Why God Delays
Answers to Prayer
There are many
reasons why, God does not answer all prayers,
or why He delays to answer. The greatest
reason is sin. Says the psalmist,
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the
Lord will not hear me. Psalm 66:18. To
regard here means to think well
of, to be pleased with, and to love. Of
Christ it is written, Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore
God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee.
Hebrews 1:9. Christ did not
regard iniquity in His heart; He
hated it. Therefore, God anointed Him.
Your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid His face from you, that He
will not hear. Isaiah 59:2. Note these
dreadful words: Though they shall cry
unto Me, I will not hearken. Jeremiah
11:11. Yea, when ye make many prayers,
I will not hear. Isaiah 1:15.
If the Lord
does not hear our prayers, it is not because
He is unwilling or unable to help. The
Lords hand is not shortened, that it
cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it
cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1. The Lord can
hear what we say, but He may not answer,
because sin has made a separation between Him
and us.
This does not mean
that we have to be sinless before the Lord
will answer prayer. However, it does mean
that we must not regard sin, not love or
harbor it, but hate it as Christ hated it.
This point needs to
be stressed lest some become discouraged as
they think of their sins of the past, and
fear God will not hear them. Does God not
hear sinners? Most assuredly He does. If He
did not, no prayer from human lips would ever
reach Him; for all have sinned.
Romans 3:23. David himself sinned grievously;
yet, upon repentance, he would say,
Verily God hath heard me; He hath
attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 66:19. David had sinned deeply, but he
repented as deeply as he sinned; and he no
longer looked with an approving covetous eye
on sin as he had done before. Almost in
surprise he exclaims, Verily God hath
heard me. If God heard David despite
his sin, all may take courage. David
committed adultery, and, worse, he murdered
the faithful husband-a sin that would seem
unforgivable. We repeat, if God heard David,
we may be confident that God will hear us.
There are times when
God does not answer our prayers immediately,
and we are tempted to fear that He will not
answer at all. This may not be the case, but
more often God waits until He in His wisdom
decides that the time has come to respond.
There are three ways
in which God may answer our prayers: He may
say, No; He may say, Yes;
or He may say, Wait. The
last answer is the most common, and in some
respects the hardest; but it is always the
most profitable for us if we have learned to
wait upon God.
One reason why God
waits is to test our sincerity and
earnestness. Do we really pray with an honest
heart and sincere desire to know and to do
Gods will and abide by the answer,
whatever that may be? Alternatively, is our
prayer but the whim of a moment? Are we like
Pilate, who asked the momentous question,
What is truth? and went away
without waiting for an answer? John 18:38.
His question was not grounded in a desire to
know the truth in order to live it. It was
merely an idle question asked out of
curiosity. Speculative questions do not
interest God. Pilate was not sufficiently
interested to wait for an answer, so he never
found out. If any man will do His will,
he shall know, says God. John 7:17.
That is, only as a man will do Gods
will, will he in reality know. When we pray
to God that we should ask ourselves, are we
dead earnest? Do we really want to know the
truth for the purpose of doing it? On the
other hand, are we playing with God and
sacred things?
God Wants Us to Decide
Another reason why
God does not answer all questions immediately
is found in the fact that it is not best for
us to have Him settle all questions. He wants
us to wrestle with the problem ourselves and
attempt to find the solution. This is based
on the sound proposition that it is not good
for anyone to have someone else do his
thinking for him. God has given us minds, and
He wants us to use them. If He answered all
our prayers, we would never need to do any
studying or thinking. The Lord does wish to
deprive us of the opportunity of reaching our
own conclusions, which is a vital factor in
the formation of character.
Within limits,
children should early be taught and permitted
to make decisions for themselves. While this
can easily be carried to extreme, as in
ultramodern psychology, the practice in
itself, if kept within proper bounds, is of
definite value. When parents insist on making
decisions for their children on every point,
they harm the child. Children should have
increasingly greater responsibility placed
upon them, should have opportunity to make
decisions for themselves, so that when they
are grown they can take their place in
society fully competent to order their own
lives.
At times parents are
asked by their children to help them do their
homework. The children find some problems
that the teachers assigned a little hard, and
they ask for help. It may be proper to help
them, if it is done judiciously and in
moderation. However, if the parents
habitually worked the problems for the
children, they would do more harm than good.
In the examination held at school, such
children would be sadly handicapped, having
never had to work a problem unaided.
If God should solve
all our problems, If He should answer all our
prayers, He would make the same mistake that
parents do when they work the problems for
their children. God would ruin us effectively
in so doing. As it is, God let us use the
strength we have, then He adds whatever we
need, and we are the stronger for it. This is
what Paul meant when he said, Work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do of His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12,13.
Problems in the Bible
For every difficulty
we solve we will be stronger and more able to
do more efficient work. If we are to build
character, we must learn to tackle difficult
situations. To have every prayer answered
promptly would be disastrous for us. God
wants sturdy, self-reliant men and women. To
develop that kind of people He gives them
opportunity to work out their own problems as
far as they are able. He will help; He will
give us only as much help as we need, not
necessarily, as much as we want.
There are problems in
the Bible for which there are no ready
solutions. This is in accordance with the
principles here discussed. God wants us to
study, to use the mind He has given us. He
has made plain every great doctrine; all
essential points of faith are clearly and
authoritatively stated. There is no
ambiguity, and hence there is no excuse for
ignorance. However, there are many questions
God leaves for us to solve. He could have
easily have given us the solution as well as
the problem, but He chooses not to do so. At
times, we wonder why God did not do things
differently.
To illustrate: The
Bible clearly states that we are to render
unto Caesar the things that are
Caesars, and to God the things that are
Gods. All will agree that this
is a sound principle. However, the question
still arises? What things are Caesars?
What things are Gods? On this, there is
no agreement among men, and God gives no
definite answer. He leaves that for us to
settle.
Tithing is a plain
Bible requirement. However, what is tithe? On
this point, opinions vary. Does it mean the
gross income, or are certain exemptions
permissible? In addition, if so, what? God
leaves that question for us.
The question of
Sabbath keeping is another vital doctrine. On
the seventh day, we are to rest and not to do
any work. What kind of work is permitted and
counted essential. What is forbidden? Farmers
have no easy task in determining how far they
may go in doing essential work on Gods
holy day. Physicians are constantly
confronted with problems relating to Sabbath
observance. Who will settle them? Housewives,
janitors, and ministers have their problems
in Sabbath observance. In all these matters,
the individual conscience must decide.
Moreover, God has a reason for this. The
making of decisions is in itself character
building.
The man who
habitually decides every tithing question in
his favor is not building character for
eternity. The same is true of those who
decide questions of Sabbath keeping too
liberally, or any question that God has left
for mans decision.
Let us not be
discouraged or perplexed when God does not
answer promptly every question we bring to
Him. He is waiting to see what we will do,
and is giving us an opportunity to make our
own decisions. The waiting time is a testing
time, a time to search our hearts, to
determine our motives, and to come to
conclusions. In this work, we may confidently
ask Gods help. He may not solve every
problem for us, we should not expect Him to,
but He can give hints and suggestions that
will keep us on the right track.
Gods delay in
answering our prayers, therefore, is for a
purpose. To solve every problem for us would
be disastrous. God is too wise to do this. He
gives us time to think things through. In our
extremity, He will step in, but we must use
all our resources first.
Memory Verse:
If any man
will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself. John 7:17
Questions:
1.
Has God recently tested your sincerity and
earnestness in prayer? Explain.
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2. Is it
good to wrestle with a problem and find the
solution before involving God?
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