Prayer has been heard and answered

The Lord appeared to him at night. He said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and I accept this Temple as the place where sacrifices are to be offered to me. Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again. I will watch over this Temple and be ready to hear all the prayers that are offered here, because I have chosen it and consecrated it as the place where I will be worshiped forever. I will watch over it and protect it for all time. – 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 GNT

No matter how great I think I have prayed, it means nothing unless God has heard it. The true measure of my prayer is if God answers them.

“It is to be a house of prayer and a (literal) ‘house of sacrifice’… This combination of the temple’s functions is striking, and is one of the several indications in 2 Chronicles 5-7 that prayer and sacrifice are to be understood as ‘two sides of the same coin.’” – Selman

“By presenting the temple as a place where right sacrifice and prayer could be accepted, an opening was being provided to exchange Israel’s present bleak circumstances for a more positive future. It offered an opportunity to change the course of Israel’s history.” – Selman

God made a special promise that I believe applies to me today – when I humble myself and pray, looking for a relationship with God, He will answer my prayer. There is a connection between humility and true prayer coming from humble, praying people.

“Although God’s invitation is initially given to my people (2 Chronicles 7:14), 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 has made clear that anyone who acknowledges God’s name and authority may pray with the same confidence of a hearing. This passage is therefore consistent with others where the invitation is explicitly extended to ‘all who call upon the name of the LORD…’” – Selman

It usually means that I lead with repentance.

“These expressions are best understood as four facets of one attitude, that sinners should seek God himself in humble repentance, rather than four separate steps on a long road to forgiveness.” – Selman

While the promise had much to do with the connection to the temple – my prayers are offered in the name of Jesus – a much better access to God than the temple was.

Habakkuk leads me to real prayer too. He complained and in his complaining he expected God to hear it and respond to it.

I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will tell me to say and what answer he[a] will give to my complaint. – Habakkuk 2:1 GNT

In other words, God’s time is the right time and I am smiling when I write this.

I am smiling because I know that when I pray I have pretty much a picture in my head on how exactly I want or expect God to answer my prayer. I may even be convinced on the time frame that is required for an answer to come. I am reminded in those times by God’s gracious hand that I need to wait for His time, be prepared for it, and accept it.

Learning this lesson can be hard and I can be easily discouraged – that is where my faith is open to be assaulted and the evil one could have an open door to exploit it.

The times of immediate answer to prayer fill me with praise and thankfulness, however, I need to remind myself that I am praying according to God’s will.

As I remember all of God’s answers to the prayers I have already prayed, I can praise and thank Him regardless if I see the prayer answered or not – because I know He will answer them.

If, then, we would pray aright, the first thing that we should do is to see to it that we really get an audience with God, that we really get into His very presence. Before a word of petition is offered, we should have the definite and vivid consciousness that we are talking to God, and should believe that He is listening to our petition and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him. This is only possible by the Holy Spirit’s power, so we should look to the Holy Spirit to really lead us into the presence of God, and should not be hasty in words until He has actually brought us there.

One night a very active Christian man dropped into a little prayer-meeting that I was leading. Before we knelt to pray, I said something like the above, telling all the friends to be sure before they prayed, and while they were praying, that they really were in God’s presence, that they had the thought of Him definitely in mind, and to be more taken up with Him than with their petition. A few days after I met this same gentleman, and he said that this simple thought was entirely new to him, that it had made prayer an entirely new experience to him. – R.A. Torrey

Learning how to pray and not making a show

When someone asks me to help them learn how to pray, I am surprised by some of my answers. How would you respond?

In Solomon’s prayer he asks for God’s eyes to be open and ears listening when the people came to pray. God did respond in a dynamic way – their sincere worship caused Him to fill the temple with His presence as a sign that He accepted their praise and their prayers.

Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the requests I make to you. Watch over this Temple day and night. You have promised that this is where you will be worshiped, so hear me when I face this Temple and pray. – 2 Chronicles 6:19-20 GNT

He is praying for favour, he was asking God to continue to hear his prayers and the prayers of the people, especially as they prayed towards His presence in the temple.

Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us. – 2 Chronicles 6:21 GNT

Solomon figured out that prayer was the way we communicate with God. So in the praying to be heard he added another powerful addition – to be forgiven.

Is this not a confidence booster – when God begins to answer prayer then people will see that a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God is at work.

This particular new Christian was learning to fly an airplane, and flying around one day he found himself all locked in in clouds. He did not know enough about flying yet to go down through the clouds by instruments, so he was in trouble, and he prayed, “Lord, open a hole for me.” Almost immediately a hole opened in the clouds, and he went down through it and there was the airport right below.

