How to get answers from God

Very well, we are making progress. We have seen three things that are necessary for obtaining answers to prayer — (a) that it should be in accordance with the will of God, (b) asked in the name of the Lord Jesus, and (c) asked in faith. This oriental scene teaches us something more. This man's request seemed unreasonable. It was a strange hour for a guest to come, and the friend thought it was too much trouble to provide food for him. In friendship's name he would do nothing, he gave because of his importunity. He thought, "If I don't give him what he wants he will knock all night." But it is not so with our Father, who ever delights to give. "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened." What an encouragement to us! and may we be as earnest as the man who would not take no for an answer. He kept knocking, knocking, knocking, pressing his friend until he was forced to give what he required. And so the Lord says, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." The form of words increases in intensity in these three clauses: —

If you come to look at the promises you will find that there is not one to unbelief. Doubt is no harmless kind of diffidence; it is actually sinful. Indeed I am afraid it often goes further than mere timidity — it is downright unbelief; and this will always hinder prayer. Have we not the words of James? "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." He must have no uncertain feeling about it. How solemn! How calculated to make us ask, "Have I really believed His promises and acted upon them?" If God, in His condescending grace, deigns to give us promises, surely it is not unreasonable to expect us to believe them. Should we not take it as an insult if our word were doubted? If God, the God of truth, pledges us His word, we should believe it to be unmixed truth. A single doubt intruding will mar the prayer. On the other hand the promises to faith are larger than you can conceive. "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Have you ever got to this? — that when you have prayed, you believe that your prayer is heard, and you can accordingly give thanks, awaiting the answer in God's good time.

In the gospel of Matthew another aspect of prayer is presented — "All things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matt. 21:22; see also Mark 11:24.) James too speaks of the necessity of faith in asking, and adds that a waverer must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Now faith can only spring from confidence in God about the thing sought, and this confidence in God will only follow upon the conviction that what is prayed for is according to God's will; and, it may be added, the assurance that we have the mind of God can only be produced by the Holy Spirit, and by the Holy Spirit, speaking generally, through the written Word. Once having this assurance, we await with the certainty of expectation the answer, according to that word of the apostle John: "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:14-15.) This passage is important as showing that faith finds its sure foundation in the knowledge of God's will — a will that is unfolded to us in the Scriptures.

The apostle John warns us of a common hindrance to prayer. He says, "Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John 3:21-22.) Self-judgment and confession, if there has been failure or sin, are therefore pre-requisites to effectual prayer, even as the psalmist says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." This will again link itself with the statement of James — "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." The righteous man being, we judge, one who is practically such; one who, in the language of John, "keeps God's commandments." For walking in obedience is not only the path of holiness, but it is also the source through the Holy Spirit of intelligence in God's mind, and thus of confidence in prayer. The very example of Elijah that James adduces is an illustration in point. In the history Elijah announces by a word of the Lord that there should be no rain upon the earth for "these years;" and again, after that period, that there should be rain. And now we learn from James that both the one and the other were answers to his prayers.

Peter is set free by the intervention of the angel, and Herod is struck by the judgment of God when he sets himself up against Him. Can we expect similar intervention now? I do not believe that miracles are performed to-day; angels no longer appear; it was not a gift that could continue. In Ephesians 4 no miraculous gifts are to be found. But I fully believe, according to the Lord's promise, that prayer is heard, and that the angels work in favour of the children of God as much now as in those early times. As to prayer, the word of God is clear. The condition is made, however, that what we ask be according to the will of God, and that prayer be made in faith; and we are told that, if the words of Christ abide in us, we shall ask what we will.

We want to look at a few particulars. There are certain conditions upon which God answers prayer. We often ask for things which are not expedient for us. If a wrong thing is urgently asked from God, and it is at last given, it always ends in sorrow. "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul" (Ps. 106:15). Our petitions must be in accordance with His will. His will is perfect, and when our prayers are in harmony with that will, in a line with it as it were, we know that we have our petitions. "Very well," you say, "how am I to ascertain what is the will of God? "There are various ways of finding out. Take the promises that God has given — "exceeding great and precious promises." I have never yet counted them, but it might be a profitable occupation for any who wish to do so. Anyhow, every promise that God has given us is a declaration of His will. He means that we should claim and have it. Therefore if you bring your request on the ground of a promise of God you have a sure foothold.

Even where we have no special promise God has given us broad promises, as in this passage, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you." You are all familiar with Paul's words to the Philippians, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." There is always some indication to be found, and where we know we are asking on the ground of a promise we may he certain our prayer will be answered, for all God's promises are sure and they are all confirmed in Christ Jesus. Even where He gives commands, does not the very fact of His giving them imply that He intends to give the help and strength needed to fulfil them? I do not, of course, refer here to the law, which we know to have been given for another purpose — "that the offence might abound." You can always turn a command into an indication of God's will. Then, too, we have the help of the Holy Spirit, as is seen in Rom. 8:26-27. When He prompts a petition it will come up acceptably before God. We know not what to pray for as we ought, but we have the Spirit to help our infirmities.

