knocking at God's door
Jim
Indeed, why bother to pray?
Why call on a God we can't even see?
And why trust in God if He seems not to be answering?
Why should we bother to keep hoping, keep trusting, keep praying the same
prayers -- prayers that haven't "worked" before? If God isn't doing
anything, why should we bother to pray anymore?
This is why: Because the God we cry out to is the God who hears the faintest
whisper of every broken heart. The God we cry out to is the God who cares
for every living thing -- not just people.
And God said He would hear and answer those who trust in Him. He gave us
His word. The Bible says: "If we receive the testimony of human beings, the
testimony of God is greater..." (1 John 5:9a)
God promises to answer the prayer of faith. Jesus Himself said it:
"Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." (Matthew
21:22)
The fact that God hears and responds to prayer makes believers out of
millions of people who aren't even Christians. C.S. Lewis and others have
remarked on how God even answers the prayers of people who call on the wrong
god.
One thing is certain, God is proactive in human affairs, and He does work in
the lives of all people.
But not everyone sees their prayers answered. I talked with a gang leader
in New Orleans some years ago who blamed God for the death of his daughter.
And that "failure" on the part of God to hear and answer his pleading was
his reason for not trusting in God. He was angry and still filled with
sorrow at the loss of his child.
We're sometimes confused by unanswered prayers. Is God somehow answering
our prayers when we can't see or feel anything happening? Does God work
behind the scenes to make things happen, even when He seems to be telling
us, "No,"?
Anyone who prays very often will have some prayers that seemed to do no
good. When such things happen we may naturally assume that God either was
not listening, was not interested, or was simply not willing to do the
things we asked.
In fact, many of us are praying prayers right now that seem to be doing
little or no good. Some of the things we've been praying for seem as far
away now as when we started -- maybe even more distant.
I know you've heard the voices inside your heart:
"Just get on with life and forget this useless hoping and praying."
"Accept defeat. It's just too painful to keep hoping."
"Why keep bothering God about something He obviously cares nothing about?"
"The time for God to act is already passed. It's too late now for even God
to do anything."
"You're cursed. Your own sins keep God from listening to your prayers."
Why would God allow us to struggle with such doubts?
God uses certain difficult circumstances in our lives to teach us faith and
patience -- two things we're not interested in when we're wanting a specific
answer to prayer.
Have you ever watched a mom or dad hold up a favorite toy when an infant is
learning how to walk, holding it just out of reach to urge the child to take
a few steps? The Lord may also hold back something He's perfectly willing
and ready to give us -- until we've taken new steps of spiritual growth.
God's objective, after all, is not that we might have everything we always
wanted, but that we might grow up in the faith and obedience of Jesus Christ
our Lord. God draws people of all ages to Himself, right out of the
darkness into the light.
God is growing children, perfecting saints, teaching us His ways, and using
us as lights in the dark. He will teach, speak, rebuke, correct, encourage
and reward -- whatever it takes -- to brings us along. Our growth and
faith, our eternal success as men and women of God is that important to Him.
In Mark 11:21, Jesus makes a clear and profound statement to the disciples.
He says simply, "Have faith in God." That comment is in direct response to
Peter's amazement that a tree cursed by the Lord has visibly died and
shriveled up overnight. And it implies that the disciples do not really
have much faith in God.
Should they? The Jews of that time were under the crushing hand of Rome,
and had been oppressed by Gentile nations since the days of the Babylonian
Captivity. Obviously, they had been praying to God for freedom and for the
power to exist as an independent kingdom. But nothing seemed to be
happening.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus kept telling ordinary people, and the outcast
sinners, and His own disciples -- and even the most religious among the
leaders themselves -- to have real faith in God. Jesus taught that God
truly does hear and answer honest and sincere prayer. And Jesus showed by
His very actions and reactions that God has a heart of compassion for anyone
who suffers in this life.
The Lord Jesus also repeatedly confirmed that the Scriptures, which told of
God's goodness and mercy and righteousness, were trustworthy.
One case that comes to mind is the beaten down father of a demon-possessed
boy who pleaded with Jesus to help his son, "...if You're able to do
anything, have pity on us and help us."
Jesus responded with, "If you are able! All things can be done for the one
who believes."
The man was broken. Having already faced the tragedy for years, he had lost
all real hope. His son had been tormented by a demon since early childhood.
The man had done all he knew to do, had taken the boy wherever he thought
there might be a cure -- even to the very disciples of Jesus.
Nothing meaningful had ever happened. The disciples of Jesus Christ had
also failed to do any good. How could this broken father have any real hope
or faith left?
Think about it...
Who knows how many nights the man had remained awake, weeping and begging
God for a miracle, for anything at all that might help his son. Perhaps the
man had even prayed, "Lord, take me instead, and make my son whole."
