2/23/14 GETTING ANSWERS FROM GOD

Transcription

1 2/23/14 GETTING ANSWERS FROM GOD

2 We're in a series on prayer. We ve talked about the purposes of prayer, the conditions of prayer and how to pray in difficult situations and big problems. Today we re going to look at how God answers prayer. A young girl wrote a letter to a missionary. She'd been told not to request a response because the missionaries were very busy. The missionary got a kick out of her letter. It said, "Dear Mr. Missionary, we re praying for you. But we re not expecting an answer." I think that summarizes the prayers of most Christians. We do a lot of praying, but we don't expect an answer. Just how does God answer prayer? That s what we're looking at today. There are some attitudes that we need in order to have answers to our prayers. You must be willing to let God answer 1. in His own time. That means according to His schedule, His timetable. In other words -- whenever God thinks it's best. The fact is God often delays answers to prayers. He doesn't answer everything immediately. Sometimes I have a hard time believing God's going to answer my prayers. But if God sent a special delivery angel to meet me face to face and say, "Scott, I'm here to tell you, God has answered your prayer." I think I d be pretty certain whatever I had prayed for was going to happen. In the Bible in Luke chapter 1 there s a story of a man named Zacharias. When they were younger he had prayed that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a baby. But it never happened. Years later an angel named Gabriel comes and says, "Zacharias, God sent me here to tell you you're going to have your prayer answered!" But in verse 18 Zacharias says "How can I be sure this will happen?" WOW! What a skeptic. 4-2

3 Why did Zacharias have a hard time believing an angel? The thing is, he had stopped praying that specific prayer years earlier. He had given up on this prayer. Zacharias response "I m an old man and my wife is well along in years." (now that's tactful!) He says, "We gave up on that prayer a long, long time ago." But this first principle is all about letting God answer in His own time. v. 13 "The angel said to him, `Don't be afraid Zacharias, your prayer had been heard'" God hears and answers our prayers immediately, but sometimes there's a delay in the giving of the gift. He hears it immediately. But sometimes He delays the giving of the answer for a period of time and that is one of the hardest things we have to learn. As a parent, it s one of the hardest concepts for your kids to learn. They don't understand the difference between "no" and "not yet". They'll say, "Daddy, can I have a cookie?" Not yet. They might go into a fit like you re never, ever going to give them a cookie. Why do they do that? Because immature people don't understand the difference between "no" and "not yet". A mark of maturity in the Christian life is how long can you wait? Babies don t wait well, they always have to have it immediately. But a mature person can wait. A man said, "I tried prayer. I prayed for two weeks and nothing happened so I gave up. I've lost my faith in prayer." He didn t lose his faith. He lost his patience. Faith is patience. Why does God delay our answers to prayer? Usually it's because He needs to prepare us first. A four year old says, "Daddy, can I drive the car today?" The Dad says, "Not today. But someday you'll get to drive the car. 4-3

4 When you grow up and you've learned how to drive, then you'll get your request. But not yet, because you need to grow up." Often God waits to answer our prayer to give us time to grow up. The frustration comes because we usually think we're ready before God thinks we re ready. We think we're ready but He's waiting for us to mature. Have you ever wondered, If God sees what I'm going through and He really cares and He's got the power to do something about it, why doesn't He help me out? What s up with that? That's a good question. The answer is, He usually wants to change you first. He wants to change your attitude. Then He ll work on the problem. He s more interested in making you mature than making your life easy. So instead of saying, "Lord, change this situation!" you start by saying, "Lord, change me." Lord, change ME in this marriage, not my spouse." "Lord change ME in this job problem." Have you ever had financial difficulties? Maybe God's saying "I want you to learn the right attitude about money first and then I can help you out." Have you ever had a relationship problem? Maybe God's saying, "First you need to change your attitude then I can start working in your life." The fact of the matter is this: God is never late. His timing is always perfect. We may think He's late but He's never late. "Not yet" doesn t mean "No". So how do I pray when it's not been answered immediately? You keep on praying until: 1. You get the answer. Obvious. Or 2. You keep praying until God reveals to you that it's not His will. When you figure that out, you get uncomfortable praying about it and you don't have peace so you stop praying. 4-4

