You Asked For It
Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayer?
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
INTRODUCTION
The cartoon character Ziggy is standing, looking up on a mountain. The sky is dark and there’s one cloud up there. Ziggy says,
‘Have I been out on hold for the rest of my life?” ( Tales of A tady Oxcart, C.Swindoll)
Sometimes prayer feels like that doesn’t it? “Will You ever answer?” As one man puts it, “The heavens are brass and nothing comes back.”
Why doesn’t God answer my prayer?
If we are honest, then we would have to admit that at some time we have asked the question, If God is all loving, and all-powerful, how come he doesn’t answer my prayers?
That is a fair question. It’s a question that deserves more attention then pithy statements, spiritual platitudes and religious clichés.
To be honest, If you’re looking for a simplistic formula, you’re going to be disappointed.
I know that some of you have been pleading with God for years about various issues; and still God is silent. You have been asking God to save your spouse, or repair your relationship with a prodigal child, or heal your past, or restore your marriage, or bring physical healing.
Perhaps you even wonder in times of reflection, "Am I the problem? Is God mad at me? Is it because I don’t have enough faith? Do my prayers even matter?"
And maybe, if we are brutally honest, sometimes we are filled with resentment. We see other people have their prayers answered, or other people who don’t even know the Lord don’t face the same problems you face. And in desperation, you cry out, "It’s just not fair."
Those are real feelings, and real emotions, and there are times when it is all you can do to keep your composure. On the inside there is a flood of emotions and questions.
Before we look at the text for this morning, I want to make two things absolutely clear:
First of all, God has promised to answer prayer.
David testifies in Psalm 91:15, He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
In Jeremiah 33:33, HE says, “Call to me and I WILL answer you”
In Matthew 7:7 Jesus says, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you
This is saying EVERYONE not just the perfect or the righteous but to EVERYONE that asks will receive.
Then in John 14:13, Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.’
Wow, you could not get a clearer message than God has promised to answer the prayers of His children.
The second thing you need to realize is NOT EVERY PRAYER WILL BE ANSWERED, THE WAY I WANT IT TOO. O, we may not say it in so many words, yet that is our attitude many times. Let’s get one thing straight, The Bible does not teach that every prayer request is fulfilled, especially to our requirements.
Moses prayed to enter the Promised Land, but died east of the Jordan.
Jeremiah said in Lamentations; “You have covered yourself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through
Make no mistake, God does answer prayer. Sometimes He will answer yes, other times He will answer no, ( I once heard a preacher suggest a fourth possible answer to our prayers,; “ARE YOU CRAZY?!) but many times He will answer wait a little longer, there is something greater I want to accomplish in your life right now. In my reading this week, I came upon this poem, which reminds us that when we pray, God indeed does answer, but in ways we often do not take the time to realize.
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey
I asked God for wealth, that I may do great things,
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I may be happy;
I was given poverty 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 the need for God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for but everything I hoped for.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
( Author unknown/ Speakers Treasury of 400 Quotable Poems)
Hear this beloved, there are times when it seems that God has not heard our prayer. Every hero of faith in the Bible and church history has experienced the pain of heavens silence.
However, DO NOT MISTAKE GOD”S DELAY FOR HIS DENIAL!
This is the point I want you to hear today,
When God chooses to answer our prayer, He does so for His glory not to make our lives more comfortable. When we receive an answer to prayer it is not so we can live our lives independent of His will, but so that we will be fulfilled in the center of His will, no matter what happens.
If there was anyone in the Bible who understood this more than anyone, it was the Apostle Paul.
Paul is an example of one who had accomplished a great deal for God. He had started many new churches, wrote a third of the entire Bible, and trained young pastors and missionaries. But even for him, there were times that heaven was silent. If it happened to Paul, it will certainly happen to you. The question you are most prone to ask is WHY? Or When?. But I want to say to you today the question we all should ask is, How are you going to respond when it happens in your life?
I want us to look at 2 Corinthians 12. ( Read). The first way we should respond is too…
1. First,I will stand on the truth that God has a reason.
God has a reason. We can always know that God has a purpose for every trouble He allows in our lives. Paul got to see the purpose for his problem, and he shared it with us in vs. 7, when he said, So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited..”
