UPB #6: God's Not Listening

Understanding Prayer Better #6: God’s Not Listening

            Okay, now this is a lot to think about already.  But there is more.  (And even more than what I am saying here.)  On top of all that I’ve already said, there are many more verses that shed light on why our prayers may not be effective.  We have a much greater responsibility than we realize in making sure that our prayers get heard. 

            For one, maybe part of the reason that our prayers aren’t “working” and that it seems like God isn’t listening is because . . . God isn’t listening! 
            Psalm 66:18:  “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;”

UPB #5: Idolatrous Prayers

Understanding Prayer Better #5:  Idolatrous Prayers

            On a similar note, how many times do our requests and our desires for an answer become idolatrous pursuits, taking our focus from God?  I think sometimes this is why many of us end up in the furnace of refining, long waits.  To purify our hearts, to help us weed out wayward desires and idols, and to help us refocus on what we should be focused on: God! 

            And most of us don’t do this on our own, not when things are going good and we are getting what we want.  Because when things are going our way, we are content to float and to live self-centered, temporally-focused lives.  And we think our relationship with Him must be pretty good for things to be going along so nicely.  And so He allows us to face “the furnace of unanswered prayer” so that we can discover the idolatry, selfishness, pride, self-sufficiency, and sin in our hearts, so that we learn that we need to be pursuing God - not a comfortable, little life - and letting Him fill our hearts and lives with what He wants for us. 

UPB #4: Prayer is not a Blank Check

Understanding Prayer Better #4:  It’s not a blank check

            In order to best understand verses like Mark 11:22-24, it would be wise to do a quick review on other “prayer verses” to see what they add to our understanding.  This will help us see some of the pitfalls in the “name it and claim it” interpretation of the Mark verses and the dangers of isolating verses.   

            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 - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.”

            James 4:2-3:  “. . . You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

            John 14:13-14:  “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.”

            Yes, this last one sounds like the Mark 11 passage:  Ask for anything and Jesus will do it.  Wow, that sounds great!  What an awesome power - to be able to get anything we ask for.  But!  I don’t think that’s what Jesus really meant.   

UPB #3: Claiming Answers to Prayer

Understanding Prayer Better #3: Claiming Answers

            Another problem comes when we “claim” answers to prayer that He hasn’t given us.  And I think we need to not be claiming specific answers or blessings as much as “instructions” or “help along the way.”  (We definitely need to ask for what we want and need, with thanksgiving, according to Philippians 4:6-7.  But it says nothing of claiming a particular answer.  We ask.  God answers.) 

            Sometimes, the problem is just that we are focused on the wrong thing.  We are focused on the end when we should be focused on the journey.  We are asking for what we want instead of seeking what He wants for us.  We are waiting for a particular answer instead of accepting the one that God gave. 

UPB #2: It's Faith in God, not Faith in Faith

Understanding Prayer Better #2:  It’s “faith in God,” not “faith in our faith”

            John 15:7:  “. . . ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

            Mark 11:22-24:  “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered.  ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’“   

            Verses like the ones above can make prayer sound so neat and tidy, like a blank check or order form.  Until you look deeper and at Scripture as a whole.  Because there is so much more to prayer than “ask for what you want and you’ll get it, if you believe.” 

            First off, I think Mark 11:22-24 is best understood when we bring it all back to what Jesus said at the beginning: “Have faith in God.”  Our problem (at least, my problem) is that oftentimes, we are putting our faith not in God, but in our faith. 

UPB #1: Prayer is not a magic formula

Understanding Prayer Better #1:  It’s not a magic formula!

            When a desperate prayer is not answered the way we want, it can destroy our faith in God.  All of a sudden, we question our faith, our God, how He views us, how we view ourselves, etc.  We feel like our faith was weak, like God didn’t care, and like He let us down.  And many people end up retreating from God in confusion and bitterness. 

            Trust me, I have had disappointing answers to prayer, too.  And these were times I was praying earnestly and with great faith that God could do it.  And yet, He did not.  The adoption never happened.  My young aunt and my mother-in-law still died, even though I was sure that healing them would help unbelieving family members believe in God.  Families still broke apart.  Most people I pray about salvation for still refuse to acknowledge God.  I prayed for years and years about financial strain, only to have years and years of continuing financial strain.  (It has only just recently relaxed a little.  Thank You, God.)  I know how it feels to have many important prayers go “unanswered.” 

            (And of course, when I say “unanswered,” I mean “not answered the way we want.”  God always answers, just not always the way we want Him to.)

            But the problem is not prayer or our God.  The problem is our understanding of prayer and of God.  We will all have disappointing and confusing times.  None of us are immune, no matter how strong our faith is.  So this is not an issue just for the weak or new Christian, but for all of us.  But if we can get a clearer, biblical picture of prayer and of God, it will help our faith survive the disappointing and confusing times.

Prayer Misconception #7: "Prayer is just too hard."

            Misconception Number 7:  Prayer is just too hard.  I don’t know why, but it is! 

            I think that from time to time we all struggle with prayer.  Maybe we grew up with parents who didn’t listen to us or care about what we had to say.  Maybe we felt like burdens when we had to ask for anything.  Maybe we are afraid to say the wrong thing or ask for the wrong thing.   

            We know that the Bible says to ask and that we should pray about everything and that God will only grant the things that He wants to grant, but sometimes we have a hard time just getting the prayer requests out.  For some reason, we don’t feel like we can approach Him or ask for one more thing. 

            And I think that it may help sometimes to sit down and really sort out the reasons behind why we feel like we can’t come to Him or to ask for what we need.  Because, many times, it’s our own feelings and misconceptions that are blocking us from praying prayers that God is more than willing to answer.  (Maybe He won’t answer in the way that we would like Him to, but He always answers in the way that is best for us and His purposes.)