I am slowly learning that God sometimes answers "Yes, but not yet" to my prayers.
A couple of years ago, I stepped out of my comfort zone and prayed for a considerable increase in people turning out for a special church event. I had prayed for a modest increase at an earlier event and had seen my prayers answered.
Well, this time the answer was "No." Or, at least I felt it was. Certainly, the turnout was no where near the target I had picked.
I asked myself why this audacious prayer was not answered. I went through the usual list: Was it my lack of faith? Was my prayer selfish? Was I really looking for the glory of God? Is number-picking or target-setting wrong? Shouldn't I ask first what God wants?
I am still not sure why God did not say "Yes" for that event. It may be any of the reasons I have mentioned - or none.
It could be that God wants me to continue praying along these lines - and not give up.
The reason I say that is that God recently answered another prayer that I have been praying for some years. In that case, I also set targets - a time period - and God did not say "Yes" during those time periods.
In fact, I was surprised by the way God answered my prayer. It was better than I hoped.
Jesus makes the point in Luke 11:5-13 that persistence is an important aspect of prayer. God wants to see that we are serious about our prayer requests. It is part of our training to trust in him, no matter what.
In the Luke 5 passage, Jesus tells of a man who pounds on his neighbour's door asking for three loaves of bread to feed an unexpected visitor. The neighbour refuses, saying it is late at night and he and his family are in bed.
But the man keeps on pounding and eventually the neighbour gives in.
The point isn't that God is reluctant to give us what we ask for. He tells us that if we ask we will receive. And Jesus tells us in verse 13 that God loves us and wants to give us the Holy Spirit
The point is that we must not give up if we are praying God-honouring prayers. Selfish prayers will not receive a "Yes" answer.
I often think of prayer-warrior George Muller's prayers for several friends to give their lives to Christ. Over his long life, they all became believers - except for one. That man became a Christian at Muller's graveside.
A couple of years ago, I stepped out of my comfort zone and prayed for a considerable increase in people turning out for a special church event. I had prayed for a modest increase at an earlier event and had seen my prayers answered.
Well, this time the answer was "No." Or, at least I felt it was. Certainly, the turnout was no where near the target I had picked.
I asked myself why this audacious prayer was not answered. I went through the usual list: Was it my lack of faith? Was my prayer selfish? Was I really looking for the glory of God? Is number-picking or target-setting wrong? Shouldn't I ask first what God wants?
I am still not sure why God did not say "Yes" for that event. It may be any of the reasons I have mentioned - or none.
It could be that God wants me to continue praying along these lines - and not give up.
The reason I say that is that God recently answered another prayer that I have been praying for some years. In that case, I also set targets - a time period - and God did not say "Yes" during those time periods.
In fact, I was surprised by the way God answered my prayer. It was better than I hoped.
Jesus makes the point in Luke 11:5-13 that persistence is an important aspect of prayer. God wants to see that we are serious about our prayer requests. It is part of our training to trust in him, no matter what.
In the Luke 5 passage, Jesus tells of a man who pounds on his neighbour's door asking for three loaves of bread to feed an unexpected visitor. The neighbour refuses, saying it is late at night and he and his family are in bed.
But the man keeps on pounding and eventually the neighbour gives in.
The point isn't that God is reluctant to give us what we ask for. He tells us that if we ask we will receive. And Jesus tells us in verse 13 that God loves us and wants to give us the Holy Spirit
The point is that we must not give up if we are praying God-honouring prayers. Selfish prayers will not receive a "Yes" answer.
I often think of prayer-warrior George Muller's prayers for several friends to give their lives to Christ. Over his long life, they all became believers - except for one. That man became a Christian at Muller's graveside.
Thank you for sharing this, Bob. It was a very timely post for me. I especially liked the way you reflected on Luke 11, that prayer is part of our training to trust in God, no matter what. That is something I am learning on my faith journey, that even when things are really good I have learned in my prayer walk, that no matter how "together" things seem to be, I am not capable of doing life apart from Christ - but with him, I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13).
ReplyDeleteGranted, it is frustrating when I feel that my prayers go unanswered, but I remind myself that God does all things for His glory, and He knows better than I, and maybe what I am asking for, will not bring him glory, or He has a different plan.
JM
Thank you for your comments. I like your point about not being able to do life apart from Christ. Too often, I forget this truth and try to do things on my own.
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