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Have you ever wondered why some prayers are seemingly not answered?
Have you heard people say that, "Maybe God is using this trial to
teach me a lesson"? Or, "Maybe God gave this sickness to teach humility".
And, "Perhaps it's God's Sovereign Will not to heal in this case -
He moves in mysterious ways"!
What all these and similar statements have in common is the idea that the
people have done everything right, with abundant faith, no unbelief and
perfect fervent prayer. Therefore the only reason left for failure is that God
has put a block on things for some reason known to him and which we may
discover in due time!
Now they wouldn't say this in so many words of course but analyse those reasons
in the first paragraph yourself. At whose door does failure lie?
Interestingly these are all situations where people are expecting to 'see'
the miracle before they will believe, but faith says believe the result before
you see it!
Luk 17:14 When he (Jesus) saw them (ten lepers) he said to them, "Go and
show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed.
To go and show yourself to the priests you'd have to be cleansed of leprosy.
But these lepers acted on what Jesus said in faith and it wasn't until they
were on their way to see the priests that they were cleansed visibly! They
believed before they were healed!
Now let's consider together some scenarios which may suggest to you that
there could be other reasons which we should explore, if the situation
of unanswered prayer arises, before saying, "Well it's all down to God, we've
done our part!".
Now I'am not suggesting that by getting these things right we force God to
heal someone or by our prayers do something else! Everything God does for us
is according to His grace. But, He wants our lives and actions to be in harmony
with His will for our life! And as we draw near to Him (Father, Son and Holy
Spirit) our requests are manifest; things which God has already
provided, in the spirit!
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
I believe the reality is that God wants us to know how to get the answers
to our prayer's manifested into the physical realm sooner rather than later!
Before we get into these scenerios though I should perhaps state my agenda.
I believe that "God is Good", that "He has plans to do us good" and that He
has provided us with "every good gift" and "every spiritual blessing" that
we might need in this life. HE's the one who's done his part! So because
of this I believe we should look to see all that we need to do to receive
the "YES" that God has already given us to prayers that are according to
his will. So let's look at a few together.
Now please realise; These are not to be thought of as reasons to be down on
ourselves, or to feel guilt, or feel condemned, but rather things we can
learn to get better results in the future.
Reason 1. We have to do it; Not ask God to do it.
Let's look at Mark 11:22-24 and see how Christ explained that WE should
command a miracle to happen.
Mar 11:22-24 Jesus said to them, "Have faith in God!
I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go,
throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes
that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours.
Here Jesus told his disciples how they personally could access the
miracle working power of God as they advanced the kingdom. The original
greek text in verse 22 actually says "Have the faith of God", not
"Have faith in God". We are to have God's kind of faith which, "speaks
and it is acomplished!" Now with God's kind of faith in us (we have the
Holy Spirit in us) verses 23-24 make perfect sense. WE say to the mountain
(representing whatever trial we may be facing), "Get out of here, and don't
come back! In Jesus' name."
This was Paul's mistake when he was being persecuted by that 'thorn in his
flesh'. He pleaded for God to take it away three time, until God had to
point out to him that he had God's grace/power sufficient to do it himself!
We don't ask God to say. We say!
Reason 2. We must not doubt.
This is brought out by Jesus in verse 23 above. We must not doubt in our
hearts that it will happen. This is not the same as having faith. We can
have faith and doubt, belief and unbelief, at the same time. Notice this
earlier incident in Mark 9:22-24
Mar 9:22-24 The spirit has often thrown him into fire and into water to
destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and
help us!" Jesus said to him, "'If you are able?' Everything is possible
for the person who believes!" With tears flowing, the child's father at
once cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief!"
The father had belief and unbelief at the same time. You can believe God
can do what you require but doubt that he actually will in your case. So
you say "If you are able to help, have pity on me!" That is not how
Jesus says we are to pray. When we are praying for healing or for favour
based on God's promises we MUST NOT say "If God wills". God wants us
well! God's promises are "YES" in Christ Jesus! Anything else is doubt. We
must so know what God is REALLY like that we do not doubt him or his word.
