“Now
this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according
to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14
As you approach the stadium, the concert
hall, the school auditorium, or even the church parking lot you think about the
time and how inconvenient open seating will be. Lines of people are already
forming, and you find yourself praying for a parking spot close to the
entrance. Then, viola, there it is, an empty spot that seems to have your name
on it, as if an angel was standing guard for you. Answered prayer, you think.
Then, you’re in dire straits over the bigger matters in life such as health
issues, financial needs, family problems, and you think “why doesn’t God answer
me? My prayers don’t’ seem to go any further than the ceiling?” Unanswered
prayer, you think. Maybe it’s not that God hasn’t answered in both cases, maybe
you’re reception of the answer is just off a little.
I heard a person say that God answers prayers
in three ways, “yes, no, and not yet.” I think He answers prayer in one way,
“I’ll do what’s best for all concerned.” Sometimes we must walk a great
distance and we miss the opening act for a reason. We don’t understand, but God
does. Sometimes our prayers for healing go unheeded, and suffering happens, and
to us it seems unfair, but God is still at work there too. Sometimes the
prodigal does return, and our prayers are answered, and we still doubt the
repentant person’s motives, and that doubt causes the person to return to the pig
sty because we didn’t see the answered prayer as the answer. We didn’t trust in
our own answer, and we changed the answer before accepting the test result. We
ask for something, yet when we get the answer, we don’t accept it, because of
the position we went into it with. Prayer is positional. It’s a heart check.
Our Master Teacher looked out at the
multitude gathered on the mount near the sea of Galilee, and like us, they
needed a little check on their position when they entered into prayer, and so
as He taught on how to pray He gave instruction on the position we ought to
assume when we pray. He said,
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners
of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they
have their reward. But you,
when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to
your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matt.6:5-6
I’ve seen these heathen praying before, and
they do like to bring attention to themselves when they pray. There are
different types of the hypocritical prayer warriors. There are the loud “In the
name of… Halleluia,” and by the time they get to what they were praying for
they’ve forgotten the need, so they make things up. Then there are the “I claim
it for…” prayer warriors, who go about claiming, binding, and loosing all kinds
of things, and then walking away leaving a mess in their wake because they
don’t bother to look into the lives of why they’re asking to begin with, but
they believe it is their anointing to lay hands on people and pray, as long as
it’s during the meeting, but you ask them to pray in the parking lot, and
they’ve got to go. Then there is the pray the gossip people. We all know them.
They’re the ones that when prayer requests are asked they let it be known we
ought to be praying for sister so-and-so because her husband is stepping out on
her with sister-so-and-so, followed by an uh-huh, and an amen by her equally
prayer gossiping friend who has another juicy request. These hypocrites hurry
through the healing prayers by shouting over them, “Yes, Lord! Yes, Lord!”
They’re not interested in the actual healing, because then what would they pray
for?
Sometimes they can be downright intimidating.
Just remember that God knows the heart. He knows why they’re asking, and if
they’re truly concerned about the people they’re petitioning on behalf of, or
if it’s themselves they care about.
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that
I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax
collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to
heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house-
justified rather than the
other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles
himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
Have you ever given much
thought to the actual act of prayer? It’s a very humbling activity to do.
Prayer requires the person to come to the end of themselves and admit they
don’t have the power, strength, or ability to do for themselves or for another
person. It’s a complete loss of control. It is complete and utter humility. So
how then can prayer be prideful? “You ask and do not receive, because you ask
amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:3 Some would
turn around and say, “But God wants His children to have good things,” and I
would agree. God does want His children to have good things, but He is the one
who decides what those good things are, not us.
Personally, I do believe
that I’ve prayed for things that God has not given me for a great reason,
mainly because my Creator knows this creation intimately better than I know
myself. He knows I can’t handle what I’m asking for. He knows at what level the
temptations will push me over the edge, and yet at what level I need the
struggle to grow. See, the thing about growing pains is that they are just
that, growing pains. We are growing
toward His perfection, daily. I am being created every day, regenerated. As the
scripture says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He
saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit
whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that
having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 In this we can see that the process is
continual, and so then our prayer life should be consistently seeking what is
next.
But have you ever been in a
situation where someone is just talking too much? Is it possible to say too
much to God? The answer is yes, when you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.
“And when you pray, Do not use
vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for
their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows what you
have need of before you ask Him.” Matt.6:7-8
When we are young we are
taught many things by rote memorization. We are taught our alphabet, our
multiplication tables, even patriotism through repeating phrases. It’s
necessary to learn things in this manner because it sticks in our memory, but
does it stick in our hearts? What happens when we get to a point in our
development when we can reason beyond that memorization? While it is true our
faith should be like a child’s in that we are to believe with wide-eyed wonderment
and trust that God, our Father, is caring for us, He also wants us to mature so
that we can make choices. “Come now, and let us reason together, Says
the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red as crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and
obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You
shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah
1:18-20 Our willingness is what drives and motivates our spirit to lock
into God. It’s our abiding in him, our junction box that allows that connection
of spiritual energy to continue or to be cut off. It’s the free will He created
in us. Our prayer life hinges on this. It’s not rote memorization, or chanting
He desires to hear. He wants us to express our individuality, because that’s how
he created us.
Imagine if you go into an
art museum and every single painting is exactly the same painting with absolutely
no variation at all. In fact, imagine a world of paintings with no variation at
all. Imagine that every art class all over the world teaches every student to
paint only that painting. It wouldn’t matter how lovely the masterpiece. It
would be about as ordinary and unexceptional as it could be. It just wouldn’t
be worth looking at, would it?
So it is with those prayers
we repeatedly pray without stopping to mean them. Most among them is the “The
LORD’s prayer” which we will be looking at in the next few blogs, so hold on to
your hats! I promise, you’ll never say it without meaning again. God wants us
to mean what we say, especially to Him. “And there is no creature hidden from His
sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must
give account.” Hebrews 4:13 If God, our Father,
wants us to not use repeating when we come to Him, then why pray? After all,
Jesus also told the story of the widow who pestered the judge to give her
justice over her adversary. Shouldn’t we continually ask? He said we should
ask, right? Yes, we should ask. But then He says that our Heavenly Father knows
what we need before we ask, so why ask? That’s actually a simple answer.
Communication is the key to a great relationship. Just because I know
something, doesn’t make me party to the relationship unless I’m asked to be a
part of it. I can know there’s a wedding, but unless I’m invited to it I’m not
a guest. I might know my neighbor is in financial need, but not know how to
help unless they ask. God actually knows the need, but He’s not going to bully
His way in and override your freewill and step all over your pride. Nope, if
you want to do it yourself, He will let you try. And if you get the point where
you realize that just maybe this is too big for you, and it’s time to humbly
ask for the help, He’ll do what’s best for you.
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and
He will lift you up.”
James 4:10
