Does God answer ALL prayers?

Hi Jenni,

I believe God answers all the prayers of His children, in His way and His timing. Basically, God answers believers' prayers with 1) yes! 2) no! or 3) not right now--not on your timescale but on Mine!

One way of looking at it is this: You've asked God for guidance in a certain area of your life. In your heart, God knows what you are thinking is the right way. His answer may be, "I will bring people and circumstances into your life to change your heart little by little and lead you to the correct choice."

Rest assured. If your heart is surrendered to God, and Jesus is Lord of your life, keep praying about your situation and:

"Be still, and know that I am God . . ." (Psa 46:10a NIV)

 

God does not answer all prayers. Sometimes people pray for things they shouldn't. Some people will pray for things that range from winning the lottery to asking for blessings in an adulterous relationship. If you are backslidden, it muffles your prayer life until you get your heart right with God and ask for forgiveness of your sins God will not hear you.

Other times we ask for needs or wants that we think we need. God knows that some of the things we ask for will hinder our lives instead of help and he will let that prayer go unanswered. Believe me, God knows what we need better then we do.

If God is withholding an answer to a certain life situation, it could be for dozens of reasons. They can range from teaching you to have more patience to waiting for circumstances to work themselves out. Just keep praying and don't lose faith. God is faithful.

 

What do you call an answer? Sometimes no and no answer is an answer.

 

Bob,

My answer of "No!" concurs with your response. If a believer prays for the wrong thing, then of course God's answer will be "no."

On the lighter side, Janis Joplin probably got the Mercedes Benz she prayed for!

For those who don't have a clue what that's about . . . you're too young!

 

God does not answer all prayers. This yes, no, and later phenomena is pure nonsense.

John Rice in his book Prayer: Asking and Receiving says that an answer to prayer is the fulfillment of that request.

If you pray for a car, and you receive a car, that is the answer. If you do not receive the car, it would be plain silly to go to prayer meeting and say, "I am really blessed. God has answered my prayer--he said NO!" If your dear daughter is sick and you pray for healing, but she dies, no one in his right mind would consider it an answer to prayer (in the real sense).

If you do not receive an answer to your prayer:

1. Either keep on praying
2. Check if there is sin in your life

Either God answers or does not answer. Period.

 

God answers all prayers of his children.

He either says, yes, no, or wait

 

Robert,

How do you explain the book of Job based on your premise?

Poor Job was merely an object lesson. God's purpose was to prove a point with Satan about Job. Meanwhile, Job had to wait until God's timing for his prayers to be answered.

Responding to people's posts with "this is pure nonsense," and calling them occultic, etc. is unnecessarily inflamatory. Your points might be a little better received if you showed a little more Christlikeness.

[ July 30, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]

 

I think faith is a tough thing to have all of the time. You can't see it, touch it and still we believe. God answers all prayers! Sometimes the answer is not the one we want. Sometimes we don't want to listen. Remember, our Father knows what we are going through in our lives .. he knows what is coming up way before it even happens!Our faith is strengthened when we have difficult times. Sometimes we pray for very specific things .. things that are not the best for us and we get them. Hmmm ...

... his will be done! By the way, I will remember you in my prayers.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TurboMike:
God answers all prayers of his children.

He either says, yes, no, or wait<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is not exactly original, as you probably know. But just where does scripture say this?

 

"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. (Luke 11:9-10 NLT)

Of course other related scriptures speak to asking with a pure heart, which means you will ask for what is God's will.

[ July 30, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]

 

Dear wellsjs:

Calling something which is nonsense, nonsense makes sense. There are a lot of questionable "teachings" which have infected our baptist ranks: KJVOism to the extreme, soul sleep, etc... And by the way, I did not call those who believe in pretrib occultic; I just said that the pretrib teaching has an occultic history.

Now why do I call this yes, no, later thing nonsense? Because people believe in this yes, no, later nonsense because they have been told to believe in it. (The same applies to KJVOism and pretribulationism.) But where is the scriptural support???

Now here is the scriptural support that the yes, no, later teaching is nonsense:

Isaiah 1:15: "When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will NOT LISTEN."

In this case God did not say NO (as some would interpret incorrectly); He even refused to listen!

Now if you were to go to your local 7-11 and asked for a bag of potato chips, and the attending grocer just stood there, looked at you blankly in the face, said nothing--did he say no? He just refused to entertain your request.

And many times, when there is sin in the heart of the praying party, God refuses to listen. Please bear in mind that a refusal to listen is not a VALID answer to prayer--there was no answer because God did not listen in the first place.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wellsjs:
Robert,

Responding to people's posts with "this is pure nonsense," and calling them occultic, etc. is unnecessarily inflamatory. Your points might be a little better received if you showed a little more Christlikeness.

[ July 30, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Robert,

Your support is classic "out of context" exegesis!

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; (Isa 1:15 NIV)

A couple of verses before yours should bring focus to the context of the passage:

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. (Isa 1:13-14 NIV)

God is saying He will not listen to the prayers of unregenerate people! And I still stand my ground that God's response to humble, repentant prayer ofen is "not now." That's why He says, "Keep on asking, keep on knocking." God may want to affect a change in us before He answers our prayer. To add to what I said about Job: Yes, Job was used by God as an object lesson to Satan, but he was also an object lesson to future believers. We gain a lot today by studying what God allowed Job to go through.

