What if you have prayed and asked God for an answer, asked Him to help you with a particular problem, asked Him to reveal Himself to you and everything seems as if nothing has changed? Should you just keep on praying the same prayer over and over, asking for the same things? It seems God would get tired of hearing us repeat our problems and just abandon us out of pure boredom. Is there a specific way of approaching God to get answers?
1. What if you have prayed and asked God for an answer, asked Him to help you
with a particular problem, asked Him to reveal Himself to you and everything
seems as if nothing has changed?
Isaiah 55:6 "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he
is near."
Matt 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you."
Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Matt 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive."
James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is
like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
If we take the verses above as to stand alone even with many others that speak
likewise and yet we do not take the entirety of the Bible together, then we can
easily run astray.
For instance consider the following verses.
John 15:6 "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned."
Consider Judas?
Acts 1:16-17 "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled,
which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which
was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained
part of this ministry."
2 Corinthians 4:1 "Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not."
2 Corinthians 4:16 "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day."
Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall
reap, if we faint not."
The point I am making is that we are to continue to serve God regardless of His
answering our prayers. God knows what we need and I am certain that we are
guilty of asking requests of God that does not fit His plan for our life.
We must wait upon God!
Genesis 49:18 "I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD."
Psalms 33:20 "Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield."
Psalms 37:7 "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself
because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked
devices to pass."
Psalms 130:6 "My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the
morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning."
Isaiah 25:9 "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have
waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him,
we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
Lamentations 3:25 "The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul
that seeketh him."
Ps 25:5 "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my
salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."
Psalms 27:14 "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."
Palms 62:5 "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him."
Need I point out more scriptures, I do not think I do for even one verse is
sufficient to satisfy His children.
2. Should you just keep on praying the same prayer over and over, asking for the
same things?
Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Colossians 4:2 "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."
Romans 12:12 "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in
prayer."
3. It seems God would get tired of hearing us repeat our problems and just
abandon us out of pure boredom.
First I believe we are making the mistake here that many make concerning God. He
is God and He will never become bored with His children that serve Him.
We are prone to judge everything by our own knowledge and experience and that is
wrong.
God said that His ways are not our ways and that His thoughts are not our
thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Psalms 92:5 "O LORD, how great are thy works! And thy thoughts are very deep."
4. Is there a specific way of approaching God to get answers?
I would say yes there is a specific way of asking God in order to get answers,
but let us not forget that God answers one of three ways, Yes, No, and Wait.
John 15:7 "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you."
James 4:3 "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it
upon your lusts."
James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much."
Galatians 5:16 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh."
1 John 3:22 "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."
1 John 5:14 "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask
anything according to his will, he heareth us."
James Avery
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If a person is having a problem or praying for a specific thing, they need to remember and keep in mind that it needs to be the Lord's will not theirs for it to happen. He taught us to pray, "May your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). God will never get bored with us. He wants us to come to Him continually. There is no perfect way a person is to pray, no set rules. Just open your heart to the Lord wherever you are and whenever you feel the need to communicate with Him, do so. It's best to be still and quiet and be on your knees to God in prayer, because I think you get more powerful in prayer then. But it doesn't matter. You can be on the street, in the store, at the bank, taking a walk or home alone, and they are all fine places to pray. You just need to talk to God. He knows what is in our hearts.
DeeDee
