A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: When you pray for something over and over again and you wonder why your prayer is not answered in the affirmative, you ask, why is that? Well, here’s one option: you have an idol in your heart.

Guest (Male): Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie offers us practical help with our prayer lives. A warning about idols that are a substitute for God.

Greg Laurie: An idol is anyone or anything that takes the place of the true and living God in your life. That’s why it can bring our prayer life to a halt.

Guest (Male): Prayer is a privilege. God invites us to pray with boldness. He invites us to seek, ask, and knock. But sometimes our prayers can be derailed.

Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us investigate those factors that can keep our prayers from reaching God’s throne. We’re in a practical series of lessons in the Gospel of Mark titled The Gospel for Busy People. And today we’ll see how to undergird our prayers with faith and with a proper attitude and respect for our God.

Greg Laurie: I have a message for you with the title Amazing Faith and we’re in Mark chapter 7. This woman had a problem; her daughter was possessed by demons and she needed to get to Jesus, and hell or high water would not stop her. She was the mother who would not give up.

Let’s read now from Mark chapter 7. I’m going to read verses 24 to 29 and by the way, I’m reading from the New Living Translation.

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know what house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit and she begged him to cast out the demons from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, first I should feed the children, my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.

She said, well that’s true Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps that fall from the children’s plate. I love the response of Jesus. Good answer, he said. Now go home for the demon has left your daughter. And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed and the demon was gone.

Jesus knows this woman has amazing faith. Jesus wants to draw this faith out, and he wants to put it on display so we can all learn from it. So he sort of puts up a hurdle if you will, but he knows this woman can easily clear this hurdle. He knew she’s going to be able to pass this test with flying colors.

But sometimes it seems like God isn’t listening to us. He always is. And he’s not paying attention, but he is paying attention. I know the hardest response to accept is no response at all, but there may be something going on behind the scenes. In other words, when you pray and you pray for something over and over again and you wonder why your prayer is not answered in the affirmative, you ask why is that? Well, here’s one option: maybe there’s a spiritual battle raging that you know nothing about. Let me say that again. Your prayer may not be answered because there’s a spiritual battle raging that you know nothing about.

There’s a fascinating story in Daniel chapter 10 where a mighty angel appears before the prophet Daniel. The angel says to Daniel, hey, your prayer has been heard by God. In fact, it was heard 21 days ago. And I was dispatched from heaven with the answer to your prayer but I was tripped up by a more powerful angel, fallen angel in this case, described as the prince of Persia. So the Lord had to send reinforcements and Michael the archangel came to my rescue and here’s the answer to your prayer. Ever think about that? You prayed a prayer, it was heard in heaven, an answer was sent, and there’s a spiritual battle among angels raging behind the scenes. Remember this: God’s delays are not necessarily his denials. Keep praying.

Another reason your prayer may not be answered in the affirmative is because there is unconfessed sin in your life. Psalm 66:18 says, if I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. In Isaiah 59 we read these words: listen, the Lord is not too weak he can’t save you, nor is he becoming deaf so he can’t hear you. Here’s the problem: your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin he’s turned away and will not listen anymore. It may be a sin in your past that has remained unconfessed and undealt with. Listen to this: God cannot forgive the sin you will not confess. Maybe it’s a sin in your life right now you don’t think is a sin. You’ve somehow rationalized it.

I think it’s a good idea for all believers to pray what the psalmist prayed in Psalm 139 when he said, search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Have you just paused before the Lord in prayer recently and said, Lord, if there’s anything in my life that is displeasing to you, if there’s any relationship I’m engaged in that dishonors you, if there’s any pursuit I’m engaged in that is outside of your will, would you show that to me? I don’t want any sin separating me from you. I think the Lord will hear that prayer.

Another thing that may keep your prayers from being answered in the affirmative is you have an idol in your heart. An idol in your heart. Idols in our hearts cause God to refuse to listen to our prayers. Ezekiel 14:3 says, son of man these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that lead them into sin. Why should I let them ask me anything?

And we think wait, an idol? What do you mean an idol? We think of an idol as a little carved image, and it of course is that. But it can be something else. An idol can be something you drive. An idol can be something you hold. An idol can be some passion you have in life that’s more important to you than God. Listen to this: an idol, or a god with a small g, is anyone or anything that takes the place of the true and living God in your life. That’s why we read in First John, little children keep yourselves from idols.

