Does God answer our prayers?
When I was seven years old I would walk to school on my own. The walks were boring and uneventful. One day I had an exciting idea. In order to pass the time I would pretend to be the genie from Aladdin. At the time Aladdin was my favourite show. I just loved how the genie had so many magical powers and he was able grant wishes instantly. All Aladdin had to do was rub a shiny golden lantern and out of it came the blue genie offering to grant any wish.
I walked to school pretending I had amazing powers. I saved people from distress, convinced people to do my bidding, and turned animals into toys.
Giving Up
Can it be that sometimes we treat God as the genie from Aladdin? A mystical entity that grants our wish whenever we call on him.
Photo by Milada Vegerova from unsplash.com
When I started high school I decided to give up on prayer. Despite me praying every day, my parents still divorced, I didn’t have a girlfriend, and my chemistry marks didn’t improve. I so wished God would just grant my prayers.
Granting vs Answering
Let me be clear. God is not a genie who is at our service as long as we say “the right words” or do “the right acts.” God doesn’t grant our prayer, but he answers them.
Granting
If God granted our prayers that would make him just like the genie from Aladdin. God would be under our control. Here are two problem with this idea.
- The God of the Bible is the creator of the entire universe. Everything that is “visible and invisible” (see Nicene Creed), including us. God is the one who created us for his purpose. It is not us who created God to serve our desires.
- God didn’t created us to be in a master and slave relationship with us. He created us to be in an intimate relationship with him. To guide us like a loving father who guides his children to achieve their full potential. Christianity’s most famous prayer does not read “Our Master, Who art in Heaven….”. Instead Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father, Who art in Heaven…”. “Father” implies a loving relationship.
Answering
Has God ever granted any of my prayers? Nope. But he has answered all of them. When I was seven years old I wanted a Nintendo 64 so bad. I continually asked my parents for one. They always answered “no.” My parents patiently explained to me why they don’t think I’m ready for one. I didn’t get their reasoning, I was frustrated. My parents listened and even answered, but they didn’t grant. I should have patiently listened and tried to understand my parents’ reasoning.
You see, getting an answer doesn’t mean getting the answer we want or expect to hear. Like a loving father, God answers our prayers, but we rarely get the answer we want to hear. Why is that? A father wants what is best for his children. A father neither imposes his will on his children nor does he simply give them what they want. He guides them. If the children listen, they gain insight into their circumstance. If they don’t listen, they get more frustrated.
A Challenge: Intentional Praying
If you are one of the many people who think that God is not answering your prayers try the following: Before you fall asleep, close your eyes, clear your mind, and listen. Where do you think God could have been present in your day? Who has God sent into your life to challenge you to become a better person?
In my experience, prayer is more about listening than speaking. Listening in prayer is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. You will get better at it over time. But if you want to get better at prayer you need to be intentional and consistent.
Questions: 1) Have you ever tried praying? What happened? 2) What steps can you take to improve your prayer life?
