GOD'S MYSTERIOUS DELAYS IN PRAYER


A. "HE WOULD NOT FOR A WHILE" - LUKE 18:1-5
  1. Jesus Christ, the great Master Teacher uses the parable of "the unjust judge" not only to encourage prayer, but to indicate, also, God's delays to answer our prayers:
    1. There are times when God's people agonize in prayer - but no answer
    2. We recall the complaints of some of the brethern having besought the Lord for an answer to their petition, but no answer came
  2. Our Saviour's attitude:
    1. To the plea for help by an anguished mother for help for her daughter - "but He answered not a word" - Matt. 15:22-23
    2. Blind Bartimaeus cried, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me" - Mark 10:47; but for the time being, his cry was met with silence
    3. The prophet Jeremiah complained, "Also when I cry and shout, He shuteth out my prayer" - Lam. 3:8
B. GOD'S MYSTERIOUS DELAYS
  1. We know from experience and the Bible teaches that God does hear the prayers of men:
    1. "Call on me and I will answer thee" - Jer. 33:3
    2. "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come" - Ps. 65:2
  2. Then why do some of our prayers seem to remain unanswered?
    1. The delay may be found in the nature of the petition; to illustrate, a mother prays for her unconverted son, but that son does not want God in his life; it takes time for the Spirit of God to change the heart of that son
    2. Circumstances may exist in the lives of the people which tend to delay the answer to our prayer
    3. There are times when God wants to teach us lessons to save our souls and for that reason he delays answering our requests
    4. Delays are not because God does not hear and answer prayers, but situations exist which delay his answer
C. A REASONABLE ATTITUDE WHEN GOD'S ANSWER TO OUR PETITIONS SEEM DELAYED
  1. Follow the counsel given in the Bible:
    1. "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait I say, on the Lord" - Ps. 27:14
    2. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" - Ps. 37:7
  2. A rich reward awaits those who patiently wait upon the Lord for an answer:
    1. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" - Is. 40:31
    2. "They shall not be ashamed that wait for me" - Is. 49:23
    3. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" - Lam. 3:26
  3. He who knows the end from the beginning will answer our petition when He sees that our petition will be to the glory of God and for our own good:
    1. A mother loves her child and will answer the pleas of the child when she sees that it is good for the child
    2. If God would always deal with us according to our petition some of us would not even live any more
    3. There may be things in our lives which God may never remove - as was the case of Paul he prayed that the Lord would remove the thorn out of his flesh, but the Lord told him to stop making that request
  4. The prayer-life is surrounded by mysteries which our finite minds shall never be able to fathom:
    1. He who knows what is best for us will do what is best for us
    2. I know of people who prayed for twenty years for certain things, but no answer came until one day - God gave them the happy expectations of their hearts
    3. So, dear child of God, do not faint when you have to wait for an answer to your prayer
    4. God will not leave a single prayer of His people unanswered


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