The Apostle Paul certainly had an abundance of revelations. On the road to Damascus, Paul saw Jesus shining in glory brighter than the sun! And God chose Paul as His instrument to write more New Testament books than any other person. Paul certainly wrote 13 (possibly 14) of the 27 books in the New Testament.
And here at the beginning of 2 Corin 12, Paul tells us about being caught up to heaven. Speaking about himself modestly in the 3rd person in vs. 3&4, Paul said, “3And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter..”
This abundance of revelation could easily have led Paul to be puffed up in his own mind or by other people. So God allowed his thorn in the flesh. There was a reason.
Many times we don’t know why God allows us to suffer, but believers, we know that God loves us. And we know that He has a reason.
For Paul, the reason was pride. God hates pride because of how it potentially affects your relationship with others but especially of how it affects your relationship with God.
You might remember when Jesus came into the temple with his disciples. Jesus pointed to two men who were praying in the temple courts.
One was a Pharisee. He was dressed in his religious regalia. With eloquent words he expressed how thankful he was not like the sinners who dared desecrate the Lord’s presence.
Next to the Pharisee, was a man, dressed in rags, and I would not be surprised if he did not smell a little as well. Yet with quiet but sincere penitence, he cried God forgive me.
Jesus said that the prayer of the religious Pharisee bounced off the ceiling, while the prayer of the poor sinner, reached God’s throne in a nano second and all Heaven stopped ( my interpretation.) Why the difference?
The Pharisees heart was clothed in the rotten stinking garbs of pride, while the heart of the other was dressed in the beautiful garments of repentance and humility.
If heaven seems silent, perhaps you need to examine your heart. God hates pride, but welcomes and revels in humility.
2. I will Keep praying until God tells you to stop.
Most of the time God tells us to keep on praying. Don’t quit! Don’t lose hope. This is what Jesus taught us to do in Luke 11:5-10, when He said:
5And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ’Friend, lend me three loaves, 6for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7and he will answer from within, ’Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything(A) because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence[a] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9And I tell you,(B) ask, and(C) it will be given to you;(D) seek, and you will find;(E) knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Most of the time the Lord tells us to keep on praying. So in vs. 8, Paul passionately prayed and kept praying three times that his thorn would go away. But then in vs. 9, the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” That is a wonderful truth and a wonderful thing to hear, but at the same time, God was saying, “No,” and God was saying, “Enough.”
We do not like the answer no. No is an answer which God gives because it may be the best one for us.
I read a story about a young boy who was praying for a bicycle for Christmas. But his family was very poor, and when Christmas morning came there was no bicycle.
A family friend, who was not very sensitive, said to the boy, “Well, I see that God did not answer your prayer for a bicycle.”
“Oh yes, he did!” replied the boy, “He said No.”
3. I must Slow down enough to listen to the Lord.
Paul was listening carefully to the Lord. And when we listen, we will hear Him say the most wonderful, comforting things, like in vs. 9, “My Grace is sufficient for you.” Or as the New Living Translation says, “My grace is all you need.”
When we slow down enough to listen to Jesus Christ, we will hear Him speak to us of love and forgiveness. We will hear Jesus speak to us about the eternal life we can have through Him because He died on the cross for us and rose again. We will hear Him speak to us of His grace that will carry us through every trouble in life.
God speaks. Through His Word and by His Spirit, God will speak to our hearts, if we will slow down enough to listen.
4. I will Fully surrender my life to the Lord.
We see Paul fully surrendered to the Lord in vs. 9&10. The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
And Paul responded, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Paul’s amazing strength came from a life that was fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. We are never more alive and free than when we fully surrender to Jesus. Put all of your hopes, dreams and problems in His hands, and you will find that His grace is sufficient for you.
5. I will let Christ’s strength be shown through my problem.
This is what Paul did with his thorn. In vs. 9, Paul heard the Lord say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Jesus said the same thing when He was on the cross and cried, IT IS FINISHED”. Paul was saying, “My strength is ‘finished, fulfilled, completed for all to see...’”
Therefore, Paul said, “Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Paul let the Lord’s strength be revealed through his thorn, and we can do the same thing.
