Ankerberg Show

John Ankerberg: Hi, we're back. We're talking with Sunder and with Shammala, and we're asking the question: Does God really answer our prayers? What else is going on when we pray? There are things that we don't realize that the Bible says are going to happen when we actually start talking to God. Sunder, what are they?

Sunder: I think the best place to understand that is to look at an actual relationship. When you're involved in a relationship with someone, like for example when I first got to meet Shammala, I mean, she grew up as my neighbor because she was Ravi's sister and I knew her for a long time. But when we started dating, we had lots of conversations, and some of them involved asking and being told yes and no, but a lot of it was just as a result of the conversation itself you get to know the person. People often miss that in the preoccupation with answers.

Certainly, God answers prayers amazingly. In Acts chapter three, Peter and John at the lame man outside the temple said in the name of Jesus rise up and walk. They prayed, and he jumped up. In Acts four, they prayed for the place to be filled and it was filled with the Holy Spirit.

He also says no. Jesus said, "Father, let this cup pass from me," and he broke through eventually to changing his request, which also sometimes happens in prayer. God says no to get you to change what you're actually praying for because you've suddenly discovered what his will really is. Other times it's wait, maybe. In fact, more often than not it's wait. I think it was Ben Patterson who said that second only to suffering, nothing builds character like waiting. We're not good at waiting; we want things to happen right now.

Often in the book of Psalms—and by the way, that's a beautiful place to start praying if you don't know what words to use, just start opening the Psalms and praying them one after the other—every human emotion is found in those places. How often they say, "Lord, how long? How long? How long?" Waiting seems to be very much part of God's agenda.

Sometimes it is to reveal a sin, like it happened to me once. At one time, I was preaching three times in our church every weekend, and one morning I had really prayed and felt that I'd ask God to anoint me, give me power, and the sermon fell so flat. I went into the washroom and I said, "Lord, what was going on? You have to show me what was going on. I prayed and you didn't. I prayed for your glory, I prayed for anointing, which is what you want."

And he said to me, "Last night you stopped ten seconds on a TV channel that you shouldn't have stopped at." Ten seconds. I broke down, I confessed it, and the next service the anointing was there. Why did he not answer that prayer? To show me that as a man of God, there's no room for trifling at all with my things; you need to be holy. So sometimes he reveals sin, and sometimes he reveals motives in our hearts as well.

John Ankerberg: I want to go back to when God says no to us. People say, "Well, if he said no to me and didn't answer that prayer the way I want him when I asked him, maybe he doesn't love me, maybe he doesn't care about me. Then I'm going to quit praying."

I want to go back to the illustration you used of Jesus in the garden. Jesus is God's son, and he's asking a father, "Let this cup pass from me, I don't want to go to the cross right now. Is there some other way we can do this?" God said no to his own son. Did that mean he didn't love his own son? Of course not. He loved him. When he says no to us, God's got his reasons, and we need to accept that.

Sunder: Look at the Apostle Paul, for example. Three times he went to God and three times God said no. Then he gave him a reason. He said, "My strength is brought to its full power in your weakness, my grace is sufficient for you." Then Paul said, "Therefore, I will glory in my weakness." When he says no, that wasn't because he didn't love Paul. Like you said, he said, "Paul, I want to take you to something even deeper."

Sometimes we have prayers answered in the Bible and people would wish that they weren't answered. There's a story of a man called King Hezekiah, and he was about to die. God said, "Wrap up your affairs, you're going to die." Hezekiah just went into a whimpering mode. Other times he prayed magnificent prayers. This time, he just basically whimpered like a kid, "I want to live some more." God said, "I'll give you fifteen more years."

In the third year, Manasseh was born, who was the wickedest king in all of Israel. I'm sure Hezekiah must have wondered why God gave him those fifteen years. Sometimes when God says no, he's sparing us from what we don't even know we're asking.

