When Prayers Are Answered
Sermon by CH(CPT) Keith J. Andrews
All scriptures marker ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Several years ago the was a book called, “the prayer of Jabez.” I have not read the book, so I won’t give you a critique on it, but I understand that the book is about a specific prayer to pray. It is a prayer to extend your borders and that the Lord will bless you.
My father and I were talking about how there was so much excitement about this book.
And my father very wisely asked, “Why is it a new revelation that God answers prayer? What is the big deal? Why don’t we get excited about the words of Christ, who said: whatsoever ye ask of the father in my name, he may give it to you”.
When we look at answered prayer, do we wonder if the prayer will be answered? We lack the faith to know that the Lord has made a heaven and earth by his great power.
Jeremiah 32.17 says nothing is too hard for him. And this should apply to our prayer life. Nothing is too hard for God, so why do we pray at the last moment? We should expect our prayers to be answered.
There are three ways that the Bible shows that God answers a sincere prayer.
First, sometimes
1. The answers are different from their requests.
Deuteronomy 3 tells the story of Moses was pleading with God to allow him to enter the Promised Land. Moses had worked for large portion of his life to lead the people across the Jordan. But God said no. Moses continued to plead. Then God gave him an answer,
26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. (Dt 3:26-27. ESV)
God allowed Moses to climb to Pisgah peak and view the Promised Land. God had a better plan.
But Moses’ prayer was still answered.
In John 11, we see the story of Lazarus. The prayer was that Jesus would heal Lazarus from being sick. But Jesus let Lazarus die. He was dead for four days. But Jesus had a better plan.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
(Jn 11:39-44, ESV).
Jesus was able to do more than simply heal the sickness. Jesus raised him from the dead. And the prayers were answered.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 says;
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Co 1:8-9, ESV)
Then Paul prayed that God would take away his weakness. We understand that Paul was plagued by this particular weakness. And Paul wanted it to be taken away. But God had a better plan, his plan was to teach Paul to trust completely in God.
Are you praying for something today? Are you continually receiving an answer that is different from your request?
We have all probably heard about the story of the man in a flood. His house was surrounded with water, and he sat on top of the roof. He prayed to God “come save me”.
And soon, a boat came. The man said, “thank you, but God will save me”. And he waved the boat away.
The man prayed “God Save me”. The water got higher, and soon a helicopter came. And the man said, “God will save me”. And then waved the helicopter away.
The man drowned and went to heaven. And the man said to God, “I thought you would save me”. And God said, “I sent you a boat, and then a helicopter”. The man said, “oh, that’s what those were, I was waiting for an angel”.
Are you waiting for an answer, when God has already given you one?
A second way we may receive
2. God’s answer to our prayer is delayed.
Sometimes we have to be persistent. We must bring this request to God daily.
Nowadays, we want everything fast.
I’m a people watcher. Sometimes—when I’m not in a rush I like to see people fight for position in the PX. In Baumholder, there are times when there are more people in line that there are registers open. And when an extra one opens, people from all over the store rush to be first in line.
Here on the FOB we have a speed limit of 15, but we continually have problems with speeding. Don’t people understand that we have 15 months to get to where we want to go?
We are always in a rush.
But you can’t rush God. Everything works for God in his time. We get so used to doing everything on our schedule. But God controls time. God’s timing is perfect. So sometimes there is a delayed answer.
Jeremiah had to wait ten days for his reply in Jeremiah 42:7.
Do you not think that quite possibly Jeremiah asked, “What is taking so long?”
Habakkuk does ask.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save? (Hab 1:2, ESV)
Then Jesus in Luke 18:7, says
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?(Lk 18:7, ESV)
It al happens in God’s time. And we must persist in our praying. God will answer, but sometimes the answer will be delayed. Are you praying for somebody today? Someone who needs to know Christ? Continue praying. The answer may be delayed. Continue praying.
The third type of answer given in Scripture is
3. that God gives an abundant answer.
These are prayers that were prayed and answered. But they were answered greater that imagined.
Do you remember Solomon? In 1 Kings 3:11, Solomon asked for wisdom. Listen to God’s reply.
11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,(1 Ki 3:11, ESV)
And what about Mary, the mother of John Mark in Acts 12.12? They had been praying for Peter’s safety. And then Peter shows up at the door.
These are abundant answers. They prayed, and God delivered. How can we have answers to our prayers like these in the Bible?
Let’s look back at John 15:16.
“16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
(Jn 15:16, ESV)
There were once, two young boys who went to high school together. One grew up to be a lawyer and the other had one hard time after another and was now a beggar.
They met one day on the street, the lawyer in his business suit and the beggar in his rags. After talking and reminiscing, the lawyer wrote the beggar a check worth a lot of money. The beggar was grateful, but then said, “If I go to the bank looking like this, they will never cash it…they may even throw me out!” The lawyer then said, “but they will see my name on the check.”
And that’s how it is through Christ. We could never approach God in any way…in our filthy rags of sin. By God looks at our check and see the name of Christ, and cashes it.
Conclusion
Many times our prayers go unanswered, however, because we don’t use the name of Christ.
Oh, we may finish our prayer in Jesus name, but we do we truly pray in the name of Christ. So how do we do that?
John 15:7 says;
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (Jn 15:7, ESV).
We need to stay joined to Christ. In the king James Bible, the word is abide. The Greek is the word Meno. Which means to stay, to remain, to stand, to carry, to continue, to dwell, to endure, to be present, to abide—in a given place, state, or relation. We must abide. We must be joined with Christ.
Jesus describes this earlier in the passage, he says;
John 15:1-7.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (Jn 15:1-7, ESV).
We are branches spreading out from Christ. At times, we our pruned—cut, humbled, molded, so that we may grow. But we must stay attached.
Stay close to the vine. We must hold on tight. We must constantly be drawing our lifeblood from this line of Christ. This must be our main priority, because our entire life depends on it.
And when we abide totally and completely. Our will changes to say “Not my will be done, but thy will be done”. When that occurs, we will be asking in Jesus name.
So how do we abide.
First, we must be born again. We must have new life from heaven. We do this by accepting Christ into our lives. Recognize that we are sinners, asking Jesus to take away our sin.
Second, we must pray. Any relationship begins with conversation. We must talk to God. We have seen that he will answer. He will teach us. But we must spend time talking with him.
Third, we must read the Bible. The Bible is God’s word to us. This is God’s way of telling us. Outside of the Bible, there is no communication. If we have a new revelation, and it doesn’t correspond with Scripture, it is heresy. So we must read the Bible to understand what God is saying to us.
Fourthly, we must be persistent. Praying and reading are not a once a week chore like doing the laundry. We must pray constantly. If you are attached to the vine do you pull yourself off and then go back again? No, you stay, you abide, and you join yourself to him.
There is more to answered prayer than a easy formula. Just say the words and it’s done. But, it is a simple formula. You must simply abide.
Let us pray.
