Guigoz #8
C: Good morning Mike, I still want to know why some of my prayers aren’t answered since I read Matthew 21:22 where it says that if you believe you will receive whatever you ask in prayer. I’ve been using my faith praying in the name of Jesus without seeing answered prayer. I would like to know why please.
M: You know Corrrine, there are some prayer that aren’t answered simply because of the carnal desires of the flesh. This why James 4:3 says: “When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. Often we find ourselves in a situation where we want God to accomplish our desires
C: But I thought that this is exactly what Jesus said in John 14:13 “and I will give you whatever you ask in my name”? I really don’t understand this at all.
M: Could you open your Bible and read 1 John 5:14-15?
C: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will he hears us. And if we know that He hears us- whatever we ask- we know that we have what we have asked of him”.
M: I would like you to analyze these two verses carefully because the key to it all is here. In order for God to hear us the prayer must be made according to His will and not ours. Are you still with me?
C: Completely
M: If we know that God hears us then we shouldn’t just hope that we will have what we have asked but the Bible says that we already have it.
C: So if I’m understanding you properly, this means that God already has a plan for us concerning our needs?
M: Exactly
C: If that’s the case then why do we need to pray? If he has already planned everything then we should just let him do all the work!
M: The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10 that we are His handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do the works which God prepared in advance for us to do. This is what we call the plan of God. God has a plan and a purpose for us- it’s a plan to prosper us according to Jeremiah 29:11
C: So why does God allow these desires that are contrary to His plan to remain in our hearts?
M: Primarily because you are not yet completely crucified with Christ. Paul says in Galatians 2:10 that he has been crucified with Christ and that it is no longer he who lives but Christ who lives in him. A child of God must learn to do what pleases God and to bury the desires of the flesh.
C: Mike I don’t see how I can pray for something without first having the desire in my heart. I simply wouldn’t have the courage to wait.
M: You will never have the desire that is in agreement with the will of God unless your mind is renewed. Remember that Paul says in Romans 12:2 that your mind needs to be renewed so that you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.
C: What needs to happen to reach that place?
M: Pray that the Holy Spirit renews your mind and places in your heart the desires that are in agreement with the will of God
C: Is it a sin to pray for something that isn’t in agreement with God’s will if we are unsure of His will?
M: Not at all, the important thing is to be ready to accept the will of God because He knows better than you what is good, pleasing, and perfect for you!
C: But Mike, would God allow something to happen that really isn’t his perfect will?
M: Yes, sometimes that happens especially when we desperately desire the thing requested. In such instances, we can expect that there will be consequences connected to it.
C: Could you give me an example in the Bible?
M: In the perfect plan of God there was no provision for a King to be established for the nation of Israel but because His people continued to insist God finally relented and gave them a King along with a warning of the consequences that would soon follow. You can read 1 Samuel 8.
C: And how much time should it take to receive an answer in prayer?
M: You will get your answer in Guigoz #9
