Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would say that any seeming "resistance" (from our perspective) on the part of God to answering the prayers of the redeemed would be attributable to His omnisicence (in comparison to our limited knowledge of any situation).

That omniscience allows Him to lovingly know which things that we ask for (even though we might be asking in true sincerity) would actually work to our detriment -- either from a temporal view, or from the eternal perspective of our relationship with Him (which is far more important than any aspect of this present world or age).

Even in cases where God intends to grant our requests, He also knows the perfect timing for that action, which may not exactly coincide with our ideas. In that sense, His answer is not "No", but "Not yet", and the wise course of action is to wait on Him.

February 09 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Grant Abbott Supporter Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

Do we ever pray with "brash persistence", "impudence" (ESV), "shameless audacity" (NIV), "persistence and boldness" (AMP), "shamelessness" (NASB), "persistence"? (NKJV) Why not?

After these quoted verses Jesus goes on to challenge us.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!.” (Luke 11:9-13)

So, Jesus is saying, when we need something in life, all we have to do is ask God and he will give us the Holy Spirit. Why would he give us the Holy Spirit instead of giving us what we ask for? Because when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we know the will of God. We know what we truly NEED in life (not what we may want or desire from the attractions of this world) and we ask God to supply that need; He will do it, that is Jesus’ promise.

The Holy Spirit knows what we need to fulfil God's plan and purpose for our life. When we ask for that, we have what we ask for. But when we ask for what will fulfil our plan and purpose for our life, we are saying "I want MY WILL to be done, not your will, God". With these requests God will always say No. 

Why will God not accept our will to be done? Because He is our creator and he designed our beings to accomplish his plan and purpose. He knows for each human being, exactly what we need to experience the most abundantly fulfiling and deeply satisfying life possible. Honestly, we don't have a clue how to find this kind of life on our own. 

So Jesus says, all we have to do is discover God's will, then we will have what we ask for. To discover God's will, only one thing is required: "PERSISTENCE" - brash persistence, shameless audacity, shamelessness, impudence, persistence and boldness. When we pray like this God is pleased to fill us with his Holy Spirit, then we will exactly know the will of God, so we will always receive what we ask for.

Jesus gave us a beautiful example of this persistence in prayer.

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)

Will Jesus find any of us "praying for the will of God" when He returns?

February 10 2021 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jewelleah Kempers Supporter

God our Father not only gives us the desires of our hearts, he GIVES US THE DESIRE to begin with. So chances are if you have a strong desire, if it is a righteous want, He placed that desire within you to begin with, so you could do good works and follow his plan for your life. Trust Him, ask and EXPECT AN ANSWER, know that He is with you, hears you, loves you. Don’t be deceived by a seemingly absent answer, persist in bold assurance that He is sending the solution and it will be yours!

April 09 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

"Phillips Brooks said that prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness. Persistence in prayer is not an attempt to change God’s mind ('thy will be done') but to get ourselves to the place where He can trust us with the answer." --Wiersbe

God just wants us to mean business when we pray. If you were a father, wouldn't you want your kids to remind you of their most desirable requests? I would. (to a point). Then I'd be happy to give them what they need. 

This parable actually teaches by way of contrast. God is not like the reluctant sleeper in this parable. In the first place, God neither slumbers nor sleeps! He is more than willing to give us what we need! We just need to tap into that willingness.

November 10 2022 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report