When God Answers … (Part 1)

Many of us have things that we desire and pray that God will come through for us on. We have those items that may be constant prayer items and even a true test of faith. I had a conversation with a friend about how God answers prayers. The conversation revolved around whether all our requests got answered or not. There was no doubt about God’s ability to respond to a prayer, there is enough evidence of answered prayers to know that God does answer. The question on the table was whether ALL of our requests are responded to and whether God SHOULD actually be entertaining all requests to begin with. Should everything be up for review or should God have a filtering mechanism where requests are prioritised and others shelved? If you were God what would you do?

Those of us raising children may have a sense of what this entails. Parents are constantly fielding requests from children but I know that personally I haven’t always entertained the requests coming through. Requests that are not life threatening; requests not likely to result in major future psychological disturbances or lead to debilitating embarrassment have been overlooked because of other pressing priorities or at times just sheer tiredness or laziness. Would it be blasphemous to assume that God may use the same method? I know He is God and thus has capacity beyond that which we have so yes I’m sure He can juggle all these requests.

Question still remains, should He? Another question to consider is, what constitutes an answer to a prayer?

For many of us it would be when I get what I ask for, right? So if I don’t get what I ask for is that an unanswered prayer? I’ve heard people say that God’s answer is always either a YES , a NO or a NOT YET. I don’t know if that’s even biblical but I’ve heard it preached a number of times. Isn’t that how we humans respond to requests though? Are we then not superimposing our humanness on a God who is capable of so much more than we ever can? How much confidence can I have on a God who responds to me exactly the same way I respond to others? I struggle with this idea that when I put a request to God I walk away not sure what to expect from Him. Doesn’t that make my prayer a gamble then?

Let’s explore this a bit more. I’ll ask again, how does one then know when a prayer has been answered? Is it when I get what I asked for? Yes, getting exactly what you wanted is awesome, many a song are written about God delivering. One breathes a sigh of relief especially if you were not sure how your prayer would be answered… it could have gone either way (yes/no/not yet). So a ‘YES’ answer is obvious and easy to identify. How do you know when the answer is a NO? I guess if you don’t get what you want then the answer must be a NO, right? But is it always that obvious? I think it’s easy to identify a NO answer if there was a timeframe linked to the request. If the deadline passes and you don’t get what you asked for, then the answer must have been a no, right? So with a heavy heart you accept that your request was regrettably denied. What happens when your request has no obvious deadline attached to it? How do you then know if the answer is a NO or a NOT YET? Once again a yes would be obvious but a no or a not yet? How do you tell? I have a friend who has been praying for a job for years now. Every now and then something temporary comes up but for the most part it has been quiet. We have all prayed, fasted, encouraged etc. but there are no jobs coming. He has also tried to start some businesses but nothing has stuck. So how should he interpret this situation? Is this an obvious no or is it a not yet? To some it may seem like a clear no which then raises the question of why God would not give him an opportunity to earn an honest living. If the answer is a not yet then the question becomes what about the meantime.

What does one do whilst waiting for clarity on whether the answer is a resounding no or just a not yet? How do you interact with God? Do you keep on going back to remind Him? Do you manage your expectations by assuming it’s a no whilst deep down you’re hoping it’s a not yet?

Does that sound like a loving God? This is why I think this concept of a yes/no/not yet response is deeply flawed. But then my question still stands … what constitutes an answer to a prayer?

…………to be continued