Let's be motivated to express the faith we have from Jesus Christ, and not
doubt.
Reason 3. We must believe we already have the request.
Before moving on to another scripture we can bring out something else Jesus
said here in the book of Mark, Chapter 11, verse 24.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours.
Notice that Jesus himself says that we must believe we already have what
we ask for, and then we will get it. It's already ours, but we have to manifest
it in the physical world through our faith, like the ten lepers did in
the book of Luke, Chapter 17, verse 14. You have to believe you have it
before you can see it. Let's express that same kind of faith as those
lepers, or even, like the Apostles Peter and Paul.
Reason 3A. Faith without works is dead.
Following on from having the faith which believes that what has been asked
for has been given, we have to act upon that belief. I thought it worth-while
bringing out this point separately so it isn't missed. The lepers not
only believed Jesus, they put forth the works which were needed to accompany
the faith. They started out to show themselves to the priests before they
saw the healing in their bodies.
Reason 4. We must not fear what's before us.
Fear brings doubt into our minds that what we want will come to us, and doubt
is the enemy of faith.
One possibility why the disciples could not cast out the demon in the child
brought to them in Mark, Chapter 9, could be because the demon was causing the
boy to be dashed to the ground and convulsed. Seeing this could have made them
fearful. If you've ever seen some of the reactions of people near to someone
who suddenly has an epileptic attack then you will understand this. And if
there's a demon involved as well! The disciples had successes before but this
situation was not like the others and they had doubts and unbelief regarding
sending this demon out.
We have to remember always that God loves us beyond measure. Holding on to
that love, that perfect love, will cast out our fears. Satan and His demons
have been defeated!
Colossians 2:15 And when he had disarmed the rulers and the authorities,
he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.
Reason 4A. We must not be Anxious.
A similar thought is that we must not be anxious or worry about what befalls us
so that our prayers will not be hindered. Paul tells us in his letter to the
Phiippians...
Phi 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known to God.
Therefore we find that we must have peace in our hearts as we pray so that anxiety
does not negate our faith.
Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Reason 5. We must be close to God.
To be able to have the faith and lack of unbelief that's required to drive
out demons like the one in Mark, Chapter 9, Jesus said that we must be
focussed on God through fasting and prayer. Then, when we are in this
situation, our minds will be stayed on God rather that fearful of the antics
brought about by the demon, or the negativity of people around, or of
failure, etc.
Mar 9:28-29 And after He entered into a house, His disciples asked Him
privately, "Why were we not able to cast it out?" So He said to them,
"This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
Prayer and fasting doesn't help God to defeat the demon. Satan and all
demons have already been defeated by Jesus. Jesus has ALL authority in
Heaven and the Earth (Mat 28:18). Fasting & prayer bring you closer
to God and his love. Then the faith YOU are able to exhibit is raised
and the doubt and unbelief is reduced as you get to know and live more
fully in God.
Reason 6. We must not have unbelief in hangers-on!
The unbelief of people in the neighbourhood where a sign or wonder is
required affects the result for the worse. Jesus could not do many wonders
in his home area because of their unbelief. When he was healing a blind
man in Bethsaida he took him well away from anyone before commanding
his healing.
Mar 8:22-26 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to
Him, and begged Him to touch him. And having taken the hand of
the blind man, He led him outside the village, and having spit on his
eyes, and having laid His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
(V.24) And when he looked up he said, "I see men like trees, walking."
Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him to look up.
And he was restored and saw everyone clearly again.
Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the
village, nor tell anyone in the village."
Not only did He remove the man from his 'friends' before healing him
but he told him to keep away from them for a while afterwards also!
We should ask the Holy Spirit what hindrances there might be to
someone receiving and keeping a miracle or healing or whatever and how
to overcome them. Bring an atmosphere of healing and faith around the
person for whom you are praying.
Reason 7. We must reduce doubt in the recipient.
There are three areas where faith is required for signs and wonders
to take place. The person commanding the 'miracle'; the person receiving
the 'miracle' and the people hanging around looking to see a 'miracle'.
