Asking According to God’s Will - Luke 5:12-16
One of the most concerning things about the Christian walk is unanswered prayer. If you were all honest, you would tell me that there are plenty of things that you have prayed about that have not been answered. Some of them big, some of them small, but all of them important, to us anyway.
- It may be a spouse that doesn’t know Christ and you’ve been praying for them for years.
- It may be a child that has gone off the rails.
- It may be that you’ve been praying for a husband or wife for years, but no one has come your way.
- It may be for a friend of loved one who has cancer or another debilitating disease.
- It may be world peace.
If we were all honest, we’d have to admit there are things we’ve prayed about, that haven’t seemed to be answered.
How do we reconcile that? Why does God seem to ignore some of the most sincere desires that we have? I can give you plenty of verses which on first reading implies that all we need to do is ask in faith ...
James 5:15 - And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
John 14:12-14 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Matt 21:21-22 - “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ¡¥Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
But these are promises which don’t always seem to work. But why not?
This morning I want to look a bit closer at this story the Leper that came to Jesus, because in it I think is a clue to why some of our prayers remain unanswered.
Lets read it - Luke 5:12...
12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Now here was a man, who had leprosy. This word was a generic term which spoke of any skin complaint. It was not necessarily the leprosy that we know today, but it was a skin condition that had no cure. The only cure for a person with leprosy was isolation so when you noticed a problem with your skin, you went to the priest for a diagnosis. You would usually be quarantined for 7 days and re-examined. If it was still there you waited another 7 days. If it was still there, you were declared unclean.
This had a few rather disastrous consequences. Firstly you were PHYSICALLY isolated from society. Because there was no cure, the way to stop it spreading was to avoid all physical contact. Imagine that - no more embraces by people who loved you. Your children weren’t allowed to come and sit on your knee. No more pats on the back or hands on your shoulders - unless of course it was by another person who was unclean.
If you had leprosy, you were also SOCIALLY isolated. You were forced to live outside of the city or the camp. It was actually illegal for you to enter the city for fear of others coming into contact with you. To help others avoid you, you were required to call out unclean when ever anyone approached you and they would therefore give you a wide berth. You could not mix in with other people or attend the temple worship. You were socially isolated.
Not only were you physically and socially isolated, you were also PSYCHOLOGICALLY isolated. The disease you had was regarded by everyone as disgusting. It was unclean, dirty. Lepers were ashamed of thief condition and they became the lowest of low in the society. Because lepers could not mix in society, if you became a leper, you lost your job. - You became unemployed, destitute and a beggar overnight.
It was a leper who came to Jesus that day. And it was a leper who was covered with the disease - he had it bad. He had probably had it for a long time and every day was consumed with 2 thoughts ...
1) “What I wouldn’t give to be rid of this disease”
2) “I wish I were dead.”
One day, Jesus came to the town where this man used to live and so desperate was he that he ignored the law prohibiting him from coming into town. He had heard that Jesus could help him and so came and fell on his face in front of Jesus and made a request. His position was one of humility of utter desperation. Maybe he was ashamed of his appearance and uncleanliness. Maybe he was begging for some help. And so he makes his request. Actually it was not a request, but a statement and I think that here is one of the keys to the dilemma of unanswered prayer.
Asking According to God’s Will
You see the man with leprosy says. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” It was a statement of fact, not a request. It wasn’t “Lord, please make me clean.” It was Lord, I know that you can make me clean if you are willing.
This leper stopped short of presuming to know God’s will. You and I often don’t know God’s will either. We often think we do, but we don’t. So this man stuck to what he knew. The fact that God is an awesome God who can do what ever he wants.
God is an all powerful God. He can do ANYTHING at all. There is nothing our God can not do, but that doesn’t mean that God will do EVERYTHING we ask. Why? Because often it doesn’t fit in with God’s will. It doesn’t fit in with the purposes he has for our lives. What is the purpose of our lives? To Worship God, To be part of his church, To learn to become like him, to serve others and to draw others to himself.
Some of you who have come from other denominations will remember learning the shorter catechism. It’s first question is ... What is the chief end of man? The Answer ... Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. We were created to glorify God. That is an essential part of worship and we learnt during the 40 Days that worship encompasses everything we do. The Bible teaches that all things are brought about by God to bring himself Glory.
1 Cor 6:20 - Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Eph 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
If we were honest, we would have to admit that not everything we pray for would bring glory to God. We pray for a promotion or that we would get a job. Who is that going to benefit? Us or God? We pray that God would provide us a cheap car at the right price. Who is that going to benefit? Us or God? How Many of our prayers really seek to Glorify God?
I’m not telling you don’t pray for those things. I think God is a loving Father and he loves to give us good things when we ask as long as they won’t hurt us. Even trivial little things like a car park or that a meeting goes well. God wants us to ask Him for them because by doing so that shows we are dependant upon Him, that we need Him and we love Him. But unfortunately, much of what we ask for is not healthy or good for us and so doesn’t fit in with God’s best plan for us.
This is why Jesus TAUGHT us to pray according to God’s will ...
Matt 6:9-13 - Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
It is not Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, my will be done. We pray that His will would be done.
What a great test for the things we ask. Are they going to bring God Glory? Is it in line with the revealed standards of His word. I mean we can’t pray to God and expect Him to bless our business when we are cheating the tax man or running a bit of a dodgy show.
Jesus also exemplified this type of praying for his disciples - He PRAYED according to God’s will. When he was in the garden of gethsemene wrestling with the pain and agony that lay ahead he prayed Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” I have no doubt Jesus wanted God to find another way. He didn’t want to die. But what was more important than his desires was that God’s will be done.
We see this principle born out in other scriptures too ...
1 John 5:14-15 - This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us¡Xwhatever we ask¡Xwe know that we have what we asked of him.