Parents are not above begging and bargaining with God for their children's
health and well being.
But all the weeping, all the tears and prayers must have seemed in vain.
Day by day, the boy only grew worse. The torment increased. Day by day the
sun went down again with no miracle, no cure, no help at all. Why bother to
keep hoping at all?
This man's soul had been continually crushed by the weight of his son's
condition. Sometimes it can actually seem easier to simply give up all
hope, to stop holding out for the miracle we've been praying for.
But now the words of Jesus were clear and powerful in their promise.
When God speaks hope and impossible faith to a human heart, it does not
matter how we might have felt just moments ago, or what has happened in the
past. We suddenly believe and dare to hope again.
Jesus' words to the man were clear and powerful: "All things are possible to
the one who believes." And the broken father cried out, weeping and saying,
"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
This poor man needed Jesus.
Yes, the boy needed a cure, a divine rescue. But the dad needed a living
faith in God. And the unwitting demon that struck out at this family had no
idea that his evil work would actually drive the dad to a face-to-face
encounter with Jesus Christ. So often the devil plays right into the very
plans of God.
When a person is pushed far enough they often turn to God in genuine faith.
One by one, the failures, set backs, and unfulfilled hopes had drawn this
dad closer to the real Answer. The man did not know he was moving any
closer to a miracle, but for a long time he had been on the path to God's
Answer. And one day, he came face to face with Jesus Christ.
And nothing was ever the same after that.
Jesus forced the demon to release the boy, and the child was made whole
again. So was the dad.
What about you?
What about here and now?
God loves the people of this wretched world so much that He gave up His only
Son, so that anyone in any place might have the free gift of eternal life.
The God we often "bother" with our problems is the God who gave us His own
Son, so that "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."
The Bible says:
"God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into
the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we
loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice
for our sins." (1 John 4:9, 10)
God has already been there.
God knows a little bit about losing a child. God understands how it feels
to have His own innocent child suffer. God knows how it feels to hope that
something good may happen -- even in the midst of great pain. Something
that will make all the suffering worthwhile.
The Bible says that while we were still rebelling against God, Christ died
for us. And who among us stood there that day to offer God any hope? No
one promised God the Father that if He would allow His only Son to die, then
we would repent, and believe, and be changed.
But He took the risk anyway. Why? Because He had compassion on us. In
eternity, before the world had even been created, God saw all that would
happen on this earth. And He determined way ahead of time what He would do
about it. He chose to give us life.
God Himself is the one standing there now, promising us that when we trust
in Him, He'll take care of us.
The greatest prayer anyone can ever pray is the one asking for God's gift of
forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That prayer is
always heard, always answered with the divine YES. It's the one prayer God
wants everyone to pray. (Learn more about this here:
http://www.goodwordusa.org/word/peace4.htm )
What other kinds of things should we pray for? I believe that we should
pray for anything of great importance to us, and anything of importance to
the people we care about.
A central purpose of prayer is to express to God whatever is in our hearts,
so we should always be honest. For example, Jesus prayed to be rescued from
His arrest and crucifixion, although He did submit to the Father's will. We
also should be submissive to God's will. And we should always pray honestly
from the heart.
What can prayer change?
People have been miraculously healed, restored to life, saved from calamity,
protected in times of great danger, encouraged, comforted, helped
financially, rescued from certain disaster, and blessed in countless other
ways -- all in answer to someone's prayer. Quite often the person being
helped or rescued doesn't even know exactly what happened, since the prayers
came from someone else -- maybe someone far away.
Whatever we pray for, God will always do what is truly best. He will not do
evil in response to prayer. Likewise, not everything we want is given to us
this side of heaven. But countless prayers are granted to us in full.
Yet even with all the prayers God answers for us, we too often remain
doubting and unbelieving. Sometimes the miracle comes and we don't even see
it -- because we stopped looking for it.
Why we should always pray.
God answers prayer. After all, nothing is impossible to God. And He will
truly answer all who call on Him for help. He will not fail us. God never
fails.
Never give up on God. He has never given up on you.
The battle you wage in prayer today is one of the very battles that will
eventually win the war in whatever you're facing. Even if your faith seems
to fail, and all the doubts seem to take over, Jesus Christ will not fail
you. The Lord Jesus will not be weak. He alone is your Champion. I've had
more than one prayer miraculously answered after I caved in to despair.
God never fails.
And after you see the powerful answer to some of the prayers you've been
praying, when God once again shows His powerful hand in your life, you'll
join the Psalmist in saying:
I love the LORD, because He has heard
my voice and my supplications;
because He has turned His ear to hear me.
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1, 2)
Jim