If we continue to study Mark, Chapter 8, verses 22-26, we'll
see that the man did not get full healing straight away. Because he
was influenced by his neighbours his faith allowed for only a partial
result. But Jesus could use this to build his faith as the man could
see progress and thus have less doubt. Then with a second laying on of
hands the man was fully healed. Jesus' faith was the same throughout
but he allowed the Holy Spirit to guide him in how to remove the doubt
of the blind man.
We must do the same thing by asking Holy Spirit what hindrances there
might be and how to overcome them - Then build up the faith the person
can express, by removing their doubt.
Reason 8. We must not get in the way!
Looking once more at the recipient we can study another incident where
Jesus healed a blind man. This is in Luke Chapter 18, verses 41-2.
Luk 18:35-42 Now it came to pass, as He was coming near Jericho, that a
certain blind man sat alongside the road begging. And hearing a crowd
traveling through the city, he asked what this was. And they reported
to him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. And he shouted, saying,
"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
As in the case of the woman with the issue of blood this man's faith was
enough on it's own to make him well, so Jesus said 'Your' faith has made you
well. There were no hindrances within the man. He just needed access to
Jesus and he could receive his healing from Jesus through his own faith.
If he had let those around him stop him from getting Jesus' attention he
might have missed the opportunity to be healed at that time. Maybe in some
cases we just have to show people how to access God's grace and get out of
their way!
Reason 9. We must work with their expectations.
In this same area of asking the Holy Spirit what hindrances there might be
to healing or some other miracle, we should consider the expectations of
the recipient which could be a factor in the faith they exhibit.
In the examples that we've already studied above one blind man needed
a salve/ointment to be put on his eye for healing to take place while another
needed nothing more than Jesus' word.
Some might conclude that the differences were because God works in mysterious
ways but could it be that the expectations of the people were different while
God remained the same? Did one person expect that the man of God would use
some special ointment and having been told of this by Holy Spirit, Jesus did
what would bring the man's faith level up to the point needful for healing?
If someone expects to be annointed with oil but the man of God only
lays on his hands, is it possible that the person's faith level might not
become enough (or his doubt level be too much) for healing to take place?
If a person expects that an annointed cloth would be used but only a
laying on of hands takes place, is it possible that the person's faith level
might not then become enough (or his doubt level be too much) for healing
to take place?
Now they can have been told that the annointed cloth or olive oil is
not of itself doing the healing and that it's God who heals but that does not
mean that they "see it", since why then are cloths sent out or olive oil
used! If they see that in the original text (Acts 19:11) regarding Paul,
the cloths were actually small items of clothing that had contacted the body
of Paul and had not otherwise been annointed, their faith in 'the cloth'
itself may actually be increased!
Act 19:11 And God wrought extra-ordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
so that even napkins or aprons were brought from his body and put
upon the sick, and the diseases left them, and the wicked spirits went out.
Holy Spirit of course has no concept of distance being a barrier or any
physical contact being necessary (See Mat 8:5-13 The healing of the
Centurion's servant). As reported in Acts 19:11-12, it seems more to be a
way they extended Paul's "Tallit/Hem of his garment/('wings' - Mal 4:2)"
to sick people at a distance than sending the annointing through olive oil
over a distance.
Now in most cases I'm sure these cloths, and oils, and salves have the
proper desired effect for all the proper reasons. My point is simply that
their existence or non-existence must change the dynamic of the situation
and therefore will affect the faith and unbelief of the people involved.
And maybe it would help to know their faith expectations through
the Holy Spirit's guidance when we pray for them? Then we can get closer
to having perfect results to prayer every time.
Reason 10. What you can put up with, you keep!
This is just an observation but I've seen that people will not ask for
healing for those things that they can easily put up with. For another
person that thing may be considered debilitating and they 'will' ask for
it to be healed. I've even heard of someone going to a minister for
healing and giving a long list of problems when asked. He then finished
his statement off by saying, "But, if you could just fix my neck the others
I can manage!" And so even when healing is asked for if the thinking is that
they can live with some of it, the heart/faith may not be totally in step
with the request.
1 Pet 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we,
having died to sins, might live for righteousness—
by whose stripes you
were healed.
