Does God always answer prayer?
It is quite interesting, God always answers prayer. Unfortunately not always as we want it. God gives 3 answers to prayer:
1. Yes, go ahead, you have God’s blessings
2. No, don’t do it, you do not have God’s blessing
3. Wait, the time is not right God will let you know when the time is right
The problem with many people is that they believe you can ask God anything and they demand what they want. God only promises to grant our prayers when we ask according to His will. God’s will is given to us in His Word. It is only if you have a relationship with the Lord that you will understand the Word and will be able to understand what the will of God is. If you do not listen to God’s answer and merely go ahead to do what you want, you are sure to have trouble. I can remember when I was allowed to buy a station wagon as a company vehicle; I knew exactly what I wanted. Without consulting God I searched until I found one to my liking. What a disaster · Enroot to another town the air-conditioner caught alight inside the vehicle. · On my way home another time the car kept on stalling and I was stuck a number of times in desolate roads,
It was only after this happened a number of times that I asked the Lord why? He then reminded me that I bought the vehicle without His blessing. I had to confess. What was amazing was that the Lord told me what was wrong. The mechanics could not trace it. I gave them my insight. They fixed the vehicle and I had many years of wonderful service from the vehicle. That taught me that unless God blessed a purchase of a vehicle, I would not purchase it. I realized that I only wanted what was blessed by God. Nothing more, nothing less. A great place to be.
God promises to give us wisdom when we ask for it. James 1:5
What hampers our prayers?
People tend to think that when they pray God must listen. The fact is that God does listen, but there are certain factors that effectively prevent God from answering your prayer. In many instances God will stay silent. What are some of these factors?
1. Un-repented sin. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear”. (Isaiah 59:1,2). "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18).
2. Selfish prayers. When we go to God in prayer, our first concern should be His will. The second should be the needs of others. “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:3-4). "Yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). We should be focused on that God wants. What God wants will be a blessing to us far beyond what we can think or dream. To be within God’s will is to be at peace and you will have joy.
3. Un-forgiveness. Many Christians don’t take un-forgiveness seriously. In our ministry experience this is the biggest hampering factor in peoples’ lives. Effectively God says He will not forgive us if we do not forgive others. “12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matt 6:12). The reason is quite simple. God has given us grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. By not forgiving we are not giving grace and mercy to other. We effectively do not value what God has given to us.
4. Doubt and unbelief. "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does" (James 1:6-7). When we pray, we should be confident that God is listening and is capable of answering our prayers because of God’s character. Doubting God’s character is actually insulting God that He will not act according to His character. “6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Heb. 6:6). Prayer should be done with expectation that God will do what is best for us. “28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).
5. Sinful life. (Romans 8:13) – “13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” If we do not live by the Spirit, it hampers our prayer life tremendously. Our request will tend to be selfish and focused on ourselves. God says: John 1:9 that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." That is the grace God gives us so that we can have unhindered prayer.
When should we pray?
Personally I think tradition has hindered us from a lot of prayer. Prayer should be like breathing, continuous and at times being unaware of your heartbeat. We may also have a wrong idea about prayer. Prayer is more than “official” prayer time in the morning or evening, it is more than having devotions with the family, and it is more than having prayer meetings, praying in church.
· When you drive and say: “What a beautiful sunrise”, you are actually saying a praise prayer to God. Acknowledging that He is the creator God.
· When you are in traffic and thing get a bit difficult and you say: “Lord help me not to make and accident.” That is a prayer for help.
· When you go to sleep and lie in bed and you just thank the Lord for the day: That is a prayer of thankfulness.
· When you have done something wrong, like being angry or swearing and you say “Lord forgive me” that is a repentance prayer,
Prayer therefore should become a way of life. Formal prayer does have an important part in one’s life. That is when you pray for people in your prayer book, etc. That is the time some people formally repent for sins committed during the day. That is not wrong, but repentance should be immediate so that your relationship with the Lord can be restored.
I know this is a different way of thinking, but I have found richness in my relationship with the Lord in doing so. Especially when I am alone or travelling alone. To be in contact with the Lord all the time.
How should we pray?
Here I will not deal with praying in tongues etc. That is dealt with in my blog dealing with the Holy Spirit. Here I will deal with prayer as we need in everyday life.
The Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6) has been given to us as an example of how we should pray. It gives us some of the elements that should be in our prayer but is not only limited to these principles. We should look at Jesus’s prayer life while He was amongst men that will give us some further elements of an effective prayer life.
· Pray often: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). If Jesus prayed regularly, that is an indication that we need it more. He was fully man and sinless. We are bound to sin.
· Pray in quiet places. “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). We need to find an environment to be able to be quiet in front of the Lord. A place we can focus and hear the voice of the Lord
· Pray to the Father. “‘Our Father in heaven” (Matt 6) Recognize that He is the Almighty Creator God.
· Honor His name. “hallowed be your name”
· Pray for God’s will. “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Garden of Gethsemane just before His death he submitted to the Father’s will. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26: 39)
· Daily provision. “Give us today our daily bread.” Jesus prayed before feeding the 5,000 (Luke 9:16) and the 4,000 (Matthew 15:36). That is why we say grace at the table. We acknowledge that God is our provider.
· Forgiveness. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” On the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). They were killing Him, yet he reached out to the father to forgive them.
· Spiritual protection. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
· Pray for others. Jesus prayed for His disciples and all that would come to Him.
· Give thanks. Phil 4: 4-6 “4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
· Pray for guidance. Jesus prayed before major evets. “12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:” (Luke 6:12-13) We should follow His example. We do not have the wisdom to make right choices. (James 1:4-5) “4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. “
· Pray without ceasing. “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:16-18)
· Pray for our leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1–4, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” This is all leaders. Political, spiritual, civic, fathers,
· Pray for the lost. (2 Peter 3:9) “9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” It is directly within the will of God. If the Lord places someone on your heart, pray without ceasing. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) “1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (Luke 10:2) “2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Take note:
· You do not pray to angels. They are created beings. The Bible is clear: You pray to the Father. If you need protection, you can ask God to send His angels. He, God, alone direct angels.
· You do not pray for the dead. This is unbiblical. You may pray for the loved ones that are sad and hurting that God must carry them through the difficult time. Once you have died, your fate is sealed. Heaven or hell is your destiny. Nothing can change that. There is no purgatory where you are cleansed and thereafter go to heaven. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Also refer to (Luke 16:19-31).
· Fasting is not a pre-requisite for an effective prayer life. Fasting helps one focus on the Lord when praying. It is also a way in which we recognize our dependence. Many people, such as diabetics cannot fast due to their medical condition. God would not pace an unachievable burden on anybody. Fasting should be a joy and done inconspicuously. (Matthew 6:16-18)16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
· Be careful of reciting prayers with no meaning. Every prayer should be a genuine search for the heart of God to help us in having holy lives. It must be to grow in our relationship. It must be to worship and glorify His name.
· Don’t pray in public with wrong motives. (Matthew 6:5-6) 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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