Answers, that is a word we all think of and use often. When we ask a question, we want answers. When we don’t understand, we ask questions, and we want answers. Many times, I have asked questions and I have been totally ignored as if no one heard the question. Other times I have received answers, but the answer was not what I was looking for. Yesterday my devotion was about God hearing us. He promised us that if we are His child, and in right standing with Him, he will always hear. Today we will look at the response to that hearing. God says he will answer us.
Jerimiah 33:3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
We have the promise He will answer, but there are different answers. It’s not always yes. I see three different ways God can answer in scripture.
First, I see the answer in many cases as WAIT. In I Samuel 1:2 -27, we find Hannah a wife of Elkanah. God had shut up her womb and she had no children. She went to the temple year after year asking God for a child. Finally, God did bless her with a son that she gave back to God, just as she promised Him she would. Why God made her wait so long we don’t know, but He did. While waiting she continued to be persistent in her pleading for a child. The answer came, but she had to wait for a while. This chapter is a beautiful picture of waiting on God. Another place I see the answer coming after a wait is in John chapter 11. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus to come to heal their brother, but Jesus chose to wait. Because of His delay, Lazarus died. The sisters felt if Jesus had been there he would not have died. In this situation, Jesus proclaimed the reason for the wait was for God to be glorified.
John 11:4 “When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”
Another answer I see in scripture is NO! In II Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” that he suffered from. We don’t know what it was, but we do know it bothered him enough to ask God three times to remove the problem. The answer, God’s grace was enough for him to bear it. God always hears our prayers if we are right with Him but sometimes he says no.
II Corinthians 12:7-8 “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me
The last answer I see is YES! Sometimes God answers almost immediately. There is no need to wait. What we are asking for will bring Him glory and He encourages us by giving the green light on our request. In John 14:13-14, Jesus tells us that if we ask anything in His name He will do it. If it is according to His will.
John 14:13 – 14 “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
I 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:”
Our request must affirm the character of Jesus. If we ask for things that will prop up our pride or make life easier, because we want to avoid conflict, the answer will probably be no. If it glorifies God and promotes the character of His dear Son there is a good chance it will be Yes! Sometimes we may need to learn patience and dependence upon the Lord, then it may be to wait!
Even though we may not get the answer we want, we do get an answer!
