PoP - week 3 - Does God Listen?
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Does God Listen?
Does God Listen?
Welcome to week 3 of the series “Power of Prayer”. Next week we will finish this series with a look at what Jesus said about prayer when the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. We kicked off this series two weeks ago by defining prayer. What is prayer? It is simply talking to God. It is our opportunity to communicate one on one with our Father in heaven. Part of communication requires that we not only talk, but listen as well. Last week we thought about what it means to listen to God. Specifically we talked about how to recognize God’s voice. We also talked about “shema”, which is the Hebrew word for “listen” in the OT. “Shema” means more than just hearing what God says, to Him it is listening and doing.
So, what do I do when I talk… I listen… and nothing happens? I don’t hear God speaking. I prayed but nothing changed. Sometimes it feels like I do all the talking, all the listening, and God doesn’t do anything. Is God even listening? Does He even hear me when I pray?
A journalist was assigned to the Jerusalem bureau of his newspaper. He gets an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. After several weeks he realizes that whenever he looks at the wall he sees an old Jewish man praying vigorously.
The journalist wondered whether there was a publishable story here. He goes down to the wall, introduces himself and says: "You come every day to the wall. What are you praying for?"
The old man replies: "What am I praying for? In the morning I pray for world peace, then I pray for the brotherhood of man. I go home, have a glass of tea, and I come back to the wall to pray for the eradication of illness and disease from the earth."
The journalist is taken by the old man's sincerity and persistence. "You mean you have been coming to the wall to pray every day for these things?"
The old man nods.
"How long have you been coming to the wall to pray for these things?"
The old man becomes reflective and then replies: "How long? Maybe twenty, twenty-five years."
The amazed journalist finally asks: "How does it feel to come and pray every day for over 20 years for these things?"
"How does it feel?" the old man replies. "It feels like I'm talking to a wall."
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt like you were talking to a wall. Like God must not care about your prayer. Like your prayer was just in a pile of other prayers when God clicked the “Answer All” button and typed “NO”. Don’t be nervous. God isn’t going to strike you with lightening for raising your hand. I sure have felt that way. There have been several occasions in my life where I have prayed for something simple or something serious and didn’t feel like God even heard me. I will never forget God’s first lesson for me about prayer.
Who remembers Chat Rooms like “MSN Chat” and “IRC”? Those were a thing when I was a kid. Today, people just text their friends on their phones, but when I was a kid that was how we texted our friends. You could even get in chat rooms and meet people with similar interests, but I never did anything like that. I remember when I first became a follower of Christ I was pretty naive when it came to prayer and what it meant to “ask God for anything.” Around that time, I got to spend some time in chat rooms with friends and and one day on MSN Chat my cousin introduced me to a friend of his that he went to school with.
In chat she seemed nice, but extra-curricularly I managed to learn more about her and developed this Jr. High crush. Now, I’m not proud of this, but one day I thought, “Well… The bible says I can pray for anything, right? Maybe I should test this.” So on my way home from school I prayed, “God, when I get online tonight let this girl be online too.” Later that day, I booted up the family computer, logged in to MSN Chat, scanned the friends list, and there it was… The little chess piece looking icon with her name next to it. “ONLINE”! I couldn’t believe it! “God, you really do answer prayers! I’ll never doubt You again!”
So the next time… “God, do it again. When I get on, let her be there!” I get online, scroll the friends list, her icon is shaded out. Not online. “What happened? Maybe next time.” So next time I pray again. Still nothing. Then again, and again, and again. Now, I know what you’re thinking and NO, SHE DIDN’T BLOCK ME! After I gave up I would see her online every now and then, so don’t be so mean. Looking back that whole thing was silly, but for a kid who was a new believer that sort of super important life altering moment can have a huge impact on your prayer life.
Why listen to my one prayer, but not the others? Did I do something wrong the next time? Did I do something different? Did You want to surprise me but since I started to expect it you made the opposite happen? Was it all just a coincidence and You were never even listening to begin with?
I know that was a silly example, but I’ve had big ones too. Like the time my Christ centered marriage ended literally over night and I prayed over and over and over again that God wouldn’t let it happen. Or when my dad was sick and we prayed over and over for God to heal him. And then at the end when we wanted him to jump out of the hospital bed and tease us about worrying about him for no reason. Then when we knew it was over and I was haunted by the fact that I couldn’t even say goodbye. The last conversation I would ever have with him was a phone call I made to him to see what he thought was fair to pay for an oil change.
What do you do when it seems like God isn’t listening? Why didn’t God answer my prayer? For the rest of our time together, I want to talk about what matters to God when we pray.
WHAT MATTERS TO GOD WHEN YOU PRAY?
Before we dive in it is important to remember that I am not telling you why God didn’t answer your prayer. We are NOT saying that if you do these 5 things, God will answer your prayers. This is not a check list for God to grant your wishes. These are 6 truths that are found in scripture about what is important to God when it comes to prayer. If you are taking notes, the first thought is this...
WHAT MATTERS TO GOD WHEN YOU PRAY?
YOUR RELATIONSHIPS MATTER.
