Results 1 - 6 of 6
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Aixen7z4 | 149821 | ||
It is sometimes so difficult to know what a person has in mind when a question is asked. And yet, these are good questions. They seem to have come from a sincere and caring saint. “Does prayer really help?“ suggests that the questioner realizes that some types of prayer do not help. In other words, it may not really make a difference whether one prays or not, if one prays that way. A common situation is where one prays for a sick person to get better. Sometimes he does. Sometimes he does not. One then wonders if it makes any difference whether one prays or not. And yet, it is God who asks us to pray and he promises that he will answer (Matthew 7, etc.). Moreover, he says that the reason we do not have some things is because we do not pray for them (James 4). Clearly then, God is saying that prayer does help, that it makes a big difference. In the words of the apostle James: it “avails much” (James 5). Yet we fail to get what we ask for when we ask amiss (James 4). “What kind of prayers does God answer?” suggests that God answers one type of prayer and not others. We know that we need to ask for things that are within God’s will (1 John 5). It seems logical that God will give us want he wants to give us. It is important then, that we know what God’s will is (Ephesians 5). The prayer that God answers, then, is one that matches his will. God answers the prayer of Elijah (1 Kings 18) because he was doing as God had directed him (v.38). Paul stopped praying for a thorn to be removed (2 Corinthians 12) and prayed for grace instead (every epistle he wrote) because God revealed that it was his will to give grace. If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and we get what we ask for (1 John 5). “How can one develop an attitude of prayer?” seems to be a completely different question, posed in in anticipation of satisfactory answers to the previous questions. If prayer is worthwhile, then we may want to develop an attitude of prayer. I am assuming that “an attitude of prayer” is a readiness to pray at all times. Jesus said men ought always to pray (Luke 18) and Paul says that we should be “praying always” (Ephesians 6), and praying “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5). “It seems that the prayer I have been hearing are no more than begging God for things?” suggests an awareness that prayer should be more than that. One can agree that prayer is more than that. Prayer might well include worship, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, etc. (See Matthew 6, Ephesians 3, James 5, etc.). Even in thanksgiving and supplication, one might suggest we should be thanking God for spiritual things (as in Colossians 1) and asking for spiritual things (as in Ephesians 3). “Is that the object of prayer?” (to beg for things) suggests the questioner knows it is not. One might suggest that the purpose of prayer is to know God’s will, and to do God’s will. Men of God have prayed that God would open their eyes to behold his will in his word (Psalm 119) and Jesus taught (Luke 11) and exemplified a prayer that God’s will be done (Luke 22). One may say that prayer is the expression of a desire to play an active part in God’s program. Prayer, whether constant or sporadic, whether the right kind or not, is a habit. We do what we have learned to do. But the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. And we might well pray to the Lord for that. But we have to be willing to change, to learn, and habits are often hard to break. The questions seem to have come from one who knows the nature and worth of prayer and is somewhat frustrated with the way it is practiced in the church today. It may be difficult to change what the church does, but we can change what we do in our private communication with God. We are happy to note that God listens to the individual and to the two who agree (on what his word reveals about his will). One person can pray, even silently, and the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. |
||||||
2 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Hank | 149830 | ||
When a praying saint says, "God answered my prayers" what does he mean? Usually we take it to mean that God granted him his supplication. And it may be true. God does answer prayer by granting the thing prayed for. But it is also no less true that God answers prayer in the negative by not granting the thing prayed for. Far better to say that God answered my prayer and granted that for which I prayed, or that God answered my prayer but did not grant that for which I prayed. To say that "God didn't answer my prayer" when one really means that one's request was not granted is as inaccurate a thing to say as "God answered my prayer" when one means that his request was granted. God did answer the petitioner's prayer. The 'yes' answer may have been far more pleasing to the petitioner than the 'no' answer, but either answer reflects that which is more pleasing to God. God is sovereign and always acts according to His will. Thus the saint must always pray in accord with God's will. "Thy will be done" has much meat in it; it is not just a group of idle words that Jesus inserted to embellish with syntactical flourish and poetic flair the prayer He taught His disciples in Matthew 6. --Hank | ||||||
3 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Aixen7z4 | 149838 | ||
