Asking and receiving

Prayer is one of the most important elements of our Christian life. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people fall under the misconception that if they pray, God will do whatever they ask, whenever they ask it. We might become angry and disillusioned when our prayer is not answered and may grow weak in faith, never to pray again. I can remember when I was younger, praying for all sorts of things – toys, computer games, more pocket money… This approach to prayer is futile at best! God isn’t like Santa Claus who grants our every wish. Would a parent give their child everything that they ask for, to their detriment? Likewise, our Father in heaven will not give us something that will cause us harm. How pointless it would be for Him to grant our every wish. This is not the role of a loving Father.

Nevertheless, the apostle Paul said, ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God’. Phil 4:6. Paul went on to say, ‘My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory’. However, God desires to do much more than simply fulfil our needs. He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. He does not wish to withhold any good thing or blessing from us, but His primary desire is for us to join His heart and participate in His will for our lives. To this end, we find that He abundantly provides both blessing and trial in our lives for our continual growth and increase.

The psalmist wrote, ‘May my prayer be counted as incense before You and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice’ Psa 141:2. He was referring to the offering of incense and the burnt offering of the Old Testament which ascended to God as a soothing aroma. Just as incense was offered before the Lord every day, both morning and evening, so our lives should be ones of continual prayer and devotion. God then receives the aroma of our prayer and answers us according to His will. John wrote, “This is the confidence, which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us’. 1 John 5:14. Answered prayer may not come about in the way we expect, or in the timeframe we had planned, but we can be confident that His ways are higher than our ways and He is able to do more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. His promise is sure, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.’ Matt 7:7.

Nathan Smith

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Feature Articles
October 2009

Grace to you

The trumpet of God

Ascending praise

The path of the just

A church community

No longer your own

Where is wisdom?
- Part 1

Asking and receiving

Our greatest support

Confidence to endure