Unanswered Prayer

Answers to our prayers are the only guarantee that we have prayed right. Our unanswered prayers are not to be solved by the mystery of God’s will. We are not the sport of His sovereign power. The only explanation is found in our wrong praying. “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” [James 4:2,3]

Let me begin this post with some introductory thoughts.

1. In response to our prayers God is not obligated to explain His yes’s or His no’s nor is He obligated to give us what we want.

2. No prayer asking God for what He has already revealed to be His will will go unanswered. We mistakenly take the words of Jesus “ask anything in my name, I will do it” [John 14:14] out of the context of scripture. In context “anything” is guided by “if we ask anything according to His will, he hearth us. And if we know that He hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of Him.” [1 John 5:14, 15]

3. Often what we call unanswered prayer is nothing more than hope against hope God did not say no.

4. In response to our prayers, God gives us what we need but it is not always what we want. More about this in another post.

5. God’s ultimate purposes in answering prayer are His glory and our good.

Much confusion about prayer is the result of our false assumptions. There are three specific ones I would like you to consider.

1. We assume that God is indebted to us because we have served Him or given much for the advancement of the gospel.

2. God is a loving Father and as such he will give me what I request. This assumption is based upon a wrong view of love. It is the world’s concept not a biblical concept. Again, more abut this in another post.

3. If I pray long enough and hard enough I can change God’s mind.

All three of these assumptions are based upon a wrong concept of God and our relationship with Him. We are His servants. He is not ours. We are neither omniscient nor filled with complete wisdom. He is. Let me end this post with Jude’s benediction, “To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” [Jude 1:25]

In our next post: Are our prayers really unanswered? Don’t miss it.

Prayer and Suffering

The presence of sin demands suffering. The presence of God demands prayer. Prayer is possible because Jesus opened the door of access through His death, resurrection and ascension.

While the “W’s” of suffering are often incomprehensible, we quickly experience an effect of suffering – “aloneness.” No one can understand our “aloneness” like the Lord Jesus. See Him on the cross. Hear His cry from the cross. His “aloneness” was not without purpose. His “aloneness” helps Him understand and gives purpose to our "aloneness." When we feel alone, we are not alone. Jesus promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) His presence in midst of our suffering allows us to say “The Lord is my helper, and I shall not fear what man shall do unto me.” (13:6)

Our own personal prayers, along with the prayers of others, make it possible for us to experience the wonder of God’s help in the form of comfort and strength. When we pray, we open the door for God to meet us in our “aloneness” and weakness. As He makes us aware of His presence, He provides the comfort and strength we need. This does not mean an immediate end to our suffering but He gives us better insight into the desired purposes behind our suffering. God answers to our prayers for help measure our faith, build our trust and increase our awareness of His love for us.

As suffering increases the frequency and fervency of our prayers, we have the opportunity to learn two very important lessons. “One is that our motive should be to be doing what the Lord has told us to do, not to get some sort of reward! Secondly, we need to continue to remember that the Lord does not do exactly the same thing for each of his people.” (Edith Schaeffer, Life of Prayer, p. 39)

The real issue in suffering in “aloneness.” “Aloneness” in suffering is Satan’s means of separating us from God and negating our love and trust in our heavenly Father. No one feels more alone, more abandoned than a person who feels unloved. The more we are aware of the presence of God in the valley, the easier it is for God to direct our focus toward the validity of His other promises. “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.” “We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:39, 37) His presence should be just as real for us today as it was for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

Prayer in the midst of suffering is about trust. “For the which cause I suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Prayer and Spiritual Insight

The need for the spiritual insight that is necessary to chart our course in life is the result of our prayers for others as embodied by Paul’s prayer. “And it is my prayer that your love may be more and more accompanied by clear knowledge and keen perception, for testing things that differ.” (Phil. 1:9 Weymouth N. T.) Or it is the result of a prayer for self as offered by Solomon. “Give therefore thy servant an under-standing heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (1 Kings 3:9)

Due to the absence of spiritual vision in present day Christianity, A. W. Tozer implied we need a “baptism of clear seeing.” Over forty years ago Tozer wrote: “I can only say that I have observed one significant lack amonq evangelical Christians which might turn out to be the real cause of most of our spiritual troubles; and of course if that were true, then the supplying of that lack would be our most critical need.

The great deficiency to which I refer is the lack of spiritual discernment, especially among our leaders. How there can be so much Bible knowledge and so little insight, so little moral penetration, is one of the enigmas of the religious world today. I think it is altogether accurate to say that there has never before been a time in the history of the Church when so many persons were engaged in Bible study as are so engaged today. If the knowledge of Bible doctrine were any guarantee of godliness, this would without doubt be known in history as the age of sanctity. Instead, it may well be known as the age of the Church's Babylonish captivity, or the age of worldliness, when the professed Bride of Christ allowed herself to be successfully courted by the fallen sons of men in unbelievable numbers. The body of evangelical believers, under evil influences, has during the last twenty-five years gone over to the world in complete and abject surrender…”

Your Pastor needs your prayers. The Deacons need your prayers. Your fellow believers need your prayers. You need to pray for yourself. Pray for what? For a “baptism of clear seeing” to be able to discern good and evil.