Later, when he was with some of his non-Christian friends on a duck-hunting trip in Mexico, he told them about this, but they all scoffed and said, “That was just coincidence.” He said, “No, it was not. God works that way.” So they said, “Well, all right, if your God works that way he ought to be able to control what we have for dinner tonight.” He said, “That sounds reasonable. What do you want for dinner?” One of them said, “I’d like Swiss steak.” So the man went over to the Mexican cook and asked what he was serving for dinner that night. “Swiss steak!” said the cook.

The next morning they were out in the duck blind and some ducks flew by. It looked like they were coming within range, but just as they did so, they turned around and flew off. One of the men said, “If your God is so good, turn the ducks around.” This man went, “Quack, quack!” and the ducks turned around and flew right back and the men got their shots!

As they were leaving to fly home, the Christian man, who had not brushed his teeth that morning, said, “Oh my, I wish I had a tooth brush.” One of the fellows said, “Well, your God is so good he ought to provide a toothbrush.” The Christian said, “Yes, that’s right.” As they were about to board the plane he looked down on the ground, and lying there, probably having fallen off of a previous flight, was a new toothbrush in its box.

On the way home one of the men said, “You know, this God is rather impressive. I have been giving some thought to becoming a Christian.” – Bob Rae

Welcome to the world of a brand new follower of Jesus who needs Him to step in like this. Those kinds of answers to prayer may not always show up the same way. However, Solomon prayed this way – he wanted a consciousness of the reality of prayer – that God answers the prayers of His people.

I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life—you that believe in the Son of God. We have courage in God’s presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him. – 1 John 5:13-15 GNT

Here is a basic thread – I know that I have eternal life because I believe in Jesus. With this belief, I have courage to pray in God’s presence. If I have prayed that I should be saved from my sins, why not carry on the courage and know that God will continue to answer my prayer? If I knew that salvation was the will of God, I will also begin to understand other matters of life that are His will as well.

“How many people think that prayer is persuading God to do our will or trying to make God change his mind! But that is not what prayer is. Prayer means asking God to do his will which we have embraced. In other words, when we make God’s will to be our will, our will be done because it is his will, and his will is done always. If we can understand this truth, we can avoid much confusion and begin to pray aright. Prayer is saying to our heavenly Father, ‘Thy will be done’ (Matthew 6:10).  Prayer is saying to God, ‘Not my will but thine be done’ (Luke 22:42). True prayer promotes God’s glory.” –P.G. Mathew, gracevalley.org

It does not seem to be that easy all the time.

This is the message that the Lord revealed to the prophet Habakkuk.

O Lord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence. Habakkuk 1:1-2 GNT

I love the intensity of his prayer.

“The best thermometer of your spiritual temperature is the intensity of your prayer.” – Spurgeon

I know there are God-given burdens that I must carry and they, from time to time have made me question His way and His will.

Then the Lord said to his people, “Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it. I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands. – Habakkuk 1:5-6 GNT

Habakkuk thought he knew what was needed, but God had a different plan. How often have I prayerd for God’s will or to know His will? How do I handle the idea of the suffering that so often precedes the glory?

The Pharisees were guilty of such actions – lengthy prayers were their downfall.

As all the people listened to him, Jesus said to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the teachers of the Law, who like to walk around in their long robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace; who choose the reserved seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts; who take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers! Their punishment will be all the worse!” – Luke 20:45-47 GNT

May I humbly admit that I do not know God’s will and may I never be found to abuse that transparency by trying to act otherwise.

Very much of so-called prayer, both public and private, is not unto God. In order that a prayer should be really unto God, there must be a definite and conscious approach to God when we pray; we must have a definite and vivid realization that God is bending over us and listening as we pray. In very much of our prayer there is really but little thought of God. Our mind is taken up with the thought of what we need, and is not occupied with the thought of the mighty and loving Father of whom we are seeking it. Oftentimes it is the case that we are occupied neither with the need nor with the One to whom we are praying, but our mind is wandering here and there throughout the world. There is no power in that sort of prayer. But when we really come into God’s presence, really meet Him face to face in the place of prayer, really seek the things that we desire FROM HIM, then there is power. – R.A. Torrey

Solomon prayed

Then King Solomon prayed,
“Lord, you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.
Now I have built a majestic temple for you,
    a place for you to live in forever.” – 2 Chronicles 6:1-2 GNT

“Now that God has taken up residence in his house, Solomon responds in praise and prayer. This brief statement, which is part testimony and part prayer, evokes a sense of wonder that the same God whose glory fills the temple also dwells in darkness. This latter phrase is associated with the cloud of god’s mysterious presence at Mount Sinai and with his appearing on the Day of the Lord. Solomon is amazed that this intangible, sovereign deity whose mystery is symbolized by the darkness and of the windowless Holy of Holies now promises to dwell in this temple. The theme of God’s dual residence cascades throught the chapter without ever being logically resolved. It is enough to know that God lives on earth as well as in heaven. Even though the temple is ‘exalted’ it cannot physically contain God any more than he can be confined by human philosophy. And yet anyone can approach him in prayer. – The Tyndale Commentary

It is a prayer of response to the cloud of God’s glory and following there is a testimony about God’s faithfulness to David’s house.