This is a good opportunity for us to understand what preachers mean when they say that God always answers our prayers but sometimes the answer is No. How do we know when the answer is No? And for those who say that another answer is “Wait” one might ask how we can determine which one it is. I think we must acknowledge that there are times when God does not even hear our prayers. There are also times when he does not answer. Moses (Deuteronomy 3) refers to a time when “the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me”. I take that to mean the Lord would not listen, and would not even consider the request. Samuel described a condition under which “You shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day” (1 Samuel 8). Job cried in despair, “I cry unto you, and you do not hear me: I stand up, and you regard me not" (Job 30). David knew it: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66). When prayers are not answered, God says that is one of the reasons (Isaiah 59): “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear". David prayed, “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear” (Psalm 22). Isaiah reports the Lord saying, “When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear" (Isaiah 1). The Lord told Jeremiah (chapter 7), “Do not pray for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear you”. These examples should suffice to show there are times when God does not even listen to our prayers, not even to consider our requests. But there are also times when he listens but does not answer. Jesus did it. A woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil”. But he answered her not a word (Matthew 15). He indicated that there are times, as then, when God will not answer right away, but only after he has seen our importunity (Luke 18). It is one of the reasons we should keep on asking, when we know that our prayers are according to his will. He will answer when he knows the time is right. It’s what he did with the slaves in Egypt. He had heard their cry. Eventually he responded by coming down to deliver them (Exodus 3). There are some times when God says, “Wait”. It is what he said to Habakkuk. When the prophet complained, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! … and you will not save!” the Lord said, “I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you” (Chapter 1). But he does not leave us to interpret silence as a "No", or even as a “Wait”. The prophet decided to wait for an answer, and he got it. “The LORD answered me, and said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that reads it. … Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come’” (chapter 2). “Wait” is something that he says sometimes, even when we have not prayed. But again, he says it, and he does not leave us to infer it from his silence. The fact is, many of our prayers are already answered, and we need only to find it. That is the case with questions we may ask the Lord. The answers are in the word of God. But when we ask for things, we need not invent answers or assume that God is saying “No” or “Wait”. Ordinarily, an answer means we get what we have requested. Instead of saying “No” it is God’s way to show us his will instead, so we can pray for it and get it. That is what he did for Paul (2 Corinthians 12). That is what he did for Jesus (Luke 22:42,42; Hebrews 5:7). May God help us to understand his will and to pray in accordance with it. Then we will have our prayers answered. |
||||||
4 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | DocTrinsograce | 149839 | ||
Dear Dr. Aixen, John Piper answers this question very well at the following: http://www.desiringgod.org/library/sermons/81/012581.html I have appreciated your posts very much, sir. I believe that there are prayers that God will always answer. When we pray, for example, "Lord cause me to love you as Christ loved you." Also, God will never turn away our utter and complete dependence on Him. We should keep in mind that when God answers prayers, it is always in a way that brings Him greater glory and edifies His Chosen. Therefore, our supplications should reflect the same desire. In Him, Doc |
||||||
5 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Aixen7z4 | 149847 | ||
I was pleased to read Piper’s paper. He seemed to be saying what I understand: that we can only exercise faith in what God has said. We cannot believe God about anything God has not said. When we have not seen the mind of God on a subject, when he has not revealed it in Scripture, then the word Faith does not apply. God must speak first, and faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10). But God has spoken (Hebrews 1) and we need to find, in Scripture, what he has said. I was surprised, and disappointed, when he added “when Scripture does not give a promise that a particular blessing will definitely be given in answer to prayer, God may make known in some other way that He intends to give the blessing”. He does say that he is adding that “with some hesitancy”, and that is understandable. The reason is not; it is because he has never experienced it. He says, “God has never communicated to me what He intends to do any other way than by the Scripture”. Here we have the familiar and dangerous error of exalting “experience” (even possible, potential experience) to the level of Scripture, and I think it is most unfortunate. He should have decided to refrain from saying those things. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God (John 3). We should be guided by the Spirit, and he does not speak of himself; but whatsoever he hears, that’s what he speaks (John 16). It is important that we “learn not to think beyond the things which are written” (1 Corinthians 4). I appreciate the reminder, that our prayers should be for that which brings glory to the Lord. One might even say that we should bring him glory with our lives, and our worship, and our thanksgiving, even before we bring our supplications. Whatever he shows us his will is, we should pray as Jesus did (John 12:28): "Father, Glorify your name". |
||||||
6 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Hank | 149848 | ||
Aixen: I read with relish your critique of Piper. Mostly I like Piper but, like you, I'm somewhat uneasy with his words that you have quoted in the second paragraph of your post. Although he admitted to adding these words "with some hesitancy," I would feel more comfortable with Piper had he not added them at all! --Hank | ||||||