Our relationships matter to God. The way we treat other people. Are you forgiving others? Are you growing in your relationships with one another? In Mark chapter 11 Jesus said this...
Mark 11:24–25 (NLT)
24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
According to Jesus, it appears that when we are praying our relationships with others matter. Bitterness and unforgiveness can hinder the effectiveness of our prayers. Scripture is very clear about this when it says that we can’t say we love God yet hate our brother.
I’ll give you an example from my own life. Earlier I mentioned my first marriage. When it ended it caught me completely off guard. My friends and family were shocked. One of my close friends even told me that our marriage was one that they looked up to almost like a role model in their marriage. Completely and utterly blindsided. My best friend at the time was just getting into missionary work so I talked to him about it on the phone one day and he said that he knew a guy that had something similar happen to him and he said he was miserable, depressed, angry, and on and on, but one day he decided to truly forgive her. So he approached her and told her “In Jesus name I forgive you.”
I thought that I had forgiven her. I just wanted things to go back to normal. But after he told me that I started noticing that I was angry. So I started praying, “In Jesus name I forgive her.” I am hurt. How could someone tell you they love you while planning to do this to you? “In Jesus name I forgive her.” Then I started hearing about things she supposedly told others about me that weren’t true and more bitterness would creep in. “In Jesus name I forgive her.”
Forgiveness is powerful when it comes to prayer. Looking back I truly believe that forgiveness is why God completely turned my life around so fast after that dark time in my life. I was able to attend a church that had a huge impact on my life. I met people who poured into my spiritual life. I was able to serve others with those people. I had amazing opportunities to grow with other believers. I met Amy who showed me more love and respect while we dated than I had ever known from my previous relationship. She impressed me with her hard work, solid morals, and her truly life changing encounter with Jesus. Then we got married and she impressed me with her amazing ability to become a different person. Just kidding! Actually, even though we have bad times occasionally, our relationship continues to grow stronger and stronger on what feels like a daily basis.
Speaking of marriage, Peter said this about relationships...
1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)
7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.
Our relationships matter to God. What else matters to God? #2...
WHAT MATTERS TO GOD WHEN YOU PRAY?
2. YOUR MOTIVES MATTER
James 4:3 (NLT)
3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
What are the motives behind your prayers? Jesus criticized 2 kinds of prayers. He said "Don’t be a hypocrite and pray where everyone can see you and think highly of you. And don’t babble on and on and think God will give you what you want just because you say it over and over again.” Their motives are all wrong.
Your “MSN Chat” prayer might have the wrong motives. What are your motives? Why are you praying for this?
“Oh God, give me an opportunity to witness to this girl. Make her a believer so that I can date her.”
“God, help me straighten up my life so this guy will notice me.”
“God let me win the lottery so I can donate lots of money to you.”
“God help me get the promotion. Help ME.”
What are you praying for? What are your motives? Is it for your pleasure?
2 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
What matters when you pray? Your relationship with God’s children matters. Your motives matter. #3...
WHAT MATTERS TO GOD WHEN YOU PRAY?
3. THE WAY YOU LIVE MATTERS.
I know this one has the potential to be confusing and possibly even contentious. The reason this truth gets muddy and confusing is because people tend to take it to one extreme or another. I’ve heard devoted Christ followers say things like, “God is punishing me for sinning yesterday. I shouldn’t have cussed.” And yet others say, “Do whatever you want, it’s forgiven. Once forgiven always forgiven. It’s Christ who makes us righteous.” Until a person truly experiences God’s love and forgiveness there is no way to put it into words in a way that people will understand that our reaction to God is more of a combination of the two thoughts. “Because Christ has made me righteous (or in a right standing relationship with God), I no longer want to sin.”
So when it comes to the way we live, I believe we could ask… Why would God give us His standard of living if it didn’t matter to Him? James wrote to Christ followers about the power of prayer and told them to hold each other accountable. Get some accountability partners who you can share your struggles with and who can pray for you...
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
The NIV translates this last part of the verse to say “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
This makes me think of a parable that Jesus taught the disciples. You can hardly say this parable is connected to prayer, but it does show how important the way we live is to God. Though I can’t speak for God on it’s connection to prayer, I can look at it through the lens of my own life. For example, if two of my friends asked for something of mine, I would be far more likely to give it to someone who would appreciate it, take care of it, and use it wisely than someone who would tear it up, store it in a closet, then sell it for 1/4 of it’s value on Facebook marketplace in 6 months.
The parable Jesus told the disciples has many names, but it is probably most well known as the parable of the talents. It’s in Matthew chapter 25, starting in verse 14. Essentially, a man gave money to 3 of his servants while he was on a trip. One invested it and made more money, the second put it to work and made more money, and the third buried it so it wouldn’t get lost. The man was mad at the third because how they used what was trusted to them mattered to him.
Then Jesus said that when he returns in His glory, everyone will be gathered in one place as he separates the people...
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
The way you lived mattered.
Proverbs 15:29 (NLT)
29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
Now, I hope I have been clear about this, but just to remove all doubt… I am not saying that if you try really really hard to be good that God is going to answer all of your prayers. I am also not saying that if you went out and blew it last week that God is going to totally ignore your prayers. What I AM saying is that, at some level, according to scripture the way you live appears to matter to God.