5 So in order to receive an answer from God, one, we must be willing to let God answer in His time. We must be willing to let God answer 2. in His own way. Our Father knows best! God's ways are always better and usually bigger. The Bible says in Isaiah, "My ways are not your ways." The reason God often delays an answer to prayer is so He can answer in a way bigger than you thought. What would have happened if God had answered Elizabeth and Zacharias' request for a baby immediately? They would have had a little baby. And they would have loved it and it would have been great. But God delayed the request for a number of years and when He answered He gave them a son John the Baptist. John the Baptist was like the announcer of Jesus. He was the forerunner of Jesus saying, "Here He is!" Because God delayed the request, He didn't just give them any old baby. He gave them a John the Baptist. Our problem is we ask too little and we want it too quick. We don't dream BIG enough. We don't pray BIG enough. We aim too low. Ephesians 3:20 "But God is able to do even exceedingly above what you are able to think or imagine." Think of the greatest thing in your imagination, something that will really impress God. And God says, "Can't you do any better than that? I can do something even greater than what you can imagine." If God gave us all our requests when we ask, it d overwhelm us. John D. Rockefeller said, "I'd never give anybody a million bucks. It d ruin him. They couldn't handle it." (lottery winners) Let God answer in His time and in His way. If God had answered some of my prayers exactly as I'd asked them, I would have gotten short-changed. His answer was much greater than what I asked for. 4-5

6 God says, "Let me answer in My time and in My way." You're praying about a job. You want to get this job and all of a sudden it falls through. Don't sweat it! God's got a better idea. Or you're praying about a situation. All of a sudden, it doesn't work out. Don't worry about it. God's got Plan A -yours was Plan B! Let God answer in His time and His way. You also must be willing to let God answer 3. in His own power. Don't try to help out God. Don't ask for it and then you go out and try to work it out on your own. Let God answer in His own power. There's an important truth in this story about Zacharias and Elizabeth. The fact is this: God often waits until the situation is humanly impossible before He answers. When did God give Zacharias and Elizabeth a baby? After they were beyond childbearing years. They said, "We're too old!" They were physically unable to have kids. Then God answered. Why? Because when God answers an impossible situation, who gets all the credit and glory? It's a greater miracle. Here s a warning about prayer: If you start praying about something, particularly a problem, don t be surprised if it gets worse before it gets better. You're having problems in your marriage and you start praying, and your mate gets more hostile. Or you're praying about a financial problem and all of a sudden it gets worse. Why? Because sometimes God will let things get to the point of hopelessness in order that He gets the most glory out of it. Let God answer in His power. When you're about ready to give up hope, that's an opportunity for a miracle. There's a story in the Bible about this. It s found in John 11. Mary and Martha were sisters and good friends of Jesus. They had a brother named Lazarus. One day Lazarus got sick so Martha and 4-6

7 Mary sent for Jesus to come for Him to be healed. "Jesus, come quick. It is an emergency. Our brother is sick. You've got to come right now!" They were frantic. A lot of times we pray that way. "God, You've got to do something now! It's urgent. Do it now!" But nothing happens. Instead of coming immediately, Jesus intentionally delayed. He was just a few miles away from their home but it took Him three days to get there. From an outsider's viewpoint it looks like Jesus didn't care. He waits 3 days, then He says to His disciples, "Let's go to Lazarus' home. By this time Lazarus has died and Mary and Martha come running out, "Jesus, where have You been? If You had been here, if you d have come when we called You, this wouldn't have happened. You delayed and our brother's dead." They're criticizing God! They re reprimanding Jesus! Really? But we do the same thing. We say, "Why, God? Why are You doing this? What are You doing? Why haven't You answered?" Jesus calmly looked at them and said, "Mary, Martha, if you'll just believe, you ll see the glory of God. You'll see a miracle." They go to the graveyard. He walks up to the tomb, (they buried them in caves in those days) They moved the stone out of the way and Jesus says, "Lazarus, come on down!" And he did. The point is, Jesus waited until the situation was humanly impossible. Then He did it in His own power. Do you want to have an answer from God? Be willing to let God answer in His time. Be willing to let God answer in His way. Be willing to let God answer in His power. And 4. Be willing to let God answer for His purpose. The Bible summarizes why God answers prayer in two statements: For our growth, and for His glory. That's why God answers all 4-7

