Fight the Good Fight
#20 When Prayer Seems Unanswered
07.11.21
Luke 1:5-17 NASB
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in years. 8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall [l]name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Introduction
1. Christians live by prayer. Prayer is to the Spirit what breathing is to the body.
2. Yet there is a life-long struggle regarding prayer. Oh that prayer could become as natural to our spirits as breathing is to our bodies.
· “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
· Yet when we begin making progress, we often fight the perplexity of what appears to be “un-answered prayer” (though I’m not certain that such a thing really exists).
3. But we must address first the issue of “un-offered prayer.”
· James says, “We have not because we ask not.”
· Martin Luther: “I have so much to do today that I’m going to need to spend three hours in prayer in order to be able to get it all done.”
a. I got up early one morning and rushed into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray. Problems just gathered about me, and harder became each task. “Why doesn’t God help me” I wondered. He answered, “You didn’t ask! I hoped to see joy and beauty as the day toiled on. I wondered why God didn’t show me, but He said - “You didn’t see.” I tried to come into God’s Presence. I used all the keys in the lock. But God so lovingly reminded me - “My child, you didn’t knock!” I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.
I.Why does some prayer seem unanswered?
A.Sometimes the answer is denied. (Sometimes He says “No.”)
1. Sometimes we ask for things out of the will of God.
2. 1 John 5:14, 15 NASB This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
3. Understand the concept of Selfishness and Spiritual Adultery. God is not interested in underwriting my carnality. Will He finance an adulterous affair?
James 4:1-4 NASB What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in your body’s parts? 2You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request [e]on your pleasures. 4You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God
4. Every “no” is an “I LOVE YOU!”
B.Sometimes the answer is delayed. (Sometimes He says, “Wait.”)
1. Your prayer has been heard already!
2. Every “wait” is an “I LOVE YOU.”
3. Isaiah 30:8 NASB Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.
4. Daniel’s 21 day delay was caused by interference.
C.Sometimes the answer is just different. (Sometimes He says, “Let me do this My way.”)
II.Why does He wait?
A.God wants to display His Glory.
1. This is not like us “wanting credit.” God’s Glory is an altogether different thing. Remember John.
2. As in the case of Abraham and Sarah, the answer to their prayer had reached the point of impossibility.
3. God will let things get worse so that we will know of His Glory and His love for us.
4. Jesus waited four days to come to Lazarus.
B.God wants to dispense His Grace.
1. In the fullness of time
2. John the Baptizer’s pivotal role
3. Mrs. Jadrievic’s tree - I wanted to pick the blessings before they were ripe.
4. If we will obey, God will give us something better than we ask for.
III.What to do when prayer seems unanswered
A.Expect the answer.
B.Check your heart.
C.Keep on praying.
1. Luke 18:1 NASB Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged,
2. Daniel’s example of “Praying Through”
3. Matthew 7: Keep on asking, seeking, knocking.
4. Until God gives assurance, God gives answer or direction.
5. 2 Corinthians 12:7; a stake of impaling
D.Embrace the answer.
1. This can be a time for enduring or a time for enjoying.
2. Sorrow is tough; denial is bitter; delay is insufferable - but you can decide to take the journey with Him.
3. Mary’s secret