Ah, years ago I was leading a tour to Israel and we went in the footsteps of Paul, so we went to modern-day Turkey, where the biblical Ephesus is. And we saw that amazing city. And so the people of Ephesus worshipped the goddess Diana, a little carved image. It was a big deal to the people there. So as I was getting ready to give my message, I saw a little souvenir stand and they were actually selling these little Diana statues that the people used to worship. So I bought one because I was going to use it as an illustration.

So as I’m giving my message I’m saying, this is what the people worshipped and how ridiculous this is. And I threw it to the ground. And afterwards I threw it in my backpack and thought nothing of it. And then we got on a cruise ship because this cruise ship would take us from port to port for the footsteps of Paul. And I had two of my granddaughters with me, Lucy and Stella. And I’m sitting in my cabin with them and I see they’re playing with a little idol, the little goddess Diana. And she’s like a doll they have her talking. I’m like, what? That’s like an idol. Why do I have an idol in my room and why are my granddaughters playing with an idol? So I said, girls give that to me. And I left the room and went to the side of the boat and I threw it over into the ocean because I don’t even want a technical idol in my life. But if we allow these other things to crowd out God, it can bring our prayer life to a halt.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

We’re so thankful to hear from our listeners all the time. They’re all different ages and in all different seasons of life. They tell us how Pastor Greg encourages them and their comments encourage us. Here’s a comment we recently received from a brother named Graham.

I am calling in because this time last year my beautiful wife was dying from Alzheimer’s. My wife was in hospice at home and every a-m when I knew my wife was safe, I would start my day by riding my bicycle. I listen to Pastor Greg in the a-m. Good way to start the day. One morning I forgot to turn on my radio but suddenly the Holy Spirit prompted me to do so.

About one minute after I turned it on, I heard Greg telling about when his son Christopher died. He recounted that he was grateful so many people had blessed him with cards and well wishes. But then he said one person wrote him with a comment that stopped him in his tracks. The man said, Pastor Greg, your best days with Christopher lie ahead when you see him for all eternity. That became my testimony. Yes, I will see my wife again and my best days with her lie ahead. I can wait until it’s my turn to see Jesus. Thank you.

We hope Graham’s comments encourage you today. And if you’d like to share a comment about how Pastor Greg’s teaching is helping you and your family grow closer to the Lord, drop him an email. Greg at harvest dot org. That’s greg at harvest dot o-r-g.

Well, we’re discussing prayer today on A New Beginning as Pastor Greg provides some insight on why our prayers are answered and sometimes why they’re not. It’s a study based in Mark chapter 7.

Greg Laurie: Here’s another reason our prayers are not answered quite yet: because God wants us to keep praying. He wants us to keep praying. And clearly that’s the situation with this woman. Again, he did not erect these barriers to keep her away, but to draw her closer. Let’s come back to what Jesus said. Look at verse 27. Hey, she says, touch my demon-possessed daughter. He goes, first I need to feed the children. It is my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.

What kind of thing is that to say? Let’s understand it contextually. There’s two words that could be used for dogs. One describes dirty, roaming packs of dogs that live off garbage and dead animals. And by the way, there were a lot of those back in these days in Israel. I remember a number of years ago I was in a third-world country and I went for a run on the beach. That’s when I used to run. I don’t really run much anymore. I walk briskly.

But I went for a run on the beach and all of a sudden a couple of wild dogs started chasing me. I’ll say this: I ran a lot faster. Maybe if I was chased by a wild dog again I would run, but I ran a crazy wild dog. That’s not the word that Jesus used. He uses a word that would refer to little puppies or family pets. It’s sort of an affectionate way to describe it.

I mean, we love our dogs especially the doodles, right? There’s a lot of oodles and doodles and dogs today. There’s a Labradoodle and a this doodle and that oodle. But these cute little dogs. And dogs are so much a part of our culture. There’s a new book out now called Pet Nation that talks about how the attitude of Americans has changed toward their pets. In the old days, dogs slept outside. Remember doghouses? Remember Snoopy and his doghouse? Sometimes he’d sleep on top of it. And when you were in trouble what would—what was the expression? Oh, he’s in the doghouse.

Well, dogs don’t have houses anymore. Dogs live in our house. And sometimes they even live in our bed. And sometimes they even eat at our table. And now dogs have Instagram accounts and cats have hotels and gourmet food and there’s luxury fashion for pets. My goodness, dogs are even mayors. I just read an article that said a dog was elected mayor. I’m not making this up. In the town of Rabbit Hash in Kentucky. Rabbit Hash. I’m surprised they didn’t elect a rabbit to be their mayor.

