Life is filled with things that bother us and that are problems for us – questions we might wish we had answers for. These things can range from how to deal with the economy and the way it affects our daily living to how to be a Christian parent to how to deal with “difficult people” to how to deal with emotions such as anger to how to keep from saying things that we know are not things God would have us be saying to how to respond when things are moving a lot slower that we would like for them to to how to deal with feelings of loneliness and the questions of how we can be sure of God’s love to questions about God hears our prayers.
The Bible is our guide to living life in God’s ways – and contains God’s answers to our questions in life. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that:
“16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
This summer we’re looking at some of the issues and questions we may face in our lives – and how God would have us deal with them. Today we are looking at an issue that most of us face from time to time – the issue of God’s answering our prayers. Sometimes it may seem that God is not listening to us – but despite how it feels – God says to us:
Keep on praying!
Prayer is a vital part of our lives as Christians – we know that God wants us to pray – but – how do we know when to keep praying – and when to give up? We might believe that God wants us to pray – then find ourselves in specific situations where our prayers don’t seem to do a bit of good.
There may be times when we all may wonder:
Should I keep on praying?
Jesus addresses this in Matthew 7:7-12. Listen to what Jesus says about the fact that God answers prayers. Read Scripture
You know — there is nothing that reveals more about how you feel about God than your prayer life. How you approach God and what you’re willing to ask for reveals how you view God.
When we ask people for things we tend to frame our requests with what we know about them in mind. For example, if a child knows their father loves and cares for them they may not fear to calmly ask him for things – having the assurance that the father has greater wisdom and experience than they and would not give them anything that would be harmful to them. However, a child with extravagant but uncaring father might arrogantly lay down their demand — knowing their every desire will be met. On the other hand, a child with the stingy, ill-tempered, or abusive father might not dare to ask for anything — fearing it would bring on another emotional explosion from the father.
This is also true spiritually.
When we pray we make our prayers with our understanding of God in mind. I think sometimes our view of God can be influenced by the kind of earthly father we have had. An individual that believes God is arbitrary will be fearful and on guard. The individual who believes that God is vengeful will be fearful. But the individual who believes that God is gracious will come boldly.
Jesus gives us some guidelines about how to come to God in prayer. Listen again to what He says in verses 7-11:
7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
All three verbs in verse seven, Ask, Seek, Knock are commands. These are not only commands to do these things – to ask – seek – and knock – but they are also commands to not stop doing these things! We are told to ask and keep on asking, — to seek and keep on seeking – to knock and keep on knocking. In fact, the words: ask, seek and knock seem to suggest an ever increasing intensity in prayer.
1.Asking. There are some things that we must ask for.
2.Seeking. Seeking is a deeper level of prayer than just asking. Sometimes we may not know exactly what to pray for and we many need to first seek God’s will before we know what to pray for. But God has made provision for us even in such times. In Romans 8:26-27 Paul writes:
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
3. Knocking. The knocking here illustrates seeking entrance, or desiring fellowship.
Keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying.
Keep on praying!
Within this command to pray I think we can see four general principles about prayer.
- 1. We are expected to ask for the things God has promised.
This same principle is stated in the negative in James 4:2
“… you do not have because you do not ask.”
I’m afraid this principle describes many of us. It has bee said that we do not live in a praying age – and that is true. We live in an age of hustle and bustle, where we depend on our own efforts and determination and have too much confidence in ourselves and our own power to achieve things. We believe too strongly in our ability to organize and get things done — and if we can’t get things done we believe that we have the technology to help us figure out how to get things done – or do things for us. We believe too much in our own abilities and our own achievements. We don’t think to ask God for anything – because we think we have – or can get – or can create – anything we need. But Jesus makes it clear – we are expected to ask for the things God has promised – and if we do so will be blessed in ways we never imagined.
Too many times we don’t accomplish things for God because we don’t ask God to help us accomplish things for Him! W need to ask God for the things He has promised – the ability to reach others for His glory – the ability to do His will – instead of just sit in idle mode and wonder why we can’t seem to get things done for God!
James is right – we don’t have because we don’t ask.
Jesus is right – if we ask it will be given.
If we ask – God will richly bless us with abilities to serve Him and grow into the people He wants us to be.
But – we have to ask.
That’s the first principle we need to understand about prayer. We are expected to ask for the things God has promised us.
Keep on praying!
Keep on praying!
The second principle is:
- 2. God hears and answers every prayer.
“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
There are two certainties when we pray. One is that God hears every prayer. The other certainty is that God always answers. This verse says for ‘everyone who asks receives,” Maybe you’re wondering if you heard that right – but yes – it says that everyone receives! But here’s a problem — we have the misconception that the only possible answer to prayer is yes. There are two other possibilities. God can say, No or he can say, Not Yet.
However God answers, God hears and answers every prayer – so keep on praying!
Keep on praying!
This leads to the third principle about prayer:
- 3. Sometimes God gives us what we need — and not what we ask for.
“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? (11) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
Even earthly fathers give good things to their children. We wouldn’t give a child a red-hot chili pepper just because they ask for it. Well – some might think it would be funny – but not many!