8 prayer. For our growth, for our gain, for our blessing. And for His glory. Why did God answer Elizabeth's and Zacharias' prayer for a son? Because He needed a John the Baptist. Because He had a purpose for that little boy. I think the greatest example of God s purpose can be seen in the life of Paul. Paul was willing to let God answer his prayers in His time, in His way, His power, and for His purpose. Romans is a letter that Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire at the time. Chapter 1 verse 7 "To all who are in Rome who are called by God called to be saints." Verse 10, "In my prayers at all times and I pray now that at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you." Verse 15 "That is why I'm so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome." Paul's one BIG goal in life, his dream was to preach in Rome. "I want to go to the most significant city in the world. I want to preach to the movers and the shakers. I'm going to go to Rome. I'm going to rent the coliseum for three nights. I'm going to pass out flyers. I'm going to get a great PA system and a good Christian rock group to back me up and we're going to have one great crusade. Nero's going to get saved. Paul had visions of preaching in Rome. He lived and breathed his desire to go to Rome. Verse 20 "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation." He wants to come to Rome. Did God ever answer Paul's prayer? Yes, but notice how He did it. Acts 28:16 "When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him." That's not exactly what Paul had in mind -- house arrest. Paul went as a prisoner. That's how he ended up getting there. He had been put through the Roman court system and he ends up in Rome as a prisoner in a house chained to a 4-8

9 Roman guard. That's not exactly his plan. He had written, "Pray for me that I might have a prosperous journey." What kind of journey did he have? He was in a shipwreck, in chains, and got bitten by a bunch of snakes. It's not exactly your typical Mediterranean cruise. It wasn't a relaxing way to Rome. He gets there as a prisoner and then is kept under house arrest. The point is this. Paul made it to Rome. But he was willing to let God work it out in God's way. Paul got there through Roman leaders. Sometimes God answers our prayers through the most unlikely people. God answered in His own time. No telling how many times Paul packed his bags and tried to head off for Rome. He wanted to do it more than anything else. The fact of the matter is, God is never in a hurry. You study the Gospels, and read about Jesus' work, how many times did He say, "It's not time yet." He was never in a hurry. God answered Paul s prayers for His own purpose. Paul wanted to go to Rome to preach. Why did God want Paul in Rome? To write. While Paul was in Rome under house arrest, he wrote a bunch of letters to different Christians all over the Mediterranean. They re now called the New Testament. We got much of the New Testament because Paul allowed God to answer his prayers in His own way, in His time, and for His purpose. Paul was such an activist the only way God could get him to slow down and write the New Testament was put him in jail. Paul's desire was that he might make an impact for Jesus on the world. He thought the best way to make that impact was to preach in Rome. Sometimes God denies our original request to give us what s really the desire of our heart. What made a greater impact, preaching in Rome for a three-day crusade or writing the Bible? 4-9

10 To wrap this up I ve heard it said this way: When you pray and the request isn t right, God says "No." When you pray and you're not right, God says, "Grow." When you pray and the timing isn t right, God says, "Slow." And When everything's in place, God says, "Go." How s your prayer life this morning? Are you willing to let God answer your prayer in His way, anyway He sees fit? Are you willing to let God answer your prayer in His time, whenever He thinks best? How about in His power? It may mean that things may even get worse, so God can do a miracle. And are you willing to let God answer your prayers for His purpose For your growth and His glory? I ll leave you with these thoughts Why are you praying? What's your motive? If you're praying for health, what are you going to do with a healthy body once you're got it? If you're praying for your finances, what are you going to do with the money once you've got it? If you're praying for a new job, what are you going to do with it? Will God get any glory out of it? Think about it how s God going to get the glory for your answered prayer? Prayer: Lord, help us to know You better. And to realize how much You love us. Help us to know Your plan for our lives. And to cooperate with them. Lord, thank You for Your word. That it's practical and relevant and it applies to our lives. Help us to let You answer our prayers in Your way, in Your time, and for Your purpose. Jesus thank you for loving us. Thank You for dying on the cross for us. In Jesus' name. Amen. 4-10