08/24/2023
Are we prepared to pray? By that I mean, are we prepared to pray and receive the blessing that we are speaking with God about? So often we come to the Lord unprepared; living one life and praying as if we lived another. I was reading Oswald Chambers and he spoke a truth that cuts us deep; it answers in part the question of "why is my prayer not answered?" Let’s listen to what he has to say…
"Never say it is not God's Will to give you what you ask, don't sit down and faint, but find out the reason, turn up the index. Are you rightly related to your wife, to your husband, to your children, to your fellow-students - are you a "good child" there? "O Lord, I have been irritable and cross, but I do want spiritual blessing." You can't have it, you will have to do without until you come into the attitude of a good child." - Oswald Chambers
I have written before about how hard it is to pray when we are filled with anger, or are in a heated disagreement with someone. It is hard because we are not spiritually prepared to pray... we are discombobulated within ourselves. In such a state we are not conforming to the will of God, and His blessings are reluctant to go where we are at that moment. Have you felt it? Yet even in our state of discord the Lord wants to bless us, and pines for our return to Him.
“Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.”
Zechariah 1:3 ESV
He wants to give us what we desire, but when we place a wall between His will and our hearts, it can't happen... so He is silent.
“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?”
Matthew 7:9-10 ESV
The Lord doesn't want to give us what we deserve (a stone or serpent), but what we ask for. This helps us understand the silence doesn't it? So to begin living, praying, and receiving God's blessings again we need to straighten ourselves out... we need to begin seeking again, knocking again. We need to do these things until we find ourselves within His will once more.
“"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8 ESV
At this point in the discussion I usually hear... "Yeah, but the mean guy down the street is getting blessed all the time!" Friends, do you really believe that is what is happening, that God is blessing him? There are things in this world that are good, and others that are bad, but we tend to only single out the good things when we look at how others are living. Let's listen to scripture...
“so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Matthew 5:45 ESV
Good things happen to the just, the evil, and the unjust alike, but the children of faith thank God for the good that happens to them. Then, when the inverse happens and bad things occur, the children of God call on the Lord for relief; so ask yourself this... who do the unjust and evil doers go to for relief? Considering this, whose shoes would you rather be in?
I have watched Saints live through some pretty horrific things, the loss of children, loved ones, jobs, fortunes, and health, but as difficult as those things were, they suffered through them with the help of God and emerged victorious in their faith, and stronger for it. These are things that can destroy families, lives, and minds when tackled alone. So I ask once again... whose shoes would you rather be in? Are you ready to pray? Are you right in spirit and walking in the will of God? Let's listen one more time to Oswald Chambers:
"Spiritually we are all good at producing fogs. If we turn up the index, we will see very clearly what is wrong - that friendship, that debt, that temper of mind. It is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then, Jesus says - "Everyone who asks receives."" - Oswald Chambers
Sometimes we deceive ourselves and blame God for the lack of movement towards answering our prayers when in fact it is our own wandering faith or a position we have taken that is outside God's will for us. Try beginning each morning's prayers by saying "Father, lead me in resolving the issues in my life that are separating me from you, and forgive me my sins." Once we have realigned our lives and resolved those things... then our spirit and His can begin to commune.
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Matthew 5:23-24 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for hearing and answering prayer. Thank you for being silent when we lose sight of our faith and step outside your will for us - you could so easily give us the serpent, or the stone, that we deserve during such times, but you have mercy on us. Lord Jesus, thank you for your examples and teaching on prayer. Thank you for showing us a touch of what you typically kept secret and private between you and your Heavenly Father. You intercede for us Lord and in so doing you lead us back to our Father. Jesus, calm our spirits, soothe our souls, and teach us to be forever within the Father's will. Your tears in the Garden of Gethsemane, your prayers upon the cross, your intercession in heaven, they lead us into close relationship with our Holy Father and stay His hand when we deserve punishment. He is full of grace and you are filled to overflowing with love for Him and us. Thank you Jesus, and may your name forever be lifted up! May the Holy name of God echo throughout all heaven and creation as we pray, "Holy, Holy, Holy art thou our God", and as our prayers resound, we ask that His answer to us would also echo through the mountains and valleys of our lives… each response being filled with His goodness, mercy, and provision as it returns to us.
Rich Forbes