One of life's greatest pleasures is the pleasure of answered prayer.
But the pleasure of one can be the pain of another. Dick Van Dyke
tells some funny stories about children and answers to prayer. Five
year old Mark gave a loud whistle in the middle of the pastors sermon.
His grandmother was so embarrassed. She scolded him good, and
asked why on earth he would do such a thing? He said, "I've been
praying for a long time that God would teach me to whistle, and this
morning He did." It was a pleasure to him, but a pain for others.
Another little guy felt the pleasure of prayer when he prayed for a
storm, and sure enough, the fierce wind began to bend the oak trees in
his yard. He was full of glee at being a weather-maker. But as the day
wore on, and the branches of the tree kept knocking against his
bedroom window, he became bored with it all. He ran downstairs and
asked, "How long is one prayer good for?" He was afraid that he had
ruined the weather for good, and his pleasure had turned to pain.
Prayer is filled with mysteries, not just for children, but for
theologians, and the most mature of Christians. If there are no
mysteries for you, you obviously do not pray very much. There are
probably more books on prayer than any other subject, because it is
complex, and there are dozens of different aspects that authors seek to
explore. It you have some puzzling problems with prayer, don't feel
alone. The puzzles run through the Psalms, and all through history.
The cry of why is often heard. Why in the world does God not hear
my prayer and answer? Sometimes prayer even makes God angry.
We assume that prayer is always good, but not so. It is sometimes
offensive to God. In Psa. 80:4 we read, "O Lord God Almighty, how
long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?"
Whoever heard of praying that God would forgive us for our prayers?
The implication is, believer's can use prayer as a gimmick to get God
to help us achiever very self-centered goals that may have nothing to
do with His plan for our lives.
We can be life children in the toy store saying, "I want this mom,
get me this one dad, it's only twenty dollars." Like kids trying to get
all they can out of their parents, so we often come to God pleading for
one toy after another until prayer becomes a nuisance. How often have
you heard a mother scream, "This is the last time I ever bring you
shopping. If you don't stop that whining because you can't have
everything you want, you won't get anything." The poet Longfellow
had good reasons for his sharp comment on prayer. He said, "What
discord should we bring into the world if our prayers were all
answered! Then we should govern the world, and not God. And do
you think we should govern it better? It gives me only pain when I
hear the long, wearisome petitions of men asking for what they know
not."
Keep in mind that some of the old time preachers in early America
use to pray in the pulpit for anywhere from a half an hour to two
hours. It would be easy in that length of time to pray some stupid
things. But we can still be foolish in a lot less time by asking God for
what we do not understand. The disciples were praying that Jesus
would not let Himself be taken captive, and be taken to the cross. They
were praying that the whole mission of Christ would be aborted, and
the plan of salvation be averted. They felt this was the best thing, but
they were totally blind to the will of God. Fortunately for them, us,
and the whole world, God does not answer all prayer. One of the first
lessons we need to learn about prayer is, don't let unanswered prayer
stop you from praying.
It did not stop the author of Psa. 84. His prayer to be able to
worship God in the beauty of His house in Jerusalem was not yet
answered. He looked with envy on the birds who could be there when
he was still far off in exile. It was not fair that birds could be there and
not him. Things are not always to his liking. Even if he gets there he
has to pass through the valley of Baca, a dry barren desert. Life is just
one challenge after another, but this pilgrim does not give up and
throw in the towel. He pleads for God to hear his prayer in verse 8.
To stop praying because all your prayers are not answered would be
like canceling Christmas because you didn't get what you hoped for
last Christmas.
Nobody hated unanswered prayer more than C. S. Lewis. He
wrote, "Every war, every famine or plague, almost every death-bed, is
the monument to a petition that was not granted." He wrote a whole
book on how angry it made him when his wife died fairly young, and
was not healed. But he also had balance, and he knew a lot of what he
had asked for was not wise. He wrote, "If God had granted all the silly
prayers I've made in my life, where would I be now?"
Lewis was one of the greatest Christians of the 20th century. He
influenced Christians all over the world because he went through the
valley of Baca and made it a place of springs. That is, he experienced
the dry desert of unanswered prayer, but he did not say, "I quit" and
walk away. He got through his grief and kept praying, and God led
him to the great pleasure of widespread influence.
