Category Archives: Prayer

“Unanswered” prayer

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I exercise daily, and as I exercise I like to listen to audiobooks. Lately I’ve been listening to Prayer, by Philip Yancey. Many times the author uses the phrase “unanswered prayer”. Granted, Yancey explains his use of the term, but I’ve always disliked calling a prayer “unanswered” just because it’s not answered according to our liking. To say that prayer is unanswered is to say God turns a deaf ear to requests to which He has said he would listen.

So how do we know God answers every prayer?

  • If we ask according to His will, we know He hears us — 1 John 5:14.
  • God is attentive to the prayer of the righteous — 1 Peter 3:12.
  • Prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective — James 5:16.
  • “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7

I see a few qualifiers there. These verses tell me God will answer my prayer if whatever I ask is according to His will, if I am righteous, and if I abide in Jesus and His words abide in me. I see no cause for confusion on the first 2 points. God said He will “hear us” and that He is “attentive to [our] prayer” if we are righteous. But will God really do anything for me if I just ask? Isn’t that what Jesus promised? In a word, no.

I once heard a minister say that a Christian can literally do whatever he wants to do. He didn’t just leave it at that; he explained his statement and I agree with him. If I truly abide in Christ, and His words abide in me (John 15:7), then the very things I want to do will be exactly what He wants me to do. Thus, I can literally do whatever I want. By extension, I can literally ask for whatever I want and it will be given to me (NIV) or done for me (NASV).

So, just like an attentive parent answers every request of his child, God answers every prayer of His child. Sometimes he says “yes, right now”, sometimes he says “yes, but later”, and sometimes he says “no”, but He listens attentively when I talk to Him, and He responds in accordance with His good and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

Pray without ceasing

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How would you respond if I asked you, “What’s the shortest verse in the Bible?” If you answered, “John 11:35,” you’d only be partially right.

If you’re talking about most English translations of Scripture, you’d probably be totally right. Two words. There are several verses with 3 words, but just that one with 2, as far as I know. That verse in the Greek contains 3 words though, and I can point to at least 2 verses with 2 words each — and consecutive verses at that!

Be joyful always; pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

That’s a total of 5 words in English and 4 words in Greek.

So what?

We tend to get hung up sometimes on little things like the location of the shortest verse in the Bible, but consider the message in these 4 words. It is powerful! I’d like to suggest that if you follow the first imperative — rejoice always — you’ll be less likely to get an ulcer. By following the second imperative — pray continually — you won’t necessarily have any more money or better health, but you will have a deeper relationship with the Father.

Isn’t that what we’re here for anyway?

How do you spend your time?

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My long-time friend Jim Martin is pulpit minister for a congregation in Waco, and maintains a blog I highly recommend: A Place For The God-Hungry. His post from Tuesday (2/4/09) was a pretty insightful look at how we spend our time, and the things we should really be making time for. I repeat that post here, with his permission…

I have been on Facebook for about a year. What I absolutely love about Facebook is the opportunity to re-connect with friends from the past. In the past few months, I have had the opportunity to communicate with Frank, Gary, Debbie, John, Bob, Debbie, Rick, and today — Stan. I haven’t seen most of these people in decades. Yet, re-connecting with these people is a special gift because we share a common history and a common memory. We were a part of a small Christian school in Dallas.

I have been thinking this week about how short life really is. When I was in junior high school, some days would seem like weeks. In some ways, time passes so slowly when you are young. Now? Now time moves quickly. Oh, I don’t feel old or even refer to myself as being old. Yet, I remember passing a mirror not long ago almost startled by the man staring at me. Yes, it was me inside this man’s body. But inside? “I’m still the boy.”

Today, I realize just how valuable time really is.

  1. I don’t have time to waste on things that don’t matter. I have plenty of time for the things that count.
  2. I don’t have time to get moody, self-centered, and irritable. I do have time to love my wife and children.
  3. I don’t have time to wallow in the past over what might have been. I do have time to focus on what God wants to do in my life today.
  4. I don’t have time to play self-importance games (Whom do you know? What kind of house do you live in? What have your kids accomplished? What are you driving?). I do have time to build up others and forget myself.
  5. I don’t have time to coddle worldly, immature Christians whose idea of church is getting their way. I have plenty of time to love fellow Christians who may have various opinions.
  6. I don’t have time to be a peacemonger (doing whatever it takes to keep others from getting upset). I do have time to be a peacemaker (loving people no matter what).
  7. I don’t have time to play it safe and never risk the possibility of discomfort. I do have time to trust God who has promised to never leave me or forsake me.
  8. I don’t have time to whine and blame others for being obstacles. I do have time to take responsibility for my own actions and behavior.
  9. I don’t have time to complain and focus on the negative. I do have time to speak a word of hope to people who are overwhelmed by heartache.
  10. I don’t have time to settle for the mediocre. I do have time to be passionate about what matters most to God.

Jim Martin