a zeal for Him but not according to full
knowledge, because He has not chosen to remove their blindness!
The Father wants, desires that all should come to repentance
and be saved. He does not want ANY to perish - so it is written.
But He has a time plan for everyone. Many may be called to hear
the Gospel, but few are CHOSEN to be of the election of grace,
and the rest are left in BLINDNESS - see Romans 9. Yet in the
Eternal's good time the Redeemer, the Messiah will come, and so
as it is written "all Israel will be saved" (the huge vast
majority by the time the plan is finished) - see the wonderful
11th chapter of Romans.
There were two sincere young people, a husband and wife, the
parents of one little girl, who found themselves through the
grace of God to be the parents of SEVEN babies growing inside the
womb of the wife Bobby. As they said, they may not have wanted it
to be that way, they may not have chosen it if left up to
themselves (I can understand that, for who in this modern world
would want to have seven babies all at once?) but they found God
had given them this miracle. In the sincerity of their hearts
they said "Lord, your will be done."
They went forward in FAITH! They went forward with PRAYER! They
went forward with others who saw the hand of the Almighty in this
and who said they would serve and help them care for these
precious little lives that have the potential to become part of
the very family of the Father in heaven.
Oh, indeed it is so, God is not abstract, He really does
live, He really is an individual being that exists, and He does
hear and answer the prayers of even those who may not be
called to the first resurrection. God has a special love for
those whom He has called and chosen to be the BRIDE of Christ at
His coming in glory, but He still loves and serves, as He
wills, those who have a zeal for Him but are still in much
blindness. As it is His responsibility to remove spiritual
blindness and reveal the truths of His word to anyone, so it is
that He is able to see the sincerity within the heart of anyone
towards Him that are still left in blindness, and answer their
prayers, as He wills, just as He is able to do so for those
called to be the very elect and bride of Christ.
It is very sobering to realize that Jesus taught in plain
words that many who had been called and chosen to be in the first
resurrection at His coming again, would not MAKE IT!
Yes, five of the ten virgins would run out of oil in their lamps
and find they missed the Bridegroom when He came. There were many
in Jesus' time who had the law, they had the prophets, they had
the covenants, they had the true God of Israel, but they lacked
the simple heart-felt humility and sincerity that would be needed
to enter the first resurrection. He looked on that scene,
sometimes crying over it as He did with Jerusalem, wanting to
gather them under His wings as a mother hen does her chicks. He
told them that in the day of judgment - the great white throne
day - the sincere humble attitude of those who repented at
the preaching of Jonah would put to shame many of those in His
day who were witness to one greater than Jonah (Mat. 12:41).
As I have seen the interviews of this young mother and father
who were given seven babies on one particular day to have and to
raise, whatever befalls them, I have been amazed at their simple
sincere and humble faith in the Father and His Son. The Supreme
One loves them, has helped them, and He surely did answer their
prayers and those who prayed with and for them and their seven
babies.
May the Lord continue to help and be with them through
whatever this physical life may present them with. Let us
remember that young mother and father and their children in
our prayers. As the delivery doctor said: "To many people God is
abstract, but let me tell you God is not abstract," then she put
her face in her hands and wept.
Oh, that many more thousands and millions in Israel would
come to see the reality that God is alive and is a real personal
Being. Oh, that many more would then pray to that Eternal Father,
and even put their face in their hands and weep.
........................................
Written December 1997
All articles and studies by Keith Hunt may be copied, published,
e-mailed, and distributed as led by the Spirit. Mr. Hunt trusts
nothing will be changed without his consent.
Answer to Prayer - No?
Some Answers
ANSWER TO PRAYER IS NO - WHY?
Some answers to why God says no at times
by
Bob Hostetler
My mother was hospitalized with cancer the summer of my
fourteenth year.
Day after day that summer, I knelt at a crude altar at a church
camp in Missouri, praying for her healing.
God answered my prayer: The answer was no. My mother died
September 29 of that year.
All of us can remember similar moments when we prayed and God
answered ... with a no. And no matter how many testimonies of
answers to prayer we may hear, no matter how many books we read
or how many preachers we hear extolling the power of prayer, it's
the times the answer has been no that stick in our minds - and in
our throats.
But we are not alone. In fact, God's Word contains instances when
the prayers of even the greatest saints of God were answered with
a no.
WHEN THE HEART IS NOT RIGHT
Moses was a man of faith, a man of prayer. It was he who had
announced the ten plagues on Egypt. It was he whom God used to
part the Red Sea. It was he who received the Ten Commandments
from the hand of God. It was he who had led the children of
Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt right to the very
threshold of Canaan. Yet this man of God had a prayer that was
unanswered.