[ July 31, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]

 

I always answer my children when they ask me a question. I suspect God does the same for his children. The answer to the prayer isn't what we are discussing here just the fact that he gives us the coutesy of hearing us out as I do my children.

 

Dear Wellsjs:

Do you mean the passage that I quoted does not apply to Christians who are:

1. backsliding?
2. living in sin?
3. habitually not praying?

God's address was to the Jews, his people, and not to the pagans! (Talk about exegisimusitis...) My point is God closes his ears to the prayers of even his children who live in sin.

Now let me share you two insights from two well-read Christians about this Yes, No, Later nonsense.

Lt me quote Dr. Charles Blanchard, former head of Wheaton College, and the author of Getting Things From God:

"An answer to prayer is a granting of the thing which a child asks of his Heavenly Father, according to the directions which his Father has clearly set down. If a saint prays for healing for himself or his child or his friend, and God answers his prayer, the sick person will be recovered. If a saint prays in scriptural fashion for relief from financial difficulties, he will be relieved. If he prays in scriptural fashion for victory over the powers of evil, he will obtain victory. An answer to prayer is a granting of the thing desired. Saying 'no' to a request is not an answer to prayer IN ANY REAL, SUBSTANTIAL MEANING OF THE EXPRESSION. When God answers prayer He says 'yes'."

He further adds, "To say that the answer may be 'yes' or 'no' and that the LATTER IS AS REALLY AN ANSWER TO THE FORMER, seems to me trifling with the sore hearts and the great needs of man.'"

Now I quote John Rice in his book Prayer: Asking and Receiving, "Suppose I should drive into a filling station to buy gasoline, and say, 'I want ten gallons of gas please. And check the oil.' I expect the affirmative answer, that is, I expect to get just what I ask for. How surprised would I be if the attendant should say, 'No, I am sorry, but I don't think you need any gas,' and would refuse to fill my empty tank. Or if he should say, AS SOME PREACHERS SAY GOD DOES, 'Wait awhile. When you have waited there until I think you deserve it, I'll get you some gas.' Or I should even be more surprised if, instead of gasoline, the attendant should fill up my tank with soapsuds, or alcohol, or mud! This YES or NO or WAIT AWHILE would not seem sensible, I say, to people in ANY OTHER MATTERS OF ASKING AND RECEIVING; AND YET THEY SPEAK IN THAT FOOLISH WAY ABOUT PRAYER!"

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wellsjs:
Robert,

Your support is classic "out of context" exegesis!

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; (Isa 1:15 NIV)

A couple of verses before yours should bring focus to the context of the passage:

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. (Isa 1:13-14 NIV)

God is saying He will not listen to the prayers of unregenerate people! And I still stand my ground that God's response to humble, repentant prayer ofen is "not now." That's why He says, "Keep on asking, keep on knocking." God may want to affect a change in us before He answers our prayer. To add to what I said about Job: Yes, Job was used by God as an object lesson to Satan, but he was also an object lesson to future believers. We gain a lot today by studying what God allowed Job to go through.

[ July 31, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Robert,

Your reference verse could apply to (and I agree does) backsliden saints, but in the context used, it does not.

No disrespect intended for your quoted sources, but I prefer to rely on what God says than what men say, as in:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. THREE TIMES I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you (No!), for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Cor 12:7-9 NIV)

Now if God saw fit to say NO to a spiritual giant like Paul, I can humbly accept Him saying no to me as well!

[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]

 

The following line was the end of a quote that RG shared:

"When God answers prayer He says 'yes'."

When you start telling God what he will do you better be careful. The person who said this quote (I forgot who RG said it was) probably is dodging lighting bolts as we speak.

 

Actually, concerning prayer, God is far more complicated than “yes, no, and later,” but He certainly exercises those options. Can we finite-minded mortals attain to the mind of God, as Briguy points out?

Did Paul have some unrepented sin in his life? Is that why God refused his request to remove the “thorn in the flesh?” There is no indication that was the case. If I ask God for something in prayer and do not get an immediate positive response, is it because of some sin in my life? Maybe, but maybe not. It could be because God knoweth all things, and some yet-to-happen future event will change my own mind about what I prayed and asked for. I know I have thanked God a time or two for not answering a prayer!

I have also prayed fervently for something for weeks and months. Eventually it dropped out of my prayer life, only to be answered by God months or years after I stopped asking.

Do you keep a list of answered prayers? Most of us (myself being the chief sinner) tend to soon forget answered prayers. If you can’t think of a “ton” of prayers God has answered, then you’re like me and should start and keep a list. I started my list over a year ago, and revisit it to praise and thank God for His grace and mercy!

[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]

 

Dear Wellsjs:

The fact that Paul's thorn is still there just proves that God did not answer (grant his request) Paul's prayer that it be removed.

Again John Rice, a baptist preacher said,
"This YES or NO or WAIT AWHILE would not seem sensible, I say, to people in ANY OTHER MATTERS OF ASKING AND RECEIVING; AND YET THEY SPEAK IN THAT FOOLISH WAY ABOUT PRAYER!"


<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wellsjs:
Robert,

Your reference verse could apply to (and I agree does) backsliden saints, but in the context used, it does not.

No disrespect intended for your quoted sources, but I prefer to rely on what God says than what men say, as in:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. THREE TIMES I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you (No!), for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Cor 12:7-9 NIV)

Now if God saw fit to say NO to a spiritual giant like Paul, I can humbly accept Him saying no to me as well!

[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: wellsjs ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Are we splitting hairs here? God bless!