Do you remember when James and John prayed for fire to fall from
heaven on their enemies? God ignored their zealous plea, but they did
not say, okay, if God will not do what we fell is right, He can find
someone else to do His will. They learned from their unanswered
prayer, and went on to become lovers of these very enemies, and many
were brought into the Kingdom of God. P. T, Forsyth wrote, "We
shall come one day to a heaven where we shall gratefully know that
God's great refusals were sometimes the true answers to our truest
prayer." Often we do not have to wait for heaven, but can see it in
time that our will was not the best.
When we do think our will is right, and consistent with the will of
God, we should be persistently pleading for God to hear and answer
our prayer. This is one of the most frequent prayers in the Psalms, the
prayer that God would hear our prayer.
Psa. 4:1 Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.
Psa. 17:1 Give ear unto my prayer.
Psa. 39:12 Hear my prayer O God.
Psa. 54:2 Hear my prayer O God.
Psa. 55:1 Give ear to my prayer O God.
Psa. 61:1 Hear my cry O God.
Psa. 84:8 Hear my prayer O Lord God Almighty listen to me O God of
Jacob.
I have to admit, it was quite a surprise to see all the prayers for God
to listen. I do not know if that is a very frequent prayer in most of our
lives. I know it is not in mine. It is because I assume God does listen to
my prayers, and I assume most other Christians assume the same
thing. But the Psalms do not assume any such thing. They assume just
the opposite, that prayer may be a mere self-centered conversation
unless you get the attention of God. And so before they pray, they
pray that the channel of prayer is open, and they are being heard. In
other words, they do not just pick up the phone and start talking.
Instead, they dial a number and get someone on the other end to be
listening first. The Psalmist wants to make sure God is listening before
they pray, and so their first prayer is that God would pick up the
phone on His end and listen to their petition.
This is a new concept to me, and likely to most Christians. But
because it is so frequent in the Psalms, it is wise for us to at least
consider the possibly that getting God's attention may be an important
part of prayer. Maybe our assumption that God just automatically
listens to every prayer we utter is not valid, and some preparation in
the prayer setting is appropriate. There is certainly more pleasure in
any communication when you know someone is listening. Prayer would
obviously be more meaningful if you knew God was listening.
Because God is all knowing we assume He is always listening. But
some use this assumption to conclude there is no need to pray at all. If
God already knows what you need, and what you are going ask, there
is no need to bother to ask. At some point we have to stop depending
on the omniscience of God, and recognize He demands our
cooperation. He wants us to ask, to seek, to knock. He wants us to
seek His attention for this enhances the relationship. You know you
child needs help too, but you enjoy it when a child come and says,
"Dad, I need your help to learn to ride my bike." "Mom, I need your
help to make these cookies right." You know their need, but you like
to be asked, for that is part of the pleasure of a relationship-the feeling
of being needed.
God wants our love or He would not have made the first
commandment that we love Him with our whole being. He likes to be
told He is loved. That is what praise is, and prayer is acknowledging
that He is needed. P. T. Forsyth said, "Love loves to be told what it
already knows. It wants to be asked for what it longs to give." If you
doubt this, ask your wife.
God is a person and not a machine. He has feelings and longs to be
loved as a person, and treated like a person. I have to confess that
sometimes I treat God like a machine. I rattle off a routine prayer,
and when I am done I realize how mechanical it was, and so I then talk
to God. I've already said amen and ended the prayer, and then I talk
to God as a person. I ask for forgiveness for being so mechanical. I
have no doubt this is one of God's greatest problems with His children.
He feels like a cash machine that people can use to get what they want.
Their only interested in knowing the right formula to get the desired
response. Their highest goal in prayer is to get what is wanted rather
than to develop a relationship with God.
The greatest pleasure in prayer is to know that God is pleased with
our lives. In verse 9 the Psalmist asked that God would look with favor
on him. In verse 11 he says the Lord bestows favor and honor and
withholds no good thing form those whose walk if blameless. For him,
the greatest pleasure in prayer is in the assurance that God is pleased
with him. David Nedham was just beginning his teaching career at
Multnomah School Of The Bible. He was feeling unsure of himself and
one night when the family was in bed he went out to walk and talk with
God. He felt insecure and uncertain, and wanted some sign from God
that God was pleased with his teaching. Listen to his testimony:
If only He would clear the air! It would be so simple for Him
to speak. "Just a few words, Lord."
