How Does God Answer Prayer?

In his well-known song “Unanswered Prayers,” country music artist Garth Brooks claims that “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” For Garth, God didn’t give him the girl he prayed for in high school, and looking back, he was thankful for that.

I hate to break it to Garth, but his theology isn’t quite on par. It’s not that God didn’t answer His prayer, it’s that His answer was “No.”

Let’s take a second to look at four ways God answers prayer. But first, a few disclaimers:

·      This is not an exhaustive list. We cannot put God in a box and say that He will only act in one of four ways.

·      This list is not my own. I cannot tell you exactly where it came from, but I do not take credit for it.

1. When the request is wrong, God says “No”

As was the case for Garth, sometimes what we want just isn’t in God’s plans for us. But when we don’t get what we pray for, we shouldn’t think that God didn’t hear us or didn’t answer us, for He did. His answer was simply, “No.”

When God answers no, we need to keep in mind what He said in Isaiah 55:9, “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

2. When the timing is wrong, God says “Slow”

Sometimes God plans to grant our request, but not right at that moment. God might have great things in store for us, but we have to be patient and wait expectantly for Him to work.

Isaiah 40:30-31 tells us that, “youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”

3. When we are wrong, God says “Grow”

Of course it is hard to admit, but sometimes we ask God the right things for the wrong reasons. Maybe we want a new job, but only because it pays more money (that we don’t necessarily need). Maybe we want to teach a Sunday school class, but only because it will make us look good. Good intentions don’t always have the right motivation behind them.

When this is the case, God responds by growing us. When we become more like Him and less like our sinful selves, our motivations will be right and we will be ready to serve the Lord however He desires to use us. We will be like Isaiah, who boldly exclaimed to God, “Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

4. When all is right, God says “Go!”

By this point you may be a little discouraged. You might be thinking that you will never get your way with God. But let me share with you some promises from God’s Word:

God said, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and wondrous things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore, I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for – believe that you have received them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24)

“Now this is the confidence we have before Him: whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.” (1 John 5:14-15)

So don’t stop praying because you feel like God isn’t listening. He hears you and He is responding. And however He responds, whether you like it or not, trust that His will is best.

Getting Ahead of God

Tex

As a child, teenager, and even into my twenties, I did not particularly like dogs. I did not like to pet them, and I certainly did not like them to lick me. But when we got married, my wife convinced me that it would be okay for us to get a dog—and an inside dog at that! So we did.

In the spring of 2014 we got Tex, a Shih Tzu and Poodle mix that has extremely curly hair and weighs all of 5.5 pounds.

Though Tex is an inside dog, he loves going outside. Lately we have been taking him on a walk a few times a week, and we have to keep him on a leash or else he will run away. And even when he is on the leash, he still tries to get away. He will pull with all of his might, to the point of choking himself, because he wants to get ahead of us.

As I was observing his behavior and thinking about how silly it was, it occurred to me that as believers we do the same thing when it comes to God.

You see, God is omniscient, meaning He is all knowing. His knowledge is not restricted by the time-space continuum that ours is. He doesn’t have to react to what happens, for He already knew it was going to happen. He already knows what is coming your way next week, next month, and next year. We can’t see around the corner, but He can.

Based on His omniscience, God has a will or a plan for you and I. Romans 12:2 tells us that His will is “good, pleasing, and perfect.” In Matthew 6:10 Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Yet sometimes our wills, wishes, and desires do not match up with God’s. When this happens, we often times act like Tex. We feel like God has a leash on us and we put all our might into trying to get ahead of Him or away from Him.

But understand this: It’s not always the case that what we want is not God’s will, sometimes the timing just isn’t right. It’s not that I don’t want Tex to make it to the next street corner or that I’m trying to keep him from chasing that squirrel, I’m simply protecting him from carelessly running into the street and getting hit by the oncoming vehicle.

Likewise, it’s not always that God is trying to be a Debbie-downer and make life boring; no, He always has our best interest in mind. Remember, He knows what is around the corner and we have no idea.

So instead of trying to make God fit inside of our box and make His will conform to ours, we need to get inside of His box. We need to “be transformed” by the renewing of our minds so that we can discern His will (Romans 12:2). We need to learn how to live as the clay and allow the Lord to be our potter (Isaiah 64:8).

When we can see it this way, then living in accordance with God’s will won’t feel restraining at all, and we will be a lot less likely to run ahead of Him. His word promises us that He will give us the desires of our heart, but only when we take delight in Him (Psalm 37:4).