If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).
We ask God and expect to receive. It is God who we are talking to here! There are no impossible prayers since He does the impossible. He especially delights in answering prayers for salvation and spiritual strength in others. But what about those prayers of yours and mine that God hears and yet go unanswered?
I have a prayer known as my greatest prayer, and it includes, among other things, the salvation of others I dearly love and want to be with forever. What am I to do when those prayers seem to be unanswered?
The verse above from John 15:7 says, “If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
It is interesting that we look at the last part—ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you—and forget that we have a part to play—if you remain in Me, and My words remain in you. What does our part look like?
Our part becomes our ambition. Oswald Chambers says it well in My Utmost for His Highest: “I must learn to relate everything to my master ambition, maintaining it without interruption. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?”
I journaled after this quote from Oswald, “God, You have already told me I am acceptable. My part is to spend the rest of my life pleasing You.” If we believe that Jesus died for us, our response should be overwhelming gratitude, which pleases God.
When my prayer has not been answered, it is not because God does not care or has not heard. It may also be because the ones we pray for have the twin responsibilities of repenting and believing.
He desires for all to be saved, and He promised that all who believe in faith, repent of their sins, and ask Jesus to come into their lives will be saved. He desires for all to come to this faith, so He sends opportunities in great numbers to those who are not saved but still have a choice.
When God delays, He is not inactive.
He also reminds us to wear Him out and keep praying. Our master ambition, then, should be to pray fervently and consistently, remain in God, and may His words remain in us.
Here is what I know: I can plant a seed! I also have faith that God can cultivate that little seed and grow it into a majestic oak that will shade, sustain, and nourish those who will sit under it for years to come.
Don’t miss this. The only thing we do in this formula is plant a simple seed with a prayer and exhibit God’s love to them. God cultivates, weeds, nourishes, grows, and maintains the growth to create the very thing for which the seed was planted. Isn’t that amazing?
So, what do we do when God says “no” or “not yet”? Patience eliminates worry, weeping, and work. While we wait, we can worship and maintain faith in God’s promise. Ephesians 4:2 explains, “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”
Our responsibility is to stay at it. Pray. Plant. Practice. The big oak tree was not made in a day, nor were you. Even all of us who are praying are still a work in progress. Remember?
Prayer – God, we trust You have heard our greatest prayer.