When you pray: 1. Your relationships matter to God; 2. Your motives matter to God; 3. The way you live matters to God; 4…
WHAT MATTERS TO GOD WHEN YOU PRAY?
4. YOUR FAITH MATTERS.
It’s interesting to me that Jesus encouraged the disciples to have child-like faith because for many people the older they get and the more they learn, the less they trust God. We become so educated that we know what God is NOT going to do so we tell Him what He CAN’T do, when the bible tells me that all things are still possible with HIM. Sometimes I will fail to even consider praying for something because I just automatically think that it’s not important to God.
James 1:6–7 (NIV)
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
My old pastor, Craig Groeschel once told a story of when his daughter got poison ivy and she told him, “Daddy, I prayed and God is going to heal me.” His thought, “Well, she is going to get her first lesson that God doesn’t always heal.” But she insisted, “No daddy, I prayed and I believe.”
The next day, while him and his wife were eating breakfast, his daughter came running into the kitchen completely naked and said, “TA-DA!!!” They looked and noticed that she didn’t have a single sign of poison ivy on her body. God had honored the faith of a little child. On some level, your faith matters to God.
I love the story of the Roman officer who sent respected Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come heal his servant. Before Jesus arrived the officer sent friends to tell Jesus not to come to his house because he wasn’t worthy of the honor of Jesus’ presence. He said, “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” Then he describes why he believes this. I love his explanation because it is simultaneously filled with logic and filled with faith. He continues…
8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
Then Jesus said that He had not seen faith like this in all of Israel and he healed the man’s servant. Our relationships matter, our motives matter, the way we live matters, our faith matters. So this must mean if I believe with everything in me it will be mine. If I haven’t recieved it I probably just need to push out a little more faith. Right? Maybe. I dunno. It’s possible that God is trying to stretch your faith. It’s also possible that HIS WILL MATTERS…
WHAT MATTERS TO GOD WHEN YOU PRAY?
5. GOD’S WILL MATTERS.
I have to be brutally honest for a minute here. A pet peeve of mine is this strong push in Christian culture to treat God like a wish factory or like He is a cheap genie. The “name it and claim it”, “blab it and grab it”, “see it and be it” mentality that reduces God to a candy machine that we walk up to, choose our prize, insert whatever is required and wait for our blessings to drop into our laps. My honest opinion is that I believe it is a disrespectful and entitled attitude for us to have when we approach the God of the universe. Who, by the way, has already done so much to show us His undying love and grace towards us. He did something for us that we could never achieve on our own.
“Yeah, but we just read a verse that said if we believe it will be given to us.” If this is something that confuses you, pay close attention to this next verse. Write it down and think about it more later as well. 1 John 5:14...
1 John 5:14–15 (ESV)
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
THIS is the confidence. THIS is where our faith comes from. How do we know what His will is? We talked about it last week… learn about Him. Spend more time with God. Learn the things that are important to Him. Study His word. Where do faith and belief that have no doubt when we pray come from? They come from our will lining up with God’s.
My friend who is moving out here from OKC prays and, like manna from heaven, his prayers are answered. He thinks about something and it is usually very quickly revealed to him whether or not it is God’s will. This weekend he told me that he was going to buy a juicer but they were very expensive so he decided to wait. Then he went to work and someone he works with just randomly started talking about needing to clean out his attic and then looked at him and said, “Hey, you wouldn’t need a juicer would you?”
He is going to be renting Allan and Lola’s house near us and he said that when they were out here before he liked walking around our house and praying. At the time we lived practically across the street from that house and he remembers looking at it and talking to God about how cool it would be to live there. Right next to us. He said, “The journey to that place ended up looking different than he ever thought it would, but now they are moving into that house.” The juicer took a day for God to respond. The house took years. But they had patience, not wanting to rush into anything. They never just planned to move into that house or nothing, it just worked out that way. And now they will be pretty much right across the street.
Even Jesus was no stranger to this struggle. When He was about to be betrayed and crucified He prayed to God and said this...
Luke 22:42–43 (NLT)
42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.
It is tough when our will pulls us one way and God’s will pulls us another. But the angel gave Jesus strength and God will give us the strength we nee as well. What matters to God when we pray? Our relationships matter, our motives matter, the way we live matters, our faith matters, God’s will matters. So what matters the most?
YOU MUST HAVE AN HONEST RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH CHRIST.
This could be the topic of a whole other study. But I’ll wrap it up short and sweet with verses from a Psalm.
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. 17 For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. 18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. 20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
If you want God to pay attention to your prayers, you need to know Him. Through Jesus Christ, He made a way for each one of us to have an unbreakable connection to Him. An open line of communication to Him. A way for us to experience His unending love, grace and forgiveness. Do you know Him? I used to worry that I would offend my fellow Christ followers by asking if you know Christ, but the more I thought about it I realized… If it offends you when I ask this question, maybe you are the reason I was supposed to ask. I don’t want you to be offended, but I would rather that than to have never asked. Because it is the single most important relationship you will ever have.