I did hear of a father who got their child to hold on to a spark plug of a lawn mower so he could see if it was firing. It was firing alright — it knocked the fire right out of child.
Generally speaking, though, we do not give things to our children that we know will really harm them. And if this true of us — how much more true it must be of God!
I’ve heard it put this way: “If we ask for God for good things, He grants them — if we ask for thins which are not good (either not good in themselves, or not good for us or for others, directly or indirectly, immediately or ultimately) He denies them — and many times only He knows the difference.”
Maybe you’ve heard this saying:
“I asked for strength that I might achieve; he made me weak that I might obey. I asked for health that I might do great things: he gave grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; he did not give them so that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel a need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I received very few of the things I asked for; but I received the things I had hoped for.”
Yea — sometimes God gives us what we need and not what we ask for…
Keep on praying!
Keep on praying!
So – we have 3 principles about prayer:
We are expected to ask for the things God has promised
God hears and answers every prayer.
Sometimes God gives us what we need — and not what we ask for
Here’s a fourth principle about prayer we need to remember:
- 4. No prayer is ever wasted.
The underlying principle behind the significance of persistent prayer has to be the truth that no prayer is ever wasted effort. Howard Hendricks a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, relates this story about how now prayer is ever wasted. Dr Hendricks writes:
“The phone rang and I greeted a young pastor friend from Arlington, Virginia. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Studying,” I replied. “Nothing special.” “Are you sitting down?” “Yes, why?” “Your father just trusted Christ this evening.” “He what? You’ve got to be kidding!” I blurted out. Such an inappropriate response grew out of long detours in our father-son journey. Ever since I received Christ as a boy my concern has been for the salvation of my family and loved ones. On repeated occasions I had broached the subject of the gospel with dad, but his response was less than excited.
My father has always been a very important person to me. Not that I approved of everything he said or did or that I imitated him consciously in any way. We weren’t really close friends, either. But he was important in my life because of the indirect impact he made upon me.
Dad was a military man. He had seen action around the world. During the periods when he was embroiled in battle, I would become very sensitive to his spiritual need. I and my family prayed for him, but at times I’m afraid my faith sputtered. His response was always the same: Son, don’t worry about me. I’ll work it out with God (as if God could be manipulated like a Pentagon official). God brought a man into my life, a man with a passion for men. His name was Butch Hardman. One day before we knew each other Butch was boarding a plane in Detroit when a friend handed him a cassette tape. “Ever hear Hendricks? Here’s a tape you should listen to.” On that tape I related my father’s spiritual need. Butch listened and something about the anecdote reminded him of his own father with whom he had shared Christ shortly before he died. He began to pray for this unknown man, George Hendricks.
Some months later Butch attended a pastors’ conference in Philadelphia where I was the speaker. He shook my hand afterward. That was the only time our paths crossed before a remarkable incident in Arlington.
Butch was driving the church bus down the street, having discharged all his passengers. He saw a man standing on the corner who reminded him uncannily of Howard Hendricks. Could it possibly be…? He backed up the bus, stopped, got off, and went over to the man. “Are you by any chance Howard Hendricks’ father?” It is easy to imagine the startled response. “Er-ah (I can envision my father’s critical once-over with his steely blue eyes) yeah—you a student of my son?”
“No, I’m not, but he sure has helped me. Got time for a cup of coffee?”
That encounter began a friendship, skillfully engineered by the Spirit of God. Butch undoubtedly sensed dad’s hesitancy when he discovered he had met a preacher. For a long time Butch did not invite him to attend his church. He simply suggested that dad drop by the office for coffee. Patiently he endured dad’s cigars and his endless repertoire of war stories. Before long he also learned that dad had been diagnosed as having a terminal throat cancer.
Months later Butch was at his bedside. “Mr. Hendricks, I’ll be leaving shortly for a Holy Land trip. Instead of my listening to you tonight, would you let me tell you a story?”
Butch had earned his hearing and he began simply to relate the interview of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus as recorded by the Apostle John. At the conclusion dad accepted Butch’s invitation to receive Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. Then dad got up out of bed, stood, and saluted with a smile. “Now I’m under a new Commander-in-Chief!” That night Butch called Dallas.
The last time I saw dad alive I could not believe he was the same man I had known. His frame was wasted, but his spirit was more virile than I had ever known.
In accordance with dad’s specific provision in his will, Butch Hardman conducted the crisp military funeral in Arlington cemetery where the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented to the small group of family and military attendants. As the guns saluted their final farewell, I knew God had vindicated forty-two years of prayer.
[Howard & Jeanne Hendricks. FootPrints. (Multnomah Press, 1981) pp. 16-19 –
You see — no prayer is ever wasted
Keep on praying!
If you think you’re not doing what you should for God – keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying. We are expected to pray for the things God has promised.
If you wonder if God hears your prayers – keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying. God hears and answers every prayer.
If you’re not sure God has given you what you’ve asked for — keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying – for sometimes God gives us what we need and not what we ask for.
If you feel your prayers are a waste of time — keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying – for no prayer is ever wasted.
Here’s the truth, friends – we may experience “dry spells” in our prayer lives – but God wants us to keep on asking – keep on seeking – and keep on knocking –
God wants us to on keep praying!
Amen
