Answers to Prayer
October 10, 1999
Dear Friends:
Within the past year, I had a problem for which I needed a resolution. I recall the terrible frustration I felt that God was not giving me an answer. I remember telling my wife on several occasions how I would gladly do God’s will as it related to the situation if He would just tell me what His will was!
Wouldn’t it be great if God spoke to us in the literal way God spoke to Abraham or Samuel? Whenever we had a dilemma in our life, God would answer our question or give us guidance. We could go on with confidence in the solution to our problem.
Unfortunately, God’s communication is not so direct anymore. We must rely on His Word as provided to us in the Bible or we must look for circumstances in our life that give us an idea of His divine will.
As far as the former is concerned, the Bible has answers for most of situations. They may be buried in accounts seemingly unrelated to our circumstances, but they are there. This is one of many reasons why being a Bible student is so important. Through the scriptures, we are “thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Not every answer, however, is in the Bible. There are many amoral situations where we will not find a Bible passage to give us a definitive answer as to the will of God. For example, we might be wondering whether to make go to this school or that or move from an apartment into a house. Certainly the Bible can give us advice on our motives for such changes, but not the amoral situation itself. For answers to these questions, we need to look elsewhere.
The obvious first step in this process is to take the question at hand to God in prayer. We are told time and again that God hears prayer. Many people are willing to pray, but far fewer are willing to listen for the answer. The real question is whether or not we hear or wait for the answer.
Regarding this situation I had, the answer took from six month to a year to come. I had prayed everyday for an answer. It was not easy to wait. It was tempting to look for answers that were not there but satisfied my fleshly desires.
Finally, when the answer came, it was loud and clear. There was no hesitation on my part as I felt God had indicated to me what I was to do. It was comforting to me to make such an important decision with belief that it was in keeping with God’s will.
There are many examples in Scripture of people waiting for God’s answer to prayer (Hannah praying for a child) and those not waiting (Saul’s offering at Gilgal). There are many examples of God creating unmistakable circumstances in people’s lives that lead them to God’s will. If this were not true, what would this verse mean? “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13b) God has to be at work in the details of our lives to “make a way of escape.”
In the final analysis, we must look for God’s answers to our prayers in our lives. We must patiently wait for His response. Although it might give us instant gratification for God to tell us as a man speak to a friend what He wants us to do, it would not give us the same valuable lessons in prayer, patience and watching.
Have a great week!
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