But the article says this dog, whose name is Wilbur, was elected. And by the way, he won 13,000 votes. Mayor Wilbur. Their mayor is a dog. I’m sure when they told him the good news he just rolled over with excitement, right? Crazy.

But that’s sort of our relationship with animals today. And so Jesus is really saying, let me paraphrase, you know it’s not right to take the children’s food and give it to the little puppies. She could have been offended by that, but I think she knew exactly what was going on. She could see the love in his eyes. She could see the little bit of a smile on his face. So she comes back with this classic response. Look at verse 28. That’s true Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plate.

Hey Lord, even some of your leftover power is more than enough for me. Guess what? That woman just passed a test with flying colors. Look at what Jesus says in verse 29. He says, good answer. Now go home for the demon has left your daughter.

I think the disciples’ jaws must have dropped to the ground. They’re thinking, yeah, get this woman out of here. You don’t want to help her. And he makes a statement to her and she responds and—what is going on here? And then he says, good answer. Your prayer is answered. Good answer. Isn’t that great? Why the sudden transformation? He goes from ignoring her to answering her prayer.

Answer: because of her persistence, tenacity, and commitment. The door is shut in her face and she just keeps knocking. She won’t give up. She had an amazing faith and she would not go home without an answer. What an example for us to remember to keep praying for our children.

Maybe I’m talking to somebody right now who has a son or a daughter who’s taken a prodigal turn. Maybe I’m talking to a prodigal. And I just want you to know that you’re breaking your parents’ hearts. And you need to come back to the Lord again because whatever you’re chasing after, you know it’s not going to satisfy you. You’re going to come to the end of it. And I hope you don’t come to the end of it at the end of your life and throw your life away. Come back to Jesus. And I’ll tell you how to do that in a few moments.

So listen, don’t give up on your children. Oh, the devil will whisper in your ear and he’ll say, oh, it’s too late for your kids, they’ll never change. Don’t listen to him. He’s a liar and he’s the father of lies. Keep praying for them. And by the way, you know you’re praying according to the will of God when you’re praying for someone to come to or come back to the Lord. You say, how do you know that Greg? Because the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. It’s the heart of God to see people come to him or come back to him. God loves these people and he wants to reach them and he wants to reach them for you.

So our message is almost done here. Let’s conclude. What do we learn from this story? Number one: faith is often found in the most unexpected places, isn’t it? Again, faith is found in the most unexpected and unusual places. Listen: it is grace not the place that makes a person a believer. Let me say that again. It’s grace not the place.

You know, one would not have expected a person with faith like this woman who was in another country, a country that was filled with the enemies of Israel, a woman who was steeped in pagan idolatry to be someone of great faith. I mean, in contrast, Simon Peter who was Jewish was told by Jesus he had little faith. Jesus said to him, oh Peter, why do you have such little faith? And yet here is this woman, a Gentile woman outside of God’s covenant, and he commends her faith.

Number two: no matter what, bring your problems to Jesus. Nothing will shock him. Nothing will surprise him. You might say, well Greg, I’m just unworthy to approach God. I hate to break this to you: you were never worthy to approach God. But what about that day that I went to church twice and I read 10 chapters of the Bible and I shared the gospel with someone and I was fasting too? Hey, you know what? You were not worthy to approach God on that day. And so this is not about worthiness; this is about the grace of God. Remember the woman said, have mercy on me.

Thirdly, when you pray seek to find the will of God, align yourself with it and pray with persistence. Again, as I said, you know you’re praying according to the will of God when you’re praying for someone to come to or come back to Jesus Christ. So keep praying, don’t give up. Jesus said men ought always to pray and not give up.

Let me say this in closing. Jesus went way out of his way to reach this woman. She had an appointment with Jesus. I don’t if it showed up on her calendar that day, but it was there. Do you have an appointment with Jesus right now? Maybe you tuned into this by accident or maybe someone told you to tune in or however you are watching this, you don’t have a relationship with God and you don’t know how to have a relationship with God.

Let me tell you how now. Understand this: God loves you. God wants to forgive you of all of your sin. But there’s nothing you can do to make this right. Living a good life, being a nice person, nothing. You’re always going to fall short of God and his glory. But here’s the good news: 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ came to this earth on a rescue mission to die on the cross. Oh, we love to think of Jesus as the little baby there in the manger, and that’s all true.

But listen to this: the nativity or the birth of Christ or the incarnation happened so there would be the crucifixion. We don’t want to think of the baby growing up to be a man and dying on a cross. We almost think of that as an aberration in the beautiful story. No, it was the whole purpose of the story. This child was born to die that we may live. Christ died on the cross for your sin. He took the judgment that should have come upon you and upon me upon himself, and he rose again from the dead three days later.

