Sermon Tone Analysis
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We’ve talked about having a healthy understanding of prayer
We’ve talked about having a healthy understanding of the one who hears us.
We talked about a how to pray prayers that God hears and answers
We talked about how to be prayers who’s prayers are heard
We’ve talked about to live a praying life…to start, end, and spend our day in prayer.
We talked about how to pray for healing and restoration.
Today we are going to talk about the uncomfortable part of our prayers.
But first, remember that God hears our prayers.
HE always answers…but not like we want.
Unfortunately we don’t get to determine how God will answer our prayers.
We don’t get ot tell him what to do.
He will answer: Yes, no, or not yet
Yes
Now the yes, we understand.
We talked about praying the promises of God…praying for the the things which he is prepared to say yes to us.
Lord give me wisdom…yes.
Lord, forgive me…yes.
Fill me with your spirit…yes
Lead me…yes.
These are a souces of great comfort for us…to know he hears and he always answers…yes to the right questions
Sometimes the answer is not yet.
Not Yet
We understand the not yet answers too.
We have gotten those many times when we pray and nothing comes back…so we keep praying.
Some of us have been praying for a spouse or a child to come to Jesus for years…till then we keep loving them and praying for them.
Some of us have been praying for healing from disease…and while we wait, we keep going to the Dr.
So we understand the not yet answer to our prayers.
But sometimes God answers No.
No.
Anyone here ever get a no answer from God? Would you tell us the circumstances around it?
When my dad had a stroke…he didn’t recover.
When my parents were separated…they didn’t get back together.
Sometimes God’s reason for “No” is obvious.
When you think about it, there are some obvious reasons
why God doesn’t answer every prayer with a YES.
For instance...
Some prayers conflict with other prayers
& both cannot be answered at the same time
o A child praying for bad weather so they can stay home from school
A praying for good weather so they don’t miss work.
o People praying for opposing teams ... Can’t answer both!
I wonder if God cares who wins? opposing candidates
Some prayers would require God to take away someone’s free will
& choice.
God won’t do that!
Nancy joked about this last week…when she talked about forcing someone to marry you.
God gives you a choice so he won’t force you to do anything
o Some of you prayed that your spouse would stay in your marriage
.
But they left.
God doesn’t force people to – fall in love…stay in love
God doesn’t force YOU to always do the right thing.
Neither will..
Praying for someone sick to stay alive will not always get a YES
because we aren’t meant to live on earth forever!
- If faith was the only factor – some people would never die!
- But Heb. 9:27 says “It is appointed...”
I want to live forever – just not here!
BIBLE: Full of examples when God said ‘NO’ to a prayer.
God said NO to Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Jonah, Peter, Paul ...
Even Jesus had prayers answered no!
Just like these folks in scripture, in themoment, God’s “NO” doesn’t make sense.
And it’s important to understand this reality of our prayer.
Today we are going to look at a few of these and discover two things…what we can learn about God and how that might change our response to God’s No.
But many times.. the NO answer is unexplainable
God’s NO is often confusing.
If God is loving & all power – why is request denied?
Can be frustrating.
WHY?
Why do some get miracles & others don’t?
Why do some sick people we pray for get well & others die?
Why do some get relief from pain & others don’t?
Why does God sometimes say yes & other times no?
These times when God says no just don’t make sense to us in the moment.
Often times this happens in times of tragedy.
And that is the greatest test of your faith
- the tragic accident... the unexpected death
- the dashed dream ... the unfulfilled longing
the denied request
That’s when a NO is heartbreaking!
It feels unbearable
TODAY:
To look at 3 cases where God’s no was pretty clear, and his reasoning is pretty clear from here.
Hindsite....20/20
David denied building the Temple
It seemed obvious to David to build the temple, but God saw him as a warrior…not so as a man of peace.
God had a bigger perspective.
But God remembered all that David had done.
He can see the past…he can see the present…and most importantly God can see into the future.
Where David came to be king through war, Solomon would come to be king through peace…in fact his name Solomon …has the root of shalom…meaning peace.
God has a bigger perspective.
God says no because his Perspective is Bigger
So what was David response, in realizing that God was honored more in peace than in war?
He Trusted him…even though it meant he wouldn’t get to do something he longed to do.
We can TRUST a Bigger Perspective
God sees the whole picture - we don’t!
He has a wider view.
We have limited perspective.
We can’t see the future!
HEB.4:13 “He knows about everyone everywhere.
Everything about us is bare and wide open to the ALL-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from Him…”
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