07/12/2020
Are you frustrated with God’s response to your prayers? Do you ask something of Him repeatedly, and feel like it is falling on deaf ears? Well there are two reasons that come immediately to mind which could cause us to feel this way. The first is that we consider God obligated to obey our request, and the second is that we give Him our solution rather than simply presenting Him with the problem. Both of these are rooted in our greatest pitfall... praying outside the will of God.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
1 John 5:14 ESV
The first of these examples is based on entitlement... when we think that God MUST do a certain thing, then we have set ourselves up for disappointment. I have often listened to prayers, and prayer requests, while cringing. On one occasion I actually heard a young man use the word command. He said “Lord I command you to heal Mr. __________!” I couldn’t believe my ears, and this young man wasn’t a new Christian. I have also listened as people tell God that they “claim” whatever it is they want because He said He would do whatever they asked. Using God’s Word in an attempt to legally corner Him into doing our bidding is placing our will above His, and undermining our relationship by challenging His position of authority over us.
“Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’””
Matthew 4:7 ESV
In both of these examples they were forgetting one fact... the will of God. God is Omnipotent, and can do anything, but there are certain things He won’t do, for instance He won’t lie, and as a matter of fact He won’t sin in any way. He is also good, and won’t do things for us that are bad. His will is consistent with His character, so when we ask God to do things that are not within His character our prayers are not going anywhere because they won’t be within His will. We hear evidence of his character in the Old Testament...
“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 ESV
and in the New Testament...
“in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”
Titus 1:2 ESV
Our prayers also fall on deaf ears when we pray outside His will by not asking Him what His desire is for us, or in other words, what is best in a much larger good. Sometimes we pray for healing when God is using our illness in a much more powerful way... like bringing someone to Him by using our infirmity to reach them, or we ask Him for prosperity when He knows it will corrupt us, or perhaps our children, and cause us to become separated from Him. God offered up His Son Jesus for us, yet we can’t seem to grasp the concept that He might also offer up our lives for the souls of our children, or others.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
We are often disappointed because we don’t understand God, and can’t fathom His thoughts. We try to use our limited ability, and lives, to make sense of who He is, but in no way are we capable of such. Here is a simple example... I can print this devotional on a piece of paper, and by holding it before me I can read the words, but if I nail it to a tree and walk 100 meters away then It is impossible for me to read... but not impossible for an eagle. However, if that eagle flies a mile away then it becomes impossible for it to see the words, but not for God; He sees them clearly from whatever distance. It is the same way with our ability to understand God... and His will. We are given an simple understanding, but it is always within our ability to grasp... not His.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
Then there is our desire to give God the solution to our problems, and ask Him to conform to our desires as He helps us. Let’s look at Moses, he wanted to see God’s glory, and I am quite certain he had an idea of how this could be accomplished, but he only gave God his request, and not the solution. God provided the solution to his request.
“Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.””
Exodus 33:18-23 ESV
When we pray for help we should tell God our problem, or desire, and then ask Him to respond to us within His will, and in a way that brings Him glory. Giving God the solution to a problem that we already can’t handle, or solve, is ludicrous. Moses wanted to see God’s glory, but He really didn’t understand what that was, or how it could be accomplished... so he left the solution up to God, and the rest is history. Oh that the Lord would cover my face with His hand as well. God says, and does, but not always in a manner which we can understand, or see.
“For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”
Psalm 33:9 ESV
So how do we pray today, and are we doing so within God’s will? Are our prayers bringing Him glory? Do we need to realign them to conform to His character, or to remove our wills from becoming a stumbling block to our set expectations? Are we testing or judging God by our childlike understanding of the greater good, and love, which are represented in His will? Well, today is the day to begin seeking His will when we pray, to accept the solutions that God has to our problems, and to remove ourselves as an impediment to His Love, and desire, for us.
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
James 4:3 ESV
Prayer:
Father we thank you for hearing our prayers, and answering our requests when they conform to your will. We thank you Holy Father for using all that is good in our lives, and even those things that disturb us about them, to accomplish your will and plan for us, and all of your creation. Help us to understand your will, even in part, as we pray for those things we desire, or that trouble us. Give us strength to pray as Jesus prayed, remaining in your will despite the pain and suffering it can sometimes bring. Help us to obey you, and not ask of you things that are contrary to who you are, and what you will do. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is omnipotent, and able to do all things, but chooses to love, do good, be truth, and be further governed by all the other amazingly wonderful attributes of your character. We praise you for every answered prayer Father, and thank you for opening our eyes as you reveal to us the unanswered prayers, and even those that must play out in time as your will dictates. Hear us today as we pray for Jesus to return quickly, but give us patience as we see your will at work in what we perceive to be a long time coming. Be merciful Lord, and help us to bear the pain as we carry our crosses, and strive to see beyond the horizon of your will. Great are you, and amazing your grace that lifts us up beyond our human doubts, fears, and selfish wants, to realize your will in prayer. Come Lord Jesus; come in due time, and according to God’s will, and promise. Come... and keep our hearts tender, and our eyes on the sky as we pray for your return; knowing we pray within God’s will, and His good purposes as He prepares a place in eternity for us.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15 ESV
Rich Forbes