• Have you ever desired a more perfect prayer life? The Bible is emphatic in that God Does Answer Prayer!
• Examples of answered prayer:
a. The Israelites were desperate; Moses prayed and water turned sweet.
b. Hannah sought a child and Samuel was born
c. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal and fire fell
d. Jesus said “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
e. To these examples and scriptures we could add our own testimony, but prayers are not always answered as we think they should be.
• What is our reaction when heaven seems closed and there is no response to our pleas? When praying, we should:
1. EXAMINE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD
• Sometimes we can discover sins that prevent our receiving the answer we seek
• Psalms 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
• Isaiah 59:2: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
• Sometimes we discover selfish motives within our prayer life
• James 4:3: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
• We must be careful to ask according to the will of God and not to seek personal/carnal gain
• 1 Corinthians 11:28: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”
• Self-examination is a critical aspect to our Christian lives as we must continually remove the “chaff” from the heart of our soul
2. REAFFIRM YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
• When things don’t go our way through prayer, many people turn to ‘gimmicks’ or begin going through ‘religious’ routines in order to have their prayers heard and answered
• We must remember that our RELATIONSHIP with God is just that; and as our earthly relationship’s take effort and work we must work on our relationship with God
• Psalms 9:10: “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
• We must trust God that he will do what is best for us
• “A loving father leaned over a crib and whispered to his sleeping child, “Child, we love you. We’re glad that you are here and we want you to enjoy life. We hope to do all that is necessary for your welfare while you remain in our care.” And then it dawned on him, this was his relationship with God, only he was the child and God the Father. We must trust God to do whatever is best for us in our physical and spiritual life.”
• In order to work on our relationship with God then we must:
a. PRAY (Matthew 6:9)
b. STUDY (II Timothy 2:15)
c. SERVE (James 2:18)
3. ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S INFINITY
• INFINITY: “Unlimited extent of time, space or quantity; boundlessness. We apply infinity to God and his perfections; we speak of the infinity of his existence, his knowledge, his power, his goodness and holiness.”
• Revelation 1:8: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
• God is fully capable of answering any petition brought to him; we must understand that he is able and claim that ability when we pray
• If God is refusing a request, we may be sure that he has a reason that is consistent with boundless wisdom and infinite love
• A man once testified, “The longer I live, the more grateful I become that God has not answered all of my prayers.”
• When petitioning God we must keep in mind his timing, though things around us may seem out of control we must realize that God may simply be waiting for the ‘right time’ to answer
• Genesis chapter one through two illustrate God’s unlimited ability and that same ability to create is possessed in our answered or unanswered prayers
4. SUBMIT TO THE WILL OF GOD
• Luke 22:42: “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
• Jesus knew his execution was eminent and in the flesh grew weary, but sought the ‘will of God’ to get him through this calamity
• We must realize that even in the worst of times we must seek God’s will, not our own
• Psalm 106:1-15
• Psalms 106:15: “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”
• Leanness: “Want of matter; poverty; emptiness;”
• God gave the children of Israel their fleshly desire but it did more harm than good
• On the other hand, our submission to God allows his grace and consciousness of his love to flow into our lives. Even in the face of unanswered prayer these qualities can lift us to new heights of joy and victory.
• 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
• When we submit to the will of God
a. Our desires change
b. Our needs change
c. Our prayers change
5. KEEP ON PRAYING
• In 2 Corinthians, Paul’s prayer wasn’t answered but he continued to praise God and do his work
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.”
• Ephesians 5:20: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
• We must give thanks for all things whether our prayers are being answered or not
• Acts 6:4: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
• We must stay the course in the work of the Lord and understand that prayers, whether answered or not, are being accomplished according to the will of God and accept that he is much more capable of knowing our needs than we are