Father's Day

I like to take a break from my posts on Prayer and wish my Dad and all other Dads a Happy Father's Day. Below are some things I have collected over the years. I hope you enjoy them.

Dad’s Turn Out All Right – In Time
At Age:
4: My daddy can do anything.
7: My daddy knows a lot, a whole lot.
10: Dad doesn’t know quite everything.
12: Oh well, naturally father doesn’t understand.
14: Father? Hopelessly old-fashioned!
21: Oh, that man is out-of-date; what do you expect?
25: He comes up with a good idea once in a while
30: Must find out what Dad thinks about it.
35: A little patience; let’s get Dad’s input first.
50: What would dad have thought about it?
60: I wish I could talk it over with Dad once more. [unknown]

What Is A Dad?

A Dad is a person
who is loving and kind,
And often he knows
what you have on your mind.
He's someone who listens,
suggests, and defends ~
A Dad can be one
of your very best friends!
He's proud of your triumphs,
but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient
and helpful and strong
In all that you do,
a dad's love plays a part ~
There's always a place for him
deep in your heart ~
And each year that passes,
you're even more glad,
More grateful and proud
just to call him your dad!
Thank you, Dad...
for listening and caring,
for giving and sharing,
but, especially, for just being you!
Happy Father's Day
With Love Dave & Sonya

"My Dad is a mender of toys, a leader of boys; changer of fuses, a healer of bruises; a mover of couches, a healer of ouches; a hanger of screens, a counselor of teens; a pounder of nails, a teller of tales; a dryer of dishes, and a fulfiller of wishes." [JoAnn Heid] For more quotes visit http://www.hopetriumphant.com and follow the Quote Pages link.

Prayer and Busyness

The mark of spirituality is neither busyness nor idleness. That is not to say a spiritual person will not be busy serving the Lord. Too often, we exchange our quiet times with the Lord for busyness. Spirituality is about being not doing. When busyness takes the place of our quiet time with the Lord, we find ourselves struggling under the strain of duty, being caught up in self-pity and driven by feelings of insecurity.

Often, busyness is nothing more than another form of religiosity. It is necessary for us to be able to discern between spirituality and religiosity. “So many of us put prayer and work and consecration in place of the working of God; we make ourselves the workers. God is the Worker; we work out what He works in. Spirituality is what God is after, not religiosity…the ‘GREATER works’ are done by prayer because prayer is the exercise of the essential character of the life of God in us.” (Oswald Chambers, Prayer – A Holy Occupation, p. 175)

Before we can be effective in serving the Lord, we must let Him do a work in us. It is during these quiet times that we are exposed to the Lord, His Word and His Spirit. Busyness can be a sign of insecurity. Insecure people use busyness as a means to impress God and others. The problem with busyness is more we do, the more we feel we have to do.

One great danger in busyness is the potential for pride. Paul warns us of this danger: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) Our relationship with our Lord is a grace relationship not a works relationship.

True service for the Lord is nurtured during our quiet times with Him. It is during these times that our love for Him grows and in our burning desire to express our love for the Lord, we faithfully serve Him. Serving the Lord is more than just being busy. The danger of busyness is loss of intimacy with our heavenly Father. The reason for prayer is intimacy of relation with our heavenly Father.

Quote: John Calvin on Prayer:
“As God in his word enjoins common prayer, so public temples are the places destined for the performance of them, and hence those who refuse to join with the people of God in this observance have no ground for the pretext, that they enter their chamber in order that they may obey the command of the Lord. For he who promises to grant whatsoever two or three assembled in his name shall ask…declares, that he by no means despises the prayers which are publicly offered up, provided there be no ostentation, or catching at human applause, and provided there be a true and sincere affection in the secret recesses of the heart.”

Why Pray?

The next five or six blogs will be on the spiritual discipline of prayer.

Prayer is a family matter. In prayer, we are communicating with our heavenly Father. Prayer is a conversation borne out of love, respect and the desire to share our inner most thoughts and feelings with the one we love. Besides all this, the Bible gives us a number of reasons as to why we should pray.

God has commanded us to pray. His promises are prayer’s rationale. His power is prayer’s power. In prayer, we step away from our futility toward fulfillment. Jesus said in Matthew 6:6, “When you pray…” Not if you pray but when you pray.

God is glorified in prayer. The final words in the Disciples Prayer are, “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” (Matthew 6:13) Prayer glorifies God’s attributes. When addressing Him, we acknowledge His omniscience. In seeking His help, we acknowledge His omnipotence and goodness. When we confess our sin, we acknowledge His holiness. In seeking guidance, we acknowledge His wisdom. In praise and thanksgiving, we acknowledge His mercy, love and grace.

We pray because people need our prayers. In praying for others, we engage in an activity of care and demonstrate a sign of love for others.

Prayer changes us when we pray. We become more dependent upon God, more aware of His centrality to everything and more conformed to God’s will, nature and ways.

