God hears us when we pray! And He ALWAYS answers EVERY prayer. But not always (or not usually) how we might think or want.
Our church is going through the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. One thing that stands out is that the early church prayed, believed in prayer, and God answered their prayers! HERE’S the video of my sermon from Acts 12 Sunday May 5th, with my notes below. My hope is that many will take a deeper dive with God and that we will pray as never before in the next 40+ days. And through this experience see God answer prayers in miraculous ways!
Three Ways God Answers Every Prayer
- No
- Not now
- Yes
1. No
We don’t always know what or how to pray, do we?!
While God hears us, He’s not a genie who just gives us what WE want! Like a wise, loving parent, He often says no
For example… Parents, we like to give our kids things when they ask, don’t we! It’s often hard to say no. When they ask for the right kind of things, it’s easy to say yes. But candy before bed… NO!
In Acts 12 the Apostle James died! Why did God allow Herod to kill James but not Peter? The sovereign will of God! Sometimes God mysteriously takes someone home who is young and vibrant for no good reason, at least that we can see! There are others we might wish God would take but He leaves them for His own reasons. If God asked me, from my viewpoint as a pastor, I might say that He took the wrong one and He left the wrong one! But life and death are in the hands of a sovereign God. . . . This is God’s universe, not ours.
Sometimes we pray and pray and pray and people die; don’t get better; they don’t get healed; the relationship ends; they don’t get that job; their kids don’t stay out of trouble; on and on.
God is no less good or in control, but because He’s able to see the big picture, He often says NO!
The second way God answers our prayers can be frustrating…
2. Not Now
Isa 55:8-9 says
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
We don’t like to wait for anything, do we… not food, service, or even maturity! Even though it’s through waiting, exercising faithfulness and discipline, and yes, even pain, in which we grow. Think about sports, health, your career, or marriage… it all takes time and work to develop and grow.
If God hasn’t said no, but hasn’t said yes, maybe it’s just not the right timing. Stay faithful where are you. FAITHFULNESS before FRUITFULNESS!
The third and usually favorite way God answers our prayers…
3. Yes
Remember 1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
If the timing of our prayers is in line with His timing, then His answer is always YES!
Parents love to say YES, don’t we! We love to make our kids happy… at least most parents, most of the time.
God LOVES to give good gifts to His kids too… but He’s concerned about much more important things than our happiness… His ultimate plan is bringing RESTORATION to all things, for His glory. So when we pray committing to His will and surrendered to His timing, we’ll be a lot more aware of all the YES answers we get!
For example… Peter in Acts 12… the church prayed for Peter’s release and safety. He was eventually killed as a martyr, but God still had work to do for Peter! It was His will for Peter to be safely released, the church prayed, God said YES!
God always answers every prayer: NO, NOT NOW, or YES
CONCLUSION
I am not trying to guilt you into anything. But I do want to motivate you to take action. Those who take action in life usually succeed. The same is true of prayer. Those who develop a strong prayer life usually have a strong walk with God… they’re usually less given to temptations, more self-controlled, and have a greater awareness of God in their life.
I want those things… less giving into temptations, more self-control, and a greater awareness of God in my life! And I’m sure you do too!
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill or silver bullet.
Fortunately, we can all succeed when it comes to prayer. Don’t have to have a bible degree, be a pastor, sing on the stage, or have it all together. In fact, those who are most aware of all the thing that aren’t together usually find it easier to draw close to God… they are the desperate ones!
There are a LOT of things we can and should pray for (laborers, love, the needs of our community, on and on). But there is ONE THING we see in Acts 12 that I believe God wants us to be praying over for the next couple months…
Acts 12:24 “But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.”
NOTHING could stop what God wanted to do… not the corruption and contention we see in Acts 5-6. Not the church’s enemies, as seen in chapters 4, 8, and 11. And here in Acts 12, obviously the Roman officials couldn’t control what God was doing! From here on out in the book of Acts we see the church explode into Asia Minor. God’s purposes will prevail as His people stand upon His Word! Amen!
Note what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, 2 Thess 3:1: “Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.”
One more Scripture encourages us here, from the Isa 55 passage I shared earlier…
ISA 55:10-11
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Pray with me for God’s Word to SPREAD (WIDE) and be FRUITFUL (DEEP
There’s something about 40 days and God (Moses/Jesus), so I want to invite you to pray with me for 40 days starting next Mon, May 13th. There’s a great 40 day prayer devotional that I’m going to use and invite you all to join me (Draw The Circle).
Pray with me for God’s Word to spread and be fruitful, FIRST in your life/home (pick up the DEVO, AND/OR use this daily bible reading plan.
Pray that God’s Word would spread and be honored in your workplace, in your neighborhood, and throughout our community
BE READY TO BE THE ANSWER TO YOUR OWN PRAYER!