Amazon began in July 1994 as an online book store. Today it is referred to by many as "The Everything Store." Some people say that if Amazon doesn't have it, it doesn't exist. It is not unusual to ask someone where they bought a certain item and hear them respond "Amazon." One of the trademarks of this large company is that once something is ordered it will be delivered within a few days and sometimes overnight. Customers like being able to order the exact thing they want and receive it at their home in a short period of time.
I have nothing against Amazon. My wife and I order from there like millions of other people. The issue I raise today in this posting is about the misconception that we have developed about prayer. Essentially, we are guilty of trying to turn prayer into a spiritual amazon. Too often we pray believing that God is going to give us exactly what we asked for and get it to us instantly. When our prayer is not answered as we outlined it, or even demanded it, we decide that God just doesn't care or is not interested in my life or needs.
Here is the dilemma: A casual reading of Matthew 7:7 seems to indicate that asking, and even repeated asking, for something in prayer results in one receiving the thing requested.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you."
This verse is not about presenting your wish list to God. Rather, this verse is about asking for and seeking God's will for your life. The verse reveals that God will give you what is best for your life according to His will.
There is another verse that is found in James 4:3 that we prefer to ignore.
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions."
I grew up in the day when westerns were the dominate movie and television fare. As a youngster, I prayed for a Roy Rogers double holster six-shooter set. I prayed specifically that it would be under my bed the next morning when I woke up. Needless to say, it was not there. From childhood to adulthood, our prayer requests usually increase in cost and complexity. When our prayer goes unanswered or receives "No" as the answer, we often blame God rather than examining our motives in our praying or consider that God's plan is far greater and more involved that our personal request was.
If prayer is not our avenue to get everything we want, what is it? Prayer is a conversation with God in which we do speak, but we also must listen. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them to pray to God "Thy will be done." When Jesus prayed in the garden before His trial and crucifixion, He prayed, "Not my will but Thine be done." We often pray specifically for God to do something in our lives or in the lives of some friends or loved ones. While we have a way we would like to see as a result, we need to be asking first and foremost that God's will be done. His way is far superior to ours.
Paul prayed for God to remove a thorn from his side three times. We don't know what this thorn was - maybe an illness, a barrier to his work, or any number of other possibilities. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 reveals Paul's request, God's respnse, and Paul's reaction.
"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness
of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan
to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded
with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, 'My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest
upon me."
Years ago I heard someone say that God can answer our prayers as "Yes," "No," or 'Not Yet." If we could see into the future clearly, we could see what God is doing and why He answers our prayers as He does. We are unable to see all the possibilities that could happen by giving us all that we want or ask of Him.
Garth Brooks had a hit song several years ago titled "I Thank God for Unanswered Prayers." The gist of the song was that in high school he prayed that one day he and his girlfriend would marry and spend their lives together. That did not happen. But twenty years later he and his wife ran into his old flame and observed that she had changed in a very disappointing way in his eyes. Then the refrain uses the song title as a reminder that we don't realize all that takes place in our lives.
Perhaps, rather than being disappointed or even angry about prayer that is not answered the way we prayed, we should take a moment and pray once more - "Thank you God for not answering my prayer the way I asked. Help me to follow your will rather than mine for my life."
Have a great week as you respond in a thankful manner to God's answers to your prayers.
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