LEARNING DAILY

 

John 16:23b-24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”  Jesus

 

I ended the last page of the blog in a strange way.  I told you that God wants to answer prayer and then asked this question. But, what about when the Father does not answer our prayer?  The question comes from the times I have prayed in the name of Jesus, prayed according to His will, and believed that He would answer for His glory.  In other words, I prayed exactly like the Bible says to pray to get prayers answered.  Isn’t that what the verse quoted above says?  Perhaps you have wondered about this as well.

 

As I said yesterday, I believe God loves Believers so much and wants us to pray about everything, even what might seem to be the smallest matter.  We are to ask, to seek, to knock and believe without any doubt that He hears our prayer.  With that in mind, we do not try to coerce Him into trying to do what we want.  Again, I’ve tried that and it does not work.  Instead, we trust Him to do what is best.  I read once that He answers our prayers in several ways.  He says yes right away and the results of our prayer is seen immediately.  Peter was sinking in the water when he took his eyes off Jesus and asked for immediate help.  Jesus reached down and pulled him out of his situation.  I have prayed for people and seen immediate relief for their health situation.  Through that, God was glorified.

 

Another way God might answer prayer is to delay the answer.  The reason for the delay would only be known by Him.  Perhaps the one praying needs to grow in some area through the delay.  Do you get angry at God and walk away from Him because of it or do you learn to trust Him, learning He is faithful or whatever the lesson might be?  Perhaps through our continued faithfulness others see the great trust you have in the Lord’s faithfulness.   Mary and Martha waited for several days for Jesus to come heal their brother Lazarus; but Jesus delayed and Lazarus died.  Yet, the greater glory came when Jesus called Lazarus to come out of the tomb.  Would healing Lazarus been a greater miracle than being called out of the tomb?  And, do not forget about Daniel waiting for 24 days because the angel Gabriel was detained due to spiritual battle in the heavenlies.

 

There is always the answer being “no”.  Does God tell us no when we follow all the right procedures the Bible and the great Bible teachers tell us will get God to answer our prayers.  Yes, He does!  You and I see only what is right before us.  God knows the immediate and long- range future and He knows what is best for you and what will best glorify Him.  Several years ago, I had been seeking an answer to many years of prayer when I finally asked God, “Are you going to do this or not?”  I was walking outside and had not even taken another step when I herd in my mind, “No!”  That was all there was and it was clear.

 

So, what do you do when God says no?  Keep walking with Him, trusting and believing He care about you.  If the answer is delayed, keep seeking, keep believing that God cares for you.  If your prayer is answered immediately give God the glory that He deserves.  Pray at all times in faith, believing that He hears and answers you.  He knows what the future holds and what is best for all of His followers. 

 

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