Jesus again teaches in John 15:7 - 8 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
The condition for answered prayer is that you remain in me. Remaining in Him is to actions and speak according to God’s will. Then, if you ask whatever you wish, it will be given to you.
John 14:13 - 14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
“In Jesus’ Name” is not a magic formula to be tacked onto the end of the prayer. The context of this promise is that Jesus is saying that his disciples will keep doing what He was doing if they have faith. They will keep walking within the Father’s will if they are to follow Him. When they include Jesus in their work and follow Him, they are working within God’s will and God will be pleased to answer their prayers.
The Leper in Luke’s Gospel asked according to God’s will - “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” This is the pattern we should follow in our prayer life. But the question you are all asking now, is the How question. How do we know what is God’s will? That is where the Holy Spirit comes in - Rom 8:26-27 says “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” So God’s spirit helps us pray according to God’s will.
God hears our prayers
A second thing to note here is that the Leper did not need to ask again and again and again. Jesus heard him the first time. He didn’t have to keep asking, just in case Jesus didn’t hear Him. He didn’t have to keep convince Him to answer his prayer. He didn’t have to wear God out. You can’t convince God to answer your prayers - you can’t blackmail Him into doing what you want.
This doesn’t mean that there is not a precedent for persisting in earnest Prayer - there is, but be careful where you get it from. Many people would turn to a couple of Parables in Luke 11 and 18, but I wouldn’t advise this.
In Luke 11, Jesus told a parable about a man who had some unexpected visitors at midnight. He didn’t have any food so he went to his neighbors and asked for some food. The initial answer was no, but with persistence, he gave in. Now it is a wrong interpretation to see this as an analogy of our prayers because the stubborn friend doesn’t give in because of friendship. God is not like that. God is a God of love. The parable is meant to be a contrast between God and this stubborn friend. God loves to give generously all good gifts to his children when they are within the bounds of his good and perfect will. What a contrast from a sleepy, grumpy, selfish friend. So it is not about persistently praying, but showing how generous God is.
In Luke 18, there is another passage which people often wrongly interpret. It is Luke 18 where a widow was trying to get justice but the judge in the town was corrupt and had no time for her. She wouldn’t give up though and pestered the judge till he gave in and dealt with her case in order to get rid of her. Again, it is wrong to substitute God for this Godless corrupt Judge. Rather the point of the parable is again a contrast, that God is not slack in bringing justice. The whole context of the parable is the suffering and persecution that we experience here on and our longing for the return of the Son of Man. Jesus told the parable to assure his followers that God is faithful and will judge rightly in his time. They need to be patient in waiting for his second coming and perseverant in their prayer for his justice.
We are encouraged to persevere in prayer (1 Tim 5:5, 1 Thess 3:10). In Luke 11:9, it is not Ask and it will be given to you, but “Keep on asking and it will be given to you.” But the purpose of persisting is not to manipulate God, it is to exercise our FAITH. Faith that says I believe that God has heard me and I believe that God has answered my request. So my prayers turn from one of asking to one of thanking God for his answer. That’s faith - thanking God when you don’t see an answer that you don’t see or one that you don’t like.
Always Allow God to Answer
That brings us to the third important lesson in this story. The leper waited on Jesus for his answer. In this encounter, the answer that Jesus gives is immediate and it is a positive answer. But that is not always the case. Sometimes the answer is No. Sometimes, we don’t hear anything.
When we pray for God’s will to be done, we are reminded that while we can ask anything, once asked, we need to hand it over to a loving and gracious God and allow Him to answer as he sees fit. That includes both the timing and the actual answer.
Too often, we demand that His answer to our prayer suits us. We convince ourselves that the only possible way God can answer our prayers is like this ... And we want that answer to come right here and right now.
When we do this, Prayer becomes just a tool to get the things we want. It becomes a magic wand that we wave. When we say jump, we don’t expect God just to jump, but to ask how high. Don’t be mistaken, God gives us permission to ask for anything we want, but He does not give us permission to order Him to answer a certain way.
God’s answers us in 4 different ways ...
- If the request is wrong - God says No. It may be that we have the wrong motives or that the request doesn’t line up with God’s will or that it will bring me glory not God. What ever the case, the outcome doesn’t fit with God’s best plans for our lives and He says No. God loves us too much to give us things that will hurt us.
- If the timing is wrong - God says Slow. All children hate the words “Not Yet.” Many of us are like children in this regard. We want it now God - Now! But God know that delays are sometimes needed. Sometimes to test our faith, sometimes so our request can be modified slightly, sometimes so we can be transformed into a person more like Christ.
- If you are wrong - God says Grow. Sometimes there are blockages to our prayers being answered. The most common one is praylessness. James 4:2 says ... You do not have, because you do not ask God. Another blockage is unconfessed sin (Is 59:2). Sin limits the potential of our Christian life. Others are ...
- unresolved relational conflicts (Matt 5:23-24).
- Selfishness (James 4:3)
- Uncaring attitudes (Prov 21:13)
- Inadequate Faith (Jas 1:5-8)
- But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, Go.
For the Leper, this day, the request was right - Jesus did come to bring healing to the sick. The timing was right - Jesus’ ministry had begun and he was drawing people into the kingdom. And the Leper was right - He humbly submitted himself to God’s will. And God said Go.
But in another situation where the request was wrong, the timing was wrong or the person was not ready, Jesus still would have answered the prayer - but it would have been No, Slow or Grow. And that would have been the correct answer according to God’s sovereign will. God’s answer is always right - But it often takes trust and faith to believe it.
Do you have problems with unanswered prayers? Be assured that God hears and God answers, but He answers according to his Will. It may not be what we expect or want, but be assured that it is for the best - both for His glory and for our existence.