The healing has been provided. It's on the shelf but if it's not picked up
it will stay there!
Reason 11. You must discern the body of Jesus.
Paul tells us in 1 Cor 11:29-30 that by not discerning the body of the
Lord some people were weak and sick and some had died. Not recognising
that Jesus' body was beaten with stripes so that they were healed, some
missed the importance of the beating and torture that Jesus voluntarily
suffered for us and what the bread of communion represented.
1 Cor 11:29-30 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread
and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing
(separating, discriminating) the body of the Lord, eats and drinks judgment
on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of
you have fallen asleep.
Jesus' blood was shed for our sins but his body was beaten for our
healing. We are to recognise, discriminate, discern, separate the
functions/effects of the two things.
Rom 5:9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood,
much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
The blood of Jesus justifies us. We are set right with God through
the blood. But...
1Pet 2:24 (Jesus) who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree,
that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose
stripes you were healed.
1Co 11:23-24 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread;
And giving thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body,
which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me."
Therefore we should not underestimate the value of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us,
to bring us forgiveness, redemption, deliverance, healing, wellness,
wholeness and peace (shalom). Rather, we must have faith in that sacrifice. As Isaiah
himself prophesied, "With his stripes we are healed". So for our self healing, when we
take communion we should recognise that the bread represents the body of Jesus which was
beaten with stripes to procure our healing.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with
his stripes we are healed.
Reason 12. Do not doubt Holy Spirit's desire to help.
There is no time or era when the Holy Spirit is off duty for healing or
otherwise helping the sons and daughters of men who keep faith in God.
Mat 15:21-28 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district
of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out
and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is
severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word.
Perseverence, in line with, and standing on, the promises of God, opens the way
for Holy Spirit to do signs and wonders and miracles through believers.
The gospel has been fully opened up to the Gentile as well as to the Jew. And
God is good to keep His promises to those who keep faith in Him! God is good
all the time! So be a 'Daniel', don't give up!
Reason 13. The person you're praying for may not want
what you think!
We all have people ask us to pray for a third person. Someone we may not
know very well or otherwise we have not been able to speak to personally.
In any case we will all pray for the reported needs of others. This is good.
We have to remember though that we don't have all the details and don't
know what is in the mind of the person for whom we are praying. For instance,
what if it's to do with healing but the person being prayed for is thinking
that they'd rather die than carry on? Maybe because of age, or length of
illness, or pain, or whatever.
Now if our prayers and the person we are praying for are at cross
purposes, someone is not going to have what they pray for. Should God
overide their mind so we'll feel good, or let them go to be with him!
I'm assuming here that you believe, 'to be absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord'.
They may change their minds and then get healed but immediate healing may
well not manifest if there is not agreement.
Reason 14. Others may be involved in your
receiving what you pray for.
We don't always think of this but what we ask for may be dependent on
other human beings for us to receive it, so God has to get the whole
chain to align with his will, which is for your good.
What if you have asked for promotion and God of course wants you to have
it because he's put the desire in your heart. But, the position he wants
you to fill has an incumbent whom God has to re-position. Satan
therefore has an access point to block what God wants for you if he can
hinder their move.
So if you ask God for promotion, do you pray for the person above you,
that they will find a better post to move into, or is it all about you?
God may be waiting for you to 'do unto others as you would have others do
unto you'. It's maybe not God who's blocking things - it could be you!
You haven't prayed for Satan's roadblock ahead of your boss to be moved.
Where your requests to God have a dependence on other people for their
manifestation, Satan could hinder your prayers by moving against them.
Bear that in mind as you make your requests known to God. Think about it.
Pray for the other person!
Reason 15. What you believe erroneously that God gave
you, you keep!
Some people have been convinced that the sickness or disease that they have,
has been given to them by God to teach them a lesson. This is most usually
taken to be humility because it's allegedly what happened to the Apostle
Paul, and God is supposedly having to deal with their problem of developing
pride because of their greatness, in the same way.
As it happens Paul was not given a disease by God because he might
otherwise have developed pride. The scriptures tell us that it's Satan
(the devil) who brings disease and God (in the form of Jesus) who removed
these diseases from people. See Article
Paul's Thorn for a
full explanation.
