Prayer: When God seems to say "No" (Matthew 6:7-8)

[Greg, TheNET Coordinator]

I've just read an article by John Godson in Lausanne World Pulse online magazine called "Persevering Prayer". In the article, Godson sites five Bible passages talking about how we should pray and not give up: Luke 18:1-8, Genesis 32:24-28, Mark 10:46-52, Matthew 15:22-28, Luke 11:5-8.

My question is this, Why do you think this kind of praying pleases God? Why doesn't this bother him (like nagging children so often bother us)? Why would God seemingly say "no" and then say "yes"?

How do we explain the relationship between these verses and Matthew 6:7-8?

"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

Any thoughts?

[Wendy]

I just did a word search for "earnestness" on an online Bible Concordance, and it pulled up some really good references to praying with earnestness, as opposed to just babbling on without emotion. For example: 1 Thessalonians 3:10 "while night and day, with intense earnestness, we pray that we may see your faces, and may bring to perfection whatever may be still lacking in your faith."

[Bill]

There are prayers that are yes prayers, and there are prayers that are maybe prayers. God always answers yes prayers, yes. Prayers for a more intimate relationship with God, yes, help with dealing with others, yes, prayers for relief from sorrow, yes. Prayers for a different job, maybe, Prayers for a new car, maybe, a wife, maybe. It all depends on what you ask for, and what God thinks you need. Pray simply, and straightforwardly, as Jesus showed us.

[melissa]

I see the babbling as meaningless words that we sometimes use. Perhaps we say the same thing every day -- without really meaning what we say. God sees our hearts... He knows what our hearts are praying. It's my prayer that my words express the thoughts of my heart.

[Brenda Charles]

God created as , he know each one ,we can not fool god,

[johngodson]

Dear Greg,

Thank you for reading my article. My simple response would be to keep on praying until God takes away the desire from your heart. When we abide in Jesus and His words abides in us, He has promised to give us the desires of our hearts (John 15:7). Psalm 37:4-5 also says that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He give us the desires of hearts. God is a loving Father and delights in giving us the desires of our hearts as we walk with Him faithfully.

To end, I remember reading about George Mueller whose friend handed over to him his 5 sons before his death. Brother George prayed every day for these young boys. The first got converted a few months after. The last got converted at George Mueller's burial- about 50 years later!

"Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.... How much more your heavenly Father gives good gifts to them that ask Him"

How many prayers have remained unanswered because we stopped praying? Jesus asked a a very important question while concluding His teaching on the parable of the persevering widow. "When the son of man shall come, shall he find faith on earth?" Perseverance is not babbling. It is laying hold on God for the desires He has put in our hearts (God is at work in those who abide in Him giving them desires, He shall fulfill as they pray.) Perseverance is a sign of trust and faith in God.

I encourage you to read the story of the birth of Samuel. How sad it would have been if Hanna did not persevere. How terrible it would been if she had listened to her husband and given up praying. But because she persevered- we have a Samuel. How many of our Samuels are not born because we gave up? How sad!

I wish you God's blessings. If I could be of further help to you please feel free to contact me at: [phone] or email: [e-mail]. You can also visit our websites: www.pielgrzym.org and www.godson.pl.

John Godson

[konceptskool]

This is interesting.. I want to say this though, if you ask a thing and God says yes to it yet that request has not materialized, do you continue praying.. Faith is an action that is based on the revealed word of God, not on the physical visible evidence of your needs. We must learn to pray and open our hearts to hear God answer us. When we hear him answer, we can go to rest even though what he has said has not physically manifested this in itself is an expression of faith and it is not being idle or "stopping praying". Faith is an active activity even though most times the person exercising it may not be involved in physical activity..Let me say that when Jesus slept in the boat and there was a storm, he was walking in faith, he knew there was no way he would die in that boat ride.. He acted cos his disciples were afraid and showed fear.Sometimes those who know what God has said to their hearts stop praying and this is their response to God while we may continue to pray when God has spoken and this is babbling and great unbelief. Each person must know what God has said to them in answer to their prayers.
cheers

[johngodson]

The example you use about Jesus resting is a good one but it's not about prayer. It is about resting when things seem to go wrong, knowing that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who are called according to His purpose. God doesn't want us to react hysterically like the disciples did. He wants us to keep trusting Him despite our physical circumstances.