I stopped walking. I listened.
"Father, I won't talk at all--I'll simply wait, just in case You
have something to say."
There was no answer. Nothing but the ever-present hum of
the city. Though I'm not quite sure just what I had expected
to happen that night, I remember turning home with a heavy
heart. Was God pleased with my service? I really didn't
know.
The next morning I found attached to my office door not
just one or two, but a dozen individual notes from my
students. As I read them I began to cry. For each note
was an expression of thanks to God for things I had
shared with them in class the day before. That never
happened before or since!
Could it be that my God had personalized Himself
through them? The assurance of that fact flooded
my spirit in an instant.
He is a Person. He has chosen to need us, not simply
for service, but to love and be loved. To share a
closeness of relationship that will take an eternity to
fulfill. Yet He has also chosen us (just like those
dozen students) from time to time to be His personal
voice to someone who needs that word from God.
What a wonderful privilege! May we be sensitive
and available.
He learned that the greatest pleasure of prayer was not just some
mechanical answer, like cash coming out of a machine, but it was in
relationship where love is communicated. The psalmist is not crying
out for gifts, but for the Giver. He longs for the knowledge that God is
pleased with him. This is what children need from parents. This is
what mates need from each other. This is what students need from
teachers. This is what employees need from management. The great
need of everyone is the need for approval and the assurance that they
are loved, and their life is pleasing to others. Fulfill this need and you
are giving a far greater pleasure than you give by any other gift. A gift
does not necessarily communicate love at all. It can be just fulfilling an
obligation. Real love is communicated by conveying favor.
This is the highest level of pleasure in prayer as well. When we can
by prayer sense the favor of God and His approval of us we have
reached the pinnacle of the pleasure of prayer. George Meredith said,
"He who rises from his prayer a better man, his prayer is answered."
That can seem superficial, but so is two plus two equals four. It is
nevertheless true. The goal of prayer is first of all a relationship to
God, and secondly it is a means by which we get gifts and guidance.
Kenneth Wilson said, "The beginning of the power of prayer is not
Lord give something to me, it is rather Lord give me to something."
The goal of prayer is to gain the favor of God by being led to choose
for your life style all the pleasures of the Psalmist we have been
considering in this series: The pleasure of praise, passion, pain,
perfection, power, and purpose.
Ronald Hutchcraft, the Director of Youth For Christ, used football
as an analogy of how we are to use prayer to arrive at this goal. The
quarterback, just as soon as he gets possession of the ball has a half-ton
of linemen coming after him. The only way to get rid of this pressure is
to get rid of the ball. Thus, he learns the happy art of the hand-off,
giving the pigskin to the halfback or fullback. He says this is what
daily prayer for the Christian is all about. It is about casting all your
care upon Him, knowing He cares for you. It is handing off the
pressures of life to God. You don't hang on to the ball, but pass it on to
God. It is letting go and letting God take the pressure that He can
handle, and you can't. This is what Paul was saying in Phil. 4:6-7."Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus."
Paul is saying one of the major goals of prayer is to be changed in
your own spirit. It is to go from an anxious person to a person of peace
as you trust in God. The pleasure of prayer is that by means of it we
become more Christlike, for in prayer we develop the spirit and
perspective of Christ. We cannot ask God to care about something
and not develop a caring attitude ourselves. You cannot pray for the
salvation of a person and then not be concerned about that person.
Your prayer for any goal in life, if it is sincere, will get you motivated
to move toward that goal by your own actions.
It is by prayer that we develop the praise, the passion, and the
power to make progress toward goals pleasing to God. God gets
pleasure from our prayer just because it is our choice to build the
relationship. Elizabeth Elliot said, "Prayer is like incense. It costs a
great deal. It doesn't seem to accomplish much (as we mortals assess
things). It soon dissipates, but God likes the small." We are urged to
pray without ceasing, because God gets pleasure in our prayer, and
when we please God, we have His favor, and this is one of life's greatest
pleasures. The pleasure of prayer is a two way street, for it has the
potential for pleasing both God and man. Therefore, it is a duty and a
delight to develop the pleasure of prayer.
