How God Answers Prayer

Here goes Steve again!!!  Look out

For a number of reasons, my prayer life has deepened while on this extended mission trip. One aspect of prayer I've been thinking about lately is how God answers prayer. I realize prayer is about more than asking God for things; prayer also involves praising God, confession of sin, offering thanksgiving, and more. My comments below, however, are about the ways God answers petitions for ourselves and intercession for others.

God sometimes answers prayer by saying YES. This is perhaps our favorite way for God to answer. There is good biblical warrant for it as well. Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7). God's immediate "Yes" often comes when we pray for relief of sickness, for safe travel, for the healing of another, or for deliverance from danger. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den (Dan. 6). In that story it was actually the king who threw Daniel to the lions who prayed that God would save Daniel, and when the king checked the next morning, Daniel was unharmed. Sometimes we need an immediate answer – like when we're thrown to the lions – and God answers, "Yes!"

God sometimes answers prayer by saying, "NO," but I believe God says "No" because he loves us too much to say yes. I recall when Amy and Leigh were little girls, every Christmas they asked for a trampoline. Trampolines are unsafe and so I never caved to their repeated requests and arguments that "all their friends have trampolines." I'm sure at the time my daughters thought me unloving and callous to not grant their request when it was within my power to do so. But I stood firm with my "No," because I love them too much to risk a broken arm or worse. There is a great illustration of this kind of "No" in the Bible. One day the mother of the Zebedee boys, James and John, came to Jesus requesting he seat them at his right and left when he came into his kingdom. Jesus' response to the pushy mom was "You don't know what you're asking," (Matt. 20:22) and her request was denied. I believe this was one of those "No's" because God loves us too much to let us fall prey to our own folly or ignorance.

God sometimes answers prayer by saying "LATER." In other words, you'll have to wait. The classic example of this in the Bible is Hannah, the mother of Samuel who prayed and prayed for a baby, but God had "closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:6). Finally Hannah's "Yes" came, but only after she had committed her son to the Lord (should she have one). I believe God knew Hannah wasn't spiritually mature enough to handle the responsibility she would face as Samuel's mother. Honestly, this is the situation I am in right now. I think God is telling me "later" because I'm not ready to receive God's answer yet. The verse to remember for those of us in this situation is Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding." This is very, very difficult.

God sometimes answers prayer by saying, "NO, I HAVE A BETTER IDEA." The issue here is whether or not we want God's best for our life, or if we want the best scenario we can think up. I can recall dozens of times when I was certain I knew exactly what I wanted or needed and I was praying like crazy for that job, relationship, or possession, but it just never happened and so I was disappointed with God. But then God orchestrated something else which, in retrospect, was a thousand times better than what my plan was. Whenever I think of this answer to prayer two Scriptures come to mind. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Uh-huh… And then there's Jeremiah 29:11 where GOD says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Oh yeah…I've had plans – great plans which I prayed earnestly for, but God said "No." Why? Because God had a better idea all along.

This last answer to prayer is best illustrated biblically by the cross. God's better idea was the cross. As Jesus began to wrap up his ministry he told his disciples three times he was about to go to Jerusalem to die and each time the disciples protested. They thought they had a better idea. Jesus himself even prayed to God to see if there was any other way, but there was not. The cross and the subsequent resurrection of Christ was God's solution to man's greatest problem. Ever since Calvary mankind has tried to come up with a better solution, but there is none. In fact, the Bible says that even the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25).

What are you praying for today? Whatever situation you are in, know that God loves to answer his children's prayers; he delights in answering prayer. Trust God today to answer your prayer – fact is, he may already have.