While we pray, God changes the course of human events. In Acts 12, Peter was in jail and many were praying. While they prayed, Peter was freed by an angel and arrives at the house while they were still praying..

We pray because of the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Consider just a few of the occasions that were preceded by prayer. He prayed before He His miracles, before choosing the Twelve (Luke 6:12), before His Transfiguration (9:28) and before His Passion (22:39ff).

Ultimately we pray because it is our means of communicating with our heavenly Father. It is our spiritual life line. Prayer allows us to express to God our love for Him and our cares, frustrations, disappointments and fears. It allows God to meet us where are and minister to us. Prayer is our lifeline to our heavenly Father. It is also our means finding victory. Finally, prayer demonstrates our absolute ability to trust our Heavenly Father with the events of our life, with life itself.

Stepping-Stones to Spirituality II

It is important to realize that the positive stepping-stones that help us in our spiritual journey must also be accompanied by the disciplines of abstinence. In the carrying out of the disciplines of abstinence we must be careful to understand that our desire to abstain in one degree or another is not a statement that there is anything wrong with the normal and legitimate desire from which we choose to abstain. It is for the purpose of keeping these normal and healthy desires from going wrong and taking control over our lives. The disciplines of abstinence are:

Solitude – practiced by our Lord [Matthew 14:23] and the Apostle Paul [Galatians 1:17] after his conversion. It’s the choice to be alone without any exterior distractions so that we can dwell upon our relationship with God, while providing for us the opportunity to practice some of the positive stepping-stones mentioned in my previous post.
Silence – goes hand in hand with solitude. Not just silence before God but also silence in the presence of others. It allows us the opportunity to listen and to observe people. The write of Ecclesiastes wrote. “a fool's voice is known by multitude of words” and “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities [or emptiness].”
Fasting – helps us understand our utter dependence upon God and how much we depend upon food to comfort us in difficult times. It helps us practice self-denial, temperance in regard to all our fundamental desires. We need to find a way to experience contentment in the difficulties of life. The practice of fasting in conjunction with other spiritual disciplines will help us experience contentment.
Thriftiness – learning not to use our money or goods as a means of gratifying our desires [learning to do without the non-necessities of life] or in our pursuit of fame and fortune. It is the practice of discipline, a discipline that frees us from the bondage of debt so we can live simply. This enables us to be free from spiritual bondage cause by debt and opens the door for us to be able to use our resources to minister to others and advance the cause of the gospel. It also offers the opportunity to go to another level and that of sacrifice. Not just doing away with the extras of life but sacrificing some of our necessities in a total abandonment to God as an act of faith. The widowed woman who gave her all in faith abandoned herself to total dependence upon God [Luke 21:2 –4]. This kind of sacrifice is more than service but act of discipline.

A final thought regards the discipline is secrecy. If we are constantly telling others of our actions, what real value is there in our engagement of the spiritual disciplines? Without secrecy our practices are nothing but acts of self glory rather stepping-stones in our spiritual growth. It is the honor of men we seek rather the opportunity to know God. Self-glory is our goal not the development of the character of Christ with us to the glory of God.

Steppng-Stones to Spirituality

Spirituality is the result of a process. Part of that process involves discipline. Today, I would like to suggest some positive stepping-stones we can practice. They are:

1. Study the Word of God - this means more than a casual reading but engaging ourselves in personal Bible study. We can do it with in a group setting but we must also engage in personal Bible study. Two important parts of personal Bible study include memorization and meditation.

These two disciplines in Bible study place the Word of God within us. When that happens the Holy Spirit can use the knowledge gained to guide us in making right choices.

2. Worship - In this disciple we ascribe to God the worth that is due Him. It provides us the opportunity for celebration both corporate and private.

3. Service - It is the engagement of our goods and abilities in the active promotion of another's good. In some ways service is a part of worship [Romans 12:1, 2]. Love for God is to be manifest in our love for others and there is no better way to show love than through service.

4. Prayer - This allows us to converse with God and as a result of this conversation we are moved to do and be what God wants us to do and be. It is through this disciple along with service that we go trough the process of decentralization. Moving away from selfish goals toward others. Putting God above self and then putting others before self.

5. Confession - We need to be constantly dealing with the issues of life that stand between God and us. When something stands between us and God we call that sin and sin must always be confessed and forsaken if we are to be in constant communion with God. [Psalm 66:18]

6. Fellowship - We need to be in contact with other believers to help and learn from them. Within the scriptures there are more than 20 "one another" statements regarding our relationships with other believers. As we engage in them, we will begin to see the change God is bringing about in our lives.

7. Submission - We must learn to submit to the authority God brings within our lives. There may be times we find it difficult but when we learn to live in submission to God and the authority He puts in our lives, we find more of God's transforming power at work in our lives. Two of the authority figures God has placed with our lives are Scriptures and spiritual leaders.

[Hebrews 13:17]

These are seven positive stepping-stones to spirituality. No one said the path would be easy but it is beneficial to those who would travel it. Next entry will deal with some disciplines of abstinence.