John Ankerberg: Yeah, let me follow up on Paul. I mean, when the Apostle Paul didn't ask just once or twice, but three times, something must have been really hurting him. Something must have been really bothering him. He was the Apostle Paul, and God said no. "My grace is sufficient for you, that when you have these problems, I'll be there with you, I'm not going to forget you. I'll be there with you and you're going to have to live with this, but my grace is sufficient for you." The experience of God is more valuable and more satisfying ultimately than if the prayer had been answered.

Sunder, many Christians hear that they ought to pray the Lord's Prayer, and many churches around the world end their service or even begin their service with everybody in the congregation praying the Lord's Prayer. I've been in some of those services and it just kind of goes right by people. They don't know what the words actually mean. Take us through the meaning of when Jesus said, "This is how you ought to pray."

Sunder: Okay, he began by saying, "Our Father," which means he reinforces the relationship right away. That answers so many of our questions earlier: Does God really want me to pray? Does he really care? Does he know about me? I'm not worthy enough. Our Father—we are in a relationship with him. At the same time, it says, "Our Father who art in heaven." There's immanence; God is close to me as my Father, but I can't just waltz into his presence any time anywhere I want or casually because he's also the transcendent God in heaven. Right away he says he's close as your Father but he's also an awesome God.

Then it says, "Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth." Only then does it go to "give us this day our daily bread." I think Jesus was getting our priorities right as well. He said your first dominant agenda in your prayers is not your immediate needs. I'll get to them, I will give you daily bread, but first and foremost, you need to be preoccupied with my glory and the extension of that glory in the world. We're going to be talking about mission in a little while.

Jesus in his prayer was saying get the "so that" right. Why should I give you daily bread? Daily bread, by the way, is prayer for food, for shelter, for clothing, for a job, for work—everything related to making money to live. "Forgive us our sins," the forgiveness, the maintaining of the relationship. "Lead me not into temptation," the prayer for purity. He said they're all important, and that's where most Christians start. He says no, they are there at the bottom because there's a huge "so that." You should be asking me for all these things so that you will be preoccupied with the extension of my glory and praying for that dimension. I think those are some of the key things to remember in the Lord's Prayer.

John Ankerberg: Shammala, as you listen to what Sunder said and what we've been saying in this program, I want you to say a word to women across the world and even men that are listening in. What is it that we haven't said about prayer that you think we should say?

Shammala: Based on my own experience, John, I feel that I've been on a journey. When I first started to pray, it was so that God would do things for me. Twenty-some years later, I feel it's not even what he did for me but what he did in me, in addition to what he did for me. I would encourage people to pray because you are going to experience a relationship that is going to transform you in addition to the things that you will receive from him.

John Ankerberg: Yeah. Sunder, one more thing comes to my mind: When Christians sin, they don't feel like coming to the Father and saying, "Hey, I sinned." Encourage them; that's exactly the time that they need to come. Why?

Sunder: Well, because the author of the book of Hebrews in chapter four says since we have a great high priest who is able to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, let us draw near boldly to the throne that we may receive what: mercy and grace to help in time of need. I think that incredible encouragement that because Jesus died and rose again and is in the presence of the Father interceding for us, we can come in our foulest moments right to him right away.

It's interesting that the devil has two tactics. Before you become a follower of Jesus, he says you're not a sinner, you don't need a savior. Once you become a follower of Jesus, he says you're a terrible sinner, you don't need to go into God's presence anyway. So again, counter the accusing voice of the enemy. In that moment when you have sinned, rush into his presence. Not casually, but because we have Jesus our merciful and faithful high priest to come to receive mercy and then grace in the help in time. It is even better to go to him after you sin than in the throes of the temptation to run to him.

John Ankerberg: What is mercy?

Sunder: Mercy is not getting what we deserve, whereas grace is getting what we do not deserve.

John Ankerberg: Yeah. Two great things that Jesus our great high priest gives to us. Folks, I hope that as you're listening to this, this won't be just words or conversation that's going by you. We are trying to say this for you to be encouraged to come to your Father. He says, "Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

God knows a lot more than we do. He can do a lot more by you praying than working by yourself. Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing." So learn to depend on him, try it out, see if God won't answer your prayers or start to lead you in a more intimate way. That's the goal of this program.