After the Israelites had defeated the kings of Bashan and
Heshbon, Moses told Joshua that God would give their people
similar victories over all the kingdoms of the Promised Land. And
then Moses described to the people of Israel the request he had
made of God:
"Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan -
that fine hill country and Lebanon." But because of you
the LORD was angry with me and would not listen to me. "That
is enough," the LORD said. "Do not speak to me anymore about
this matter" (Deuteronomy 3:25,26).
God's servant, nearly at the banks of the Jordan, prayed, "Let me
go over." And God said no.
Why? Because the children of Israel - and Moses himself, in fact
- had disobeyed God, and that disobedience blocked the answer to
Moses' prayer. Many times, when the answer is no, it is because
the heart is not right.
As Isaiah explained, "Your iniquities have separated you from
your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he
will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). We may be indignant when God seems
not to hear our prayers, but often the fault, as Shakespeare
wrote in Julius Caesar, is in ourselves. When the answer is no,
we might ask ourselves if our prayers are hindered because our
hearts are not right.
WHEN THE TIME IS NOT RIGHT
Few names in the Bible shine as brightly as the prophet Elijah.
His story is set against the backdrop of a nation that had turned
their backs on God and had turned instead to the worship of other
gods.
One day Elijah challenged the prophets of the false god, Baal, to
a contest on Mount Carmel. The priests of Baal prepared an altar
with a sacrifice on it, and both parties to the contest agreed
that they would pray to their god. Whichever god answered by
sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice would be
declared the one true God.
The priests of Baal lost that contest when the God of Elijah
answered the prophet's prayer of faith by consuming the sacrifice
Elijah had prepared. All the people fell to the ground, crying,
"The Lord, he is God!" Elijah routed the priests of Baal that
day.
Soon thereafter, however, an exhausted Elijah began to worry
about what Queen Jezebel might try to do to him in retaliation.
He took off for the desert and, after a full day's journey, came
to rest under a tree.
"I have had enough, Lord," he prayed. "Take my life." Elijah -
the great champion of God, the great man of faith, the great
prophet of Israel - prayed, "Let me die." And God said no.
Why? Not because Elijah's heart was not right; God did not rebuke
his prophet as he had Moses and the children of Israel. No,
Elijah's case was different. It illustrates the fact that many
times when the answer is no, it is because the time is not right.
God did eventually answer Elijah's prayer, in a manner of
speaking. Not many days later, as Elijah and his new companion,
Elisha, were walking along the Jordan River, "Suddenly a chariot
of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of
them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind" (2 Kings
2:11).
As it was with Elijah, so it may be with us. Sometimes when God
answers no, we may find hope and encouragement in knowing that He
knows best and that His timing is perfect.
WHEN THE PRAYER IS NOT RIGHT
Like Elijah and Moses, the apostle Paul is another towering
figure of faith. More than anyone else, Paul was responsible for
the rapid and effective spread of Christianity throughout the
civilized world of the first century. His inspired writings form
the foundation of the church's doctrine. Yet even this great
apostle of God knew the frustration a praying soul feels when the
answer is - no.
Paul once wrote to the Christians in Corinth:
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn
in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three
times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But
he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:1-9).
We don't know what Paul's thorn in the flesh was. Some have
speculated that it was a form of epilepsy. Others suggest it
could have been an eye disease. Still others think it was a
difficult wife! But whatever, it was an affliction that brought
suffering and agony and prompted Paul to pray three times for its
removal. But God said no.
Why? Paul answers the question himself: Because the prayer was
not right. Paul did not see, until God pointed it out to him
somehow, that his thorn in the flesh was being used by God for
a purpose.
The apostle John wrote:
If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we
know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have
what we asked of him (1 John 5:14,15).
But, of course, we often ask according to our own wills. As James
wrote, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with
wrong motives ..." (James 4:3). We tell God what we want instead
of asking what He wants. We promote our wills to Him instead of
allowing Him to promote His will in us. Consequently, often when
the answer is no, it is because the prayer is not right.
God always answers prayer according to His righteousness, His
timing, and His will. If we would make sure, when we pray, that
our hearts are right, we might receive the answers we seek. If we
submit to God's timing, we will see God makes everything
beautiful - in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And if we ask
according to His will and not our own, "we know that we have what
we asked of him" (1 John 5:15).
Thus, the solution to unanswered prayer lies not in changing
God's mind but in changing how we pray.
.................
Bob Hostetler lives in Hamilton, OH. Scripture quotations were
taken from the New International Version.
May 2004, Bible Advocate, Church of God (Seventh Day), Denver,
CO, USA.
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