Faith is not a goad against which God cannot kick

Prayer is an often misunderstood thing. To an atheist, prayer is when a Christian commands God to grant a wish, like a genie, and God has no right to disobey. To a Christian, immature in their faith, it can be confusing when God does not answer a prayer immediately, and exactly as expected. To those conned by the Prosperity Gospel, God should answer any prayer as long as you have enough faith. But a mature Christian knows exactly what prayer is. It is communication with God in submission to Him.

No one exemplifies this more than the Messiah Himself. He would often pray, as a good son would phone home while away on a long trip. He asked many things, which not surprisingly included a request to avoid the crucifixion.

This was a good prayer. It is not just that Jesus suffered what He did. He was innocent. He did not deserve the pain He endured. He did not deserve to die. If God had spared Him the agony of the cross, it would have been a good thing, even if it resulted in every sinner perishing in the pit of Hell. But Jesus did not leave it at "take this cup away from me". He continued with something we all ought to remember when we pray: "Not my will, but yours be done."

When we pray, it is vital to remember who we are praying to. We are not praying to a genie. We are not praying to a servant. We are not even praying to a Democratically elected deity. We are praying to God. This means that while He can answer any prayer exactly as we want Him to, He also has the absolute, irrevocable, unassailable right to say "no", or to otherwise alter the prayer.

As previously mentioned, there are people in this world who will claim God is bound to answer any prayer if you have enough faith. If God doesn't answer your prayer, that means you had too much doubt. I have even seen people mock the very idea that we would pray "according to Your will". But tell me, how much faith does Jesus have? Will you claim the only man to have ever seen God didn't get what He wanted because He doubted? I think not. If Christ Himself submitted to the will of the Father, even knowing that this meant His prayer would go unanswered, what right have any of us to act as if faith is a goad against which the Lord cannot kick?

When you pray, you may not receive the answer you desire. This can sometimes be because you doubt. If your prayer is for wisdom, and you doubt you will receive it, you will not recognise it when it comes (James 1:5-6). But it can also be because you ask with the wrong motives (James 4:3), or even because God knows better than to give you the answer you want (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). To my more experienced brethren, I ask this: Is there nothing in your past that you prayed for, but are now glad you never received? To my less experienced brethren, I promise you now, one day there will be. Sometimes, even if we pray sincerely for something we genuinely believe we want, God blesses us more by refusing to give it to us.

Recommended song: Garth Brooks - Unanswered prayers