And listen: he stands at the door of your life right now and he knocks. It says if you hear his voice and open the door he will come in. Jesus went out of his way to reach this woman. He wants to reach you right now. He wants to forgive you right now. You can come into a relationship with him and have all of your sin forgiven.

I mentioned prodigals earlier. Maybe I’m talking to a prodigal, and if you don’t know what I mean by that, I mean someone that walked with the Lord at one time, but now you’ve walked away from him. And I bet you’re pretty empty inside. Now maybe you haven’t said it out loud, but you are. Because you know how it can be. You know what it’s like to wake up in the morning with guilt racking you or having a hangover.

You know what it’s like to gather together with God’s people and worship the Lord and hear the word of God, but you pushed that all out of your life and you chase after other things and you’ve already seen the emptiness of it. You can come back to Jesus right now. You might ask, well how do I do this? You call out to him. What did this woman do? She called out to Jesus. And the Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

You say, but how do I call out to him? Do you have his number? Can I text him? No, no. You call out in prayer. And in a moment I would like to lead you in a prayer where you would ask Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sin. So listen, if you want Jesus to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you’ll go to heaven when you die, if you want to start this new relationship with him or if you’re a prodigal son or daughter and you want to come back to the Lord, pray this prayer with me. In fact, you could even pray it out loud. Just pray these words if you would.

Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner but I know that you’re the savior. I believe you died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Now Jesus come into my life. I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my savior and Lord, as my God and friend. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Guest (Male): An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie for those making a change in their relationship with God today. And if you yourself have prayed with Pastor Greg and made a first-time decision for the Lord, we’d like to help you get started in your new relationship with God.

We’d like to send you Pastor Greg’s New Believer’s Bible. Not only will you find the scripture text in an easy-to-read translation, you’ll find hundreds of helps just for new believers. So call us at 1-800-821-3300 and ask for it. We’ll send it free of charge. Again, it’s the New Believer’s Bible and our number 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or go online to harvest dot org and click Know God.

Well, Pastor Greg, we hear from our listeners every day. We get letters and phone calls and social media posts and so many of them tell us that they support this outreach financially. And you know, I’ve noticed that they say that with real joy. You know, they’re happy about being a part of this ministry. That’s so cool, isn’t it?

Greg Laurie: It is. And you know what’s happened, Dave? They’ve just discovered the joy of giving. You know, God loves a cheerful giver, we’ve heard that before. A better translation of that verse would be God loves a hilarious giver. Not a guilty giver, not someone doing it out of pressure, but someone that says, wow, what a great opportunity, I want to invest in this.

You know, I think of how much money it will cost a person to go to say Disneyland for a day. Oh boy. But you know, they love the experience of Disney and they wear their Disney apparel and you know, they’re just enjoying it, so they’re happy about it. They call it the happiest place on earth. Well, look, I can’t think of a happier thing to do than to invest in the kingdom of God, not the magic kingdom, the kingdom of God. And see how lives can be changed for time and eternity.

But you know, I can’t convince you of this, I can just tell you what the Bible says. But I promise you on the authority of scripture, if you learn how to be a generous person, you will experience a degree of happiness and joy that you have not known before because the Bible specifically promises it. It’s more blessed or happy-making, says Jesus, to give than it is to receive.

So look, I’m telling you about an opportunity to be happy. If you don’t want to be happy, you don’t have to be. An opportunity to be generous and to give. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t do it. But I can tell you if you invest in our ministry there’s an opportunity not only to bring joy and happiness into your life, but I think more importantly, the ultimate joy and happiness into other people’s lives as they come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that’s right. And it’s easy to show your support. You can reach out by phone or through the mail or through our website. Let us invite you to become a Harvest Partner.

What is a Harvest Partner? Harvest Partners are part of our inner circle of friends who feel so strongly about the importance of evangelism and discipleship that they invest in this ministry each month. The amount is up to them. And we have some creative ways of saying thank you.

Why not become a Harvest Partner today? You can call 1-800-821-3300. That’s 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest dot org.

And while you’re online with us, why not begin receiving Pastor Greg’s daily devotions via email every day? They’re free of charge. We’ll send them to the email address you provide for us. And when they arrive, you can read them or with one click listen to the audio version. Sign up today free of charge at harvest dot org.

Well, next time from our studies in Mark, we’ll visit the moment when Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say that I am? Pastor Greg shows us that how we answer reveals a great deal about us. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.