Joni Eareckson Tada has certainly proved that in our lifetime. Joni is an artist, author, and professional speaker. But she is also disabled, paralyzed from the neck down in a teenage diving accident. Joni has been confined to a wheelchair for many years, but she and her husband travel all over the world helping the handicapped, and sharing the gospel.
Joni gave this testimony of a lunch with Christian author, Corrie ten Boom, after Corrie had also been paralyzed by a stroke. Listen to what Joni said:
I relive each moment of my visit with Corrie ten Boom (paralyzed by a stroke). I recall how our eyes met as we were fed our cucumber sandwiches. Helpless and for the most part dependent, I felt our mutual weakness. Yet I am certain neither of us had ever felt stronger. It makes me think of the Cross of Christ--a symbol of weakness and humiliation, yet at the same time, a symbol of victory and strength. ...
For a wheelchair may confine a body that is wasting away. But no wheelchair can confine the soul, ... the soul that is inwardly renewed day by day. For paralyzed people can walk with the Lord. Speechless people can talk with the Almighty. Sightless people can see Jesus. Deaf people can hear the Word of God. And those like Corrie, their minds shadowy and obscure, can have the very mind of Christ. (7)
CONCLUSION: Prayer is everything about relationships and trust. When you are praying, and it seems that the heavens are silent, then ask yourself these questions;
1. Am I God’s child? ( Romans 8:14-16) 14For all who are(B) led by the Spirit of God are(C) sons[a] of God. 15For(D) you did not receive(E) the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of(F) adoption as sons, by whom we cry,(G) "Abba! Father!" 16(H) The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Do I have a relationship with God. Jesus said that the Father loves to give good gifts to His children. Are you a child of God? Have you asked God to forgive your Sins? Have you believed and trusted in Jesus to be your Savior? Have you confessed Him as your Lord?
The bible says that you will enter into a new relationship as His beloved child. Jesus said that the Father loves to give good gifts to His children. Do not delay. Do it now. God is waiting for you to come to Him.
2. Am I walking with Jesus today? Maybe you do know the Lord, but how is your walk with Him today? Jesus told us in John 15:7, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
To abide means to have an ongoing, consistent relationship with Him.
3. Do I really believe God can answer my prayer. Jesus said:“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22)
James wrote: “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 1:6-8).
Believing is perhaps the best known condition for prayer. But there are other reasons prayer is not answered.
4. Am I asking with wrong motives? “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3).
How many parents have felt at times, that you were merely a chauffer or personal bank for your kids? The Only time they call is to ask for money, but never take time to talk with you.
If we are honest, isn’t that a lot how we treat God? That is the wrong attitude and will only result in eventual disappointment and frustration. When it comes to prayer, we need to realize that prayer is so much more than getting our requests answered. Prayer is not about us getting what we want when we want it. Prayer is about God getting the glory through us.
5. Do I have Unconfessed sin that is separating me from God, so that He cannot hear. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
You might be sitting here and thinking, ‘I am glad Pastor is finally talking to so and so. They need to hear this.” But just hold on a minute. If you are married, men how are things at home?
6. Is my relationship at home clear and clean? 1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)
In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. If you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.
If you can’t be tender and understanding and forgiving with your spouse, how can you expect God to treat you that way?
Meeting needs does not end at home.
7. Am I ignoring the needs of others. “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13).
But I think the most crucial thing we need to ask ourselves is,
8. Do I harbour unforgiveness I my heart? Mark 11:24-25 (NLT) “Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
At the end of the day, prayer is a matter of trust. One of the heros of faith, who endured unspeakable trials was Job. He was a man of integrity, faith, and courage. HE did not deserve any of the trials he experienced. Yet, God trusted Job to be able to be faithful in all that the Devil threw at him.
Even when the flames of adversity were raised to unbearable heat, Job could testify,
"But he knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:10
This is the most important point for us to understand today.
TRUST IN GOD’S CONTROL AND PURPOSES FOR YOUR LIFE
There it is, bottom line. It’s a matter of trust. I like Job’s words. "He knows the way I take." My situation has not caught him off guard. My prayer request didn’t surprise him. He can be trusted. He is God.