All the people of Israel were standing there. The king turned to face them and asked God’s blessing on them. He said, “Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David when he said to him, ‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt until now, I did not choose any city in the land of Israel as the place to build a temple where I would be worshiped, and I did not choose anyone to lead my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place where I will be worshiped, and you, David, to rule my people.’”

And Solomon continued, “My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel, but the Lord said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me, but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.’

“Now the Lord has kept his promise: I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel. I have placed in the Temple the Covenant Box, which contains the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with the people of Israel.” – 2 Chronicles 6:3-11 GNT

Solomon prays as if he was a sinner too, as one of the people. What a lesson for me as I engage in leadership.

Give up on prayer or keep on praying

I think I am prone to lose heart and give up on prayer, to quit praying.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. – Luke 18:1 GNT

I think it is simple because, at some point, life keeps happening regardless if I am praying or not. I forget that I depend on God for protection even though I may know how to do what I am doing. Thinking I can handle life on my own does not help.

Pray! Pray! Pray!

What is Jesus encouraging me to do, to be – persistent in prayer.

I am a person created with a spiritual instinct – which means prayer does come naturally. It is the obstacles in life that steal my effective and constant prayer.

This spirit of prayer is hard to measure. What in fact am I measuring? Prayer is hard work and is sometimes described as labouring.

“There is the understanding, by which we work intelligently; there is the heart, but which we labour willingly, there is the will by which we labour doggedly.” – Morrison

I do know that the evil one hates prayer. If prayer were powerless, it would become rather easy. So maybe I also fail to remember that or am convinced of that. It becomes my last resort instead of my first resource.

I am reminded again that Jesus lived a prayerful life and continues to this very day to pray for those like me.

As I face tomorrow, the pressures of this world will become greater – it calls me to watch more, be more sober and to pray and not be discoouraged.

It would seem that I only have two choices -pray or be discouraged.

The history of the church has always been a history of grave difficulties to overcome. The devil hates the church and seeks in every way to block its progress; now by false doctrine, again by division, again by inward corruption of life. But by prayer, a clear way can be made through everything. Prayer will root out heresy, allay misunderstanding, sweep away jealousies and animosities, obliterate immoralities, and bring in the full tide of God’s reviving grace. History abundantly proves this. In the hour of darkest portent, when the case of the church, local or universal, has seemed beyond hope, believing men and believing women have met together and cried to God and the answer has come. – R. A. Torrey

Prayers of Jesus and how He taught us to pray

The prayers of Jesus as our high priest are real. They are not prayers meant to change the mind of God and neither will ours. However, when I pray, I pray believing in the sovereignty of God and it is my privilege to spend time with Him. I do not believe for one minute that my prayers will in any way manipulate or change the mind of God, but rather, that they are meaningful expressions that seek for God to be glorified. In the same way Jesus prays – prayers that God uses as part of His plan to save those who are lost to Him – save them completely no matter where they are.

I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ, the righteous one. – 1 John 2:1 GNT

Now, I definitely am not saying that our prayers and those Jesus offers are anywhere close to the same, but why am I trying so hard to put a distinction between the two? Jesus is my mediator because part of the essence of His priestly work is on behalf of me and you. He may be glorified, but He is still knows what it is like to be us and is thereby able to act/pray on our behalf.

I am tasked to go and pray, read the Word – God will engage. I pray that I will remember to praise Him for all He has done. May I keep myself humble in that praise and in my prayers.

Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.”

On the way they were made clean.[a] When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. – Luke 17:14-16 GNT

The power of Jesus can make anyone whole as He does when He answers prayer. I notice though that Jesus pointed out to the one who returned to give thanks that his faith is what made him well. Jesus pointed out something different in him than what the others experienced. Prayers of faith may mean they come with praises of faith.

And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.” – Luke 17:19-21 GNT

I pray the the Kingdom of God may be found in me as I spend time with Him.

Prayer often avails where everything else fails. How utterly all of Monica’s efforts and entreaties failed with her son, but her prayers prevailed with God, and the dissolute youth became St. Augustine, the mighty man of God. By prayer the bitterest enemies of the Gospel have become its most valiant defenders, the greatest scoundrels the truest sons of God, and the vilest women the purest saints. Oh, the power of prayer to reach down, down, down, where hope itself seems vain, and lift men and women up, up, up into fellowship with and likeness to God. It is simply wonderful! How little we appreciate this marvelous weapon! – R. A. Torrey