Returning to the issue of persevering prayer:

Sometimes we stop praying because that is more comfortable. I encourage you to read the story of Elijah in I King 18:1-2, 41-46. God told Elijah rain was coming. Elijah would have simply believed God for rain and relaxed. But He didn't. What did He do instead? He went up to the top of Mount Carmel, knelt down and began to pray. He sent his servant to keep checking if there was cloud. He never stopped until there was a physcal manifestaion of the rain coming. He never ceased nor fainted- though God had already made promise of rain coming in verse 1 "...the word of the Lord came to Elijah in third year saying, Go shew thyself to unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth"

Luke 18:1-8 teaches us that "men ought always to pray and not to faint". My prayer is that in these days of instant technology, "instant Christianity", instant results- in these days when men are looking for faster and faster solutions, the question of Jesus is still "...when the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on earth?"

May the Lord grant you the joy and delight in tarrying in His presence until His Kingdom and will be established on the earth. Blessings.

John Godson

[konceptskool]

Hey my example of the boat ride is about the disciples.. they prayed to Jesus to come save them and i wanted to distinguish that from Jesus own behavior being in the same circumstance.. if that boat had capsized, they all stood the same chance of being drowned. My point is prayer is not the only weapon we have against circumstances of our lives, faith is another,comparable to prayer as an act. Only faith is an act you embark upon after you have heard God speak to you and make certain things clear to you. When we are walking in faith we may not spend as much time in prayer cos they both are different weapons of the same warfare..
I pray you understand.. God Bless and
cheers..

[Dave]

I believe that as long as the prayers are not selfish and to meet some worldly need or desire, that we should keep on praying. If i where to pray to GOD to bring my wife home to me now, that would be selfish. If I continually pray for his guidance, strength, and to bring people into my life that will help me to make the changes necessary to walk in HIS way, that is not a selfish act. It is asking for guidance. We are not infalliable as we are human. We always need to seek the LORD's guidance, through prayer, scripture, meeting with other people to celebrate HIM, and through having faith.
I have been saying a prayer, many times a day for him to keep my wife safe, and for him to guide her in the direction he sees fit. I constantly lift that request up to him, because I love her and because each and every day, many different situations present themselves to us for us to stray.
I have faith that GOD hears these prayers, and knows the right thing to do. Sometimes I say this prayer when I am feeling down, lonely, and miserable, and GOD touches me with a bit of peace and rest. I do not think that he minds that I pray many times for a loved one. I know he actually expects that, and already knows that we will do that.
We have the free will to choose GOD, and how we walk in the faith. If one feels comfortable with asking once, and having faith, GOD probably sees that as ok. If one feels that they need to keep asking for something non selfish, and not because they think that's what they are supposed to be saying, but they are praying from the heart over and over again, I believe that GOD will hear that, and give them peace and that which they need.

[konceptskool]

Hey Dave great post.. i agree to the half of what you say.. picture this.. A wife who is very truly loved by a man who because of his love for her provides selflesly her needs as well as that of the house hold.. but she is asking him for one thing which he is taking his time to decide on wether to provide it in the general scheme of things as his plans may be for his family yet she is persistent and asks for that thing everyday for about two weeks? I dnt think that man will love her very much..Just a thought evn though i know God is way above this.. but our relationship with him is much like that between a man and his wife.. and to the degree we "bug" him about things the same degree we show our trust in his goodness and love over us..
cheers..

[swtswan]

You areon the right track Dave,we need to pray not for worldly things (Everything that is physically here on earth;has already been created in heaven FIRST!) But; we can pray for any & everything we want/that doesn't mean we will get it;But we can ask for what we want anyway. God will answer Yes,or NO!,by this i mean he will grant us our prayers/hearts desires (ONLY) if they are acording to his will/wishes/"Law" (Very IMPORTANT!!!) Always remember to ask Gods will,not my will be done Lord;But THY WILL LORD! at the end of your prayers,& don't forget to "Thank Him" and you will get your answer in God's own time. For God knows our hearts,& he knows our needs even before we do.(but if U truly want something so bad;you must put all your Faith<---energy, into your prayers. I'm not talking about stalking someone;or going ballistic & hunting them down,either! You must leave your requests in Gods hands & give it to HIM.(If you hav ethe faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains... Amen hope that clears some of it up for you God Bless!....

[swtswan]

according to his will,(sorry)