It was recently Q&A night at theMILL (For an audio of Q&A night at theMILL click here.). Over the course of 45 minutes I answer as many questions as I can on-the-fly taken from those in attendance. I encourage people to not shy away from questions as they can lead us to truth and faith. I only get through a small percentage of the stack of questions so for a while I have committed to answer a question a week on my blog. This is question #2.
THE BIBLE SAYS TO PRAY AS IF IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED OR BEEN ANSWERED, BUT THEN GOD DOES NOT FULFILL IT, DOES HE NOT CARE? OR DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO PRAY LIKE IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED?
The Bible doesn’t say that we are to pray as if our desired answer has already happened, though it does say that God knows what we need even before we ask (Matthew 6:7-8), that we are to pray with perseverance (Luke18:1-5), and that we are to ask in faith (Mark 11:20-24).
To expect God to fulfill our expectations or answer our requests in a certain way is a recipe for disillusionment. Ultimately, we are saying that we know best and God is part of helping fulfill our plans, dreams and desires. If we set specific expectations on God, and if he doesn’t come through in that specific way, we can experience disappointment and come to the conclusion that he doesn’t care or isn’t faithful.
The difference between our expectations and what God actually does, boils down to priorities. The priorities of our lives are often very different than and at odds with God’s. We frequently and naturally lean toward comfort, convenience, self-preservation and worldly views of success. God is most interested in complete surrender, our sanctification and His glory.
This means then that we should pray with an attitude of expectation of God doing what is best, not what we expect. That might sound something like this: “God, I want you to control what happens in my life. Right now I want [fill in request here], but if that doesn’t fit into Your best for my life, I really don’t want it. And I trust you. I trust that you are bigger than me, know better than me and love me with a love that I can’t wrap my head around. I trust that your thoughts are higher than my thoughts and your ways higher than my ways. I know that you are at work in me, so my ultimate prayer is – not my will but Your will be done.”
The reason we pray even when GOD knows what we need is that, faith comes by hearing and in order to hear something it must to be spoken.GOD is trying to teach us how to walk in faith. GOD works this way even from the start. Read Isaiah 55:10-11 GOD is waiting to hear an agreement in the earth from you and me.
Posted by: Darwin Ellis | February 10, 2011 at 08:24 PM
One thing that has been on my mind is this question, "Does God reciprocate?". I'm incline to say no. I pray everyday but rarely have I ever prayed like before just asking for a miracle from God. In the end though, I think I need to spit God out of my mouth like he did all the others. Harsh to say it and even do it because I would still feel like an idiot 'spitting out' God.
Posted by: Billy Bob | July 21, 2010 at 02:10 PM
Josh - I totally agree that it can be difficult to wait on God's timing and purposes when we want something our way so badly. God is ultimately less concerned with our circumstances and primarily concerned with the wholehearted surrender of our hearts.
Matthew - where we place our expectation is huge!
Posted by: Aaron Stern | May 07, 2010 at 02:40 PM
I know that for me, patience is something difficult for me to accept. I know that I will catch myself praying, "God please let this happen, and this and this... and then all will be perfect.." But I know I need a constant reminder of who is in control. That what He has in store for me is a much greater meaning and purpose than I'll ever know. I often find that what he has in store for me, that if I don't necessarily like it at that particular time, that it might not reveal it's true meaning/purpose right away. So much am I focused on me, me, me... rather than HIM. He has blessed me with more than I deserve and to lay my life down for him and to serve His plan is something I want to strive for everyday.
Posted by: Josh E. | May 01, 2010 at 01:40 AM
". . . we should pray with an attitude of expectation of God doing what is best, not what we expect." Amen. This is great insignt Aaron!
Posted by: Matthew | April 30, 2010 at 10:00 AM