There are some things that I have prayed for, many, many times, and I have yet to see an answer for them. Naturally I have questioned if maybe I have got something wrong in what I am praying for. It’s easy to recognise that praying for peace is right, and good health seems to be something that God wants for all of us. But what about praying for jobs, accommodation, companionship – yes, I believe the Lord wants everyone to prosper and be well. Perhaps a particular job might not actually be the best, or a certain relationship might not lead to the best outcome, but generally I do believe it is right to pray for blessings for those around us.
Having come to the point that I believe God wants to answer my prayers, I then must ask, well, why isn’t he? And if he isn’t, should I give up and find something else to pray for? I rediscovered some Scriptures recently that helped answer that question for me.
The first is the story Jesus told of a person who disturbs his friend at midnight to get some bread for an unexpected visitor. At least I assume he was an unexpected visitor, because if he wasn’t that would be even more annoying. And it was annoying, because the friend was in bed with his family, probably all in the one room, and to get up would have meant disturbing the whole family. And was it even an emergency? It wasn’t as if someone had fallen and needed immediate assistance. The man just wanted to get some bread for his visitor. And it seems that he was not going to give up easily, even when his friend informs him that he can’t get up and give him anything. And the reason that the friend does eventually get up and provide what is needed is, we are informed, due to the persons ‘shameless audacity’.
Jesus is telling this story when he has been asked to teach about prayer. He is clearly trying to teach his disciples that they need to ask, and keep on asking, when it comes to prayer. And that goes for us too. Not just for the big, important things, but also for those things that can seem insignificant. We are to have shameless audacity too, just like the person in the story who only needed three loaves of bread. Don’t be afraid to ask, and don’t be afraid to ask again, and again, and again.
Another story that Jesus told his disciples, again with the clear intention that they should always pray and not give up, is the story of the persistent widow. Jesus introduces a judge who obviously did not care about God or about other people. A widow kept coming to this judge asking him to give her justice against her adversary. Of course, the judge was not interested in helping her, but she kept coming back to him, and eventually he gave in just to get rid of her. The judge did not get fed up with her cries for justice the first time that she came to him. Nor the second time. Probably not the third or fourth times either. We are not told how many times of coming back to this judge were necessary before he had had enough, but it was probably several times. The judge realised that this widow was not going to give up until she received the answer that she required. Are we like that with our prayers? If we believe that we are praying for something that God wants to give us, then why do we give up before we receive the answer?
I had considered that you only need to ask for something once. I mean, “Ask, and it will be given to you.” But the New Living Translation has instead “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” I have experienced times when I knew that the Lord had heard my prayers, and that he was going to give me what I asked for, but they have been infrequent. Right now, I feel that the Lord is encouraging me to keep praying for those people I have been praying for, without seeing any clear response. I will keep praying for blessings for people who seem to struggle so much. I will keep asking for healing for those who are sick. And I do believe that one day my prayers will be fully answered.
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🔥Great article! 🙉