Act 10:38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
with power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
But those who believe 'they' have their disease because of God, won't fight
against this attack by satan and won't exhibit the faith to remove it.
There is though a simple way to understand the difference between the things
God does and the things Satan does and thus know what is from God and what
to have faith to fight against because it's from Satan.
God - Good! Satan - Bad!
As with us, God had given Paul the authority to speak against his problems and
remove them, but he did not realise it at the start and God had to let him know
what we learn for ourselves from Mark 11:22-24. WE have to say to the mountain,
"be removed and cast into the sea!" We are not to ask God to remove the mountain!
In other words,....
Reason 16. Do not harbour Envy, Bitterness and Unforgiveness.
Any time we hold on to slights or damage, done to us by others and
allow bitterness to build up as we do not forgive, we allow sickness
and weakness to have access to our bodies and make an
inroad into our lives for Satan to attack us.
Prov 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but
envy rots the bones.
2 Cor 2:10-11, But anyone whom you forgive anything,
I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have
forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence
of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan,
for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
Envy itself can bring physical problems and unforgiveness leaves us
open to Satan's attacks, so we must check ourselves that we do not
cause our own physical trials and then following on over time create
wrong spiritual strongholds to build up in our minds which will have
to be torn down before we can be healed.
Forgive as you have already been forgiven by God [Col 3:13].
Reason 17. Wrong Motives .
When we ask God to grant our requests we must realise that God is not
in the business of gratifying or satisfying our lusts. Our motives must
be in accordance with His will; and we can find out what His will is
by reading His word.
Jas 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
that you may spend it in gratifying your lusts.
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the other
stuff you need will be added unto you. This does not mean minimalist
since you are heir to the blessings of Abraham, but it does
mean that you should be asking to enhance God's glory not your own lusts.
In fact God has already supplied all things that we need in the spirit;
in the heavenlies. What we do with our faith is appropriate what God
has already provided 2000 years ago. And, since He has not supplied us
with things just to massage your lusts, praying for these will have no
effect. They're simply not there to be picked up, it's not that God said
NO to these selfish prayers. He wasn't even involved!
Reason 18. Hardness of Heart.
This reason is put at the end so hopefully it will be remembered. It's
the one reason that may be most misunderstood because it's meaning is
perhaps conter-intuitive!
You see 'hardness of heart' is not rebellion against God as one might
at first think. Hardness of heart, put simply, is relating more easily
to the natural world that to God's supernatural world.
Mar 6:49-52 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost,
and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them
and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them,
and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from
the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.
Here we find that the disciples of Jesus, not rebellious people, even
after having seen and taken part in the multiplying of the loaves and
fishes, were more inclined to believe in the physical than in the
supernatural power of God, and Holy Spirit calls this 'hardness of heart'.
This attitude will have the effect that we will not expect supernatural
help every time we pray. It's the attitude that responds to God's promises and His
supernatural actions with , "That's too good to be true!" or "I can't believe that!".
That 'hardness of heart' reduces the faith we exhibit.
* * * *
These are some of the reasons why healing or another blessing may
not come immediately and which are nothing to do with "God's Sovereign Will",
which is a red herring. Pray for God to show you where the REAL roadblock is
located! God loves us. God's will is to carry out great plans through
us; to do us good and not evil; and give us a great future. God wants you
to prosper and be in health!
When we ask and do not receive, we need to examine ourselves and question why
our prayers are being hindered. Are we asking selfishly? Have we turned away
from God, harbored unforgiveness in our hearts or ignored sin in our lives?
Or have we allowed dishonour to come into our family life? Were we walking in
doubt or unbelief? These and other questions based on the thoughts above can
lead us back to believing the Word of God and acting on it according to God's
will for our lives.
Now as I said earlier, we learn these things from God's word, not to force God's
arm to act, but to get our lives aligned with His will for us and our actions
in line with what Jesus wants to do through us!
Remember; God - Good! Satan - Bad!
And not just that; God is Good all the time!
Attlee.
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