Thus, humbled in His presence, every false hope gone, the remnant search and try their ways, and the end of the Lord is reached. In brokenness of spirit they cry, "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. We have transgressed and have rebelled: Thou hast not pardoned. Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: Thou hast slain, Thou hast not pitied. Thou hast covered Thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through" (v.41-44). There is an important lesson here. It is useless to pray while persisting in sin. The man who does not seek to walk with God has no right to expect anything from Him. "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thy heart." "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (Ps.37: 4; John 15: 7). This is the key to answered prayer. Obedience gives confidence. It is impossible to ask in faith when clinging to something that is grieving the Holy Spirit and dishonouring the Lord Jesus Christ. If prayer is not answered, if the heavens seem as brass, it is a solemn indication of a wrong state of soul, and should lead to self-judgment and the forsaking of every evil way.

We will turn to the Scriptures and see. Look first at Psalm 66:18. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." If we would have our prayers answered we must be right with God in secret. Our private life must tally with our public profession. Sin concealed, like a serpent in the bosom, takes all vitality from prayer. A bad conscience is a certain barrier in the way of our petitions being granted. God will not pour His blessings into unclean vessels. So the first condition for prevailing prayer is a good conscience.

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” The knowledge of His faithfulness and the absolute truth of His Word of course inspire utter confidence in Him; so that prayer — the very breath of the new life — is the expression of confiding dependence: the soul draws upon the pure love of the Father’s heart, not with fleshly effort to persuade God to our point of view, but with honest confidence that His will is far better than the best our own wisdom might devise. How precious is such a calm, tranquil, living persuasion that we are perfectly cared for by an active love that works ceaselessly for our greatest good, however to the contrary outward appearances may seem when judged on the basis of present advantage. And before any answer appears for the observation of our natural senses, we may yet be absolutely certain we have the petitions we ask if we have asked according to His will. For faith certainly knows that the will of God will triumph; and if our requests are not according to His will, then certainly in the final analysis we should not want them fulfilled anyway. If in anything we are disappointed as to an answer, this is necessary training, to lead us to judge that which is mere personal desire rather than the will of God, and to give fuller, purer joy in “that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” How important then to have a proper, well balanced view of prayer; and to pray “in the Spirit,” with wholehearted desire to know and prove in experience the sweetness of the will of God. Simplicity of faith, honest unquestioning confidence in His unfailing love, must always be present if we are to pray in the Spirit. In this there are no unseemly demands, no fleshly haste or impatience, but the very real “peace of God” keeping the heart and mind.

Moreover, God at no time intended that things should be left, as it were, absolutely in man's hands, even though it were the hand of faith, as the doctrines taught suppose. The prayer of faith may be that which saves the sick, and yet, after all, that be far from meaning that we can find in every case a faith which should do so. God has His own will and His own way; and while we can always reckon upon Him to answer the soul that looks to Him, yet the way of His answer we do not always know. The apostle prays that the thorn in the flesh might depart from him, but it did not depart. God turned it to greater blessing. That was an answer to the prayer, but it was not such an answer as men usually count as that. Could any one suppose that among Christians, if everything were absolutely right, the sick would always be raised up, that death would hardly obtain at all, except in the extremest old age? We may imagine any such fancies, but fancies they are, and nothing else. Yet it is plain there is an appeal to God advocated here which we are always right in making, and from which we may always expect an answer in the goodness of Him whom we address. More than this, the Lord may give distinct light as to His mind that will enable one, as to anything, to ask with assurance, without the possibility of denial. If we are near enough to God for this, we have cause indeed to be thankful; but we had better be humble about it, and be very sure that we have it before we claim it.

Then He speaks of man going to a friend at midnight and asking for three loaves. "And he from within;" these are pregnant words! Are you "within"? It is a dangerous condition in this world. What I mean by that is, losing your sympathies with the joys and sorrows around you. So the Lord shows out God's grace, on the dark ground of that man's selfishness. You have not to "ask" and "seek" and "knock"; that is importunity. But "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." See the divine readiness in answer to human necessities. Never say importunity is needed to move God. At your leisure read Daniel 10. For "three full weeks" Daniel was chastening his heart before God, and no answer was given. At the end of that time the answer came; and how? The angel told him that as soon as ever he began to pray, he was heard; but a certain transaction that was going on in heaven, hindered the answer. He went on in importunity for three weeks, but as soon as ever he had prayed, he was heard. So you may have been praying for a long time, and getting no answer, but be sure the interval has been well employed; if not in heaven, in the chastening of your spirit. This beautifully illustrates what we get here. There is no reluctancy in God; not that selfishness to be overcome that there was in the man at midnight; but there may be reasons to delay the answer, and when it does come, it may be in a way you are little prepared for. Paul prayed three times, and the thorn was not taken away; but the answer came at last, and in a way he had not expected. The thorn was left until the day of his death, but he was given grace by which he could triumph in it.