Rev. David Holwick C
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
January 20, 2002
Mark 14:32-36
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I. God can seem cold.
A. The dilemma of prayer.
Though James Long never knew him, his mother's twin brother
was his introduction to doubt, long before he embraced faith.
The uncle was the subject of unanswered prayer, long before
James found answers.
This man was, it seemed, the object of Heaven's coldness,
long before James discovered the warmth of God's love.
Carl died at 17, electrocuted in a freak accident.
He lingered briefly, comatose, in the sterile world of a
hospital in Topeka, Kansas.
And as he lay, suspended between death and life, his brothers
and sisters prayed for him.
They clawed to find shreds of faith to hold onto.
But he died.
Years later, James' mother would often voice her memories.
She told him how she had prayed that Carl would live.
And she told him how her mother had finally returned from
the hospital one day with the news:
Carl would not be coming home.
"But I prayed," James' mother said weakly.
"I prayed that he would live."
And Grandma had startled her with the confession:
"I prayed that he would NOT live."
Had Carl "lived," he would have been incapable of life.
Even before he died, that great jolt to his system had
done its irreversible work.
And Grandma could not bear to see her son live on in
such death.
And so James' mother wrestled with doubt and faith, with
unanswered and answered prayer, with Heaven's coldness
and Heaven's warmth.
Years later, James shared in the struggle.
And grieved an uncle he never knew.
Christians don't generally set out to doubt God, to call
the essence of their faith into question.
For most of us, life's pain simply catches us off guard;
the reality of hardship trips us up.
Doubt overtakes us in the race of faith because earth's
suffering screams in our ears, distracting us.
If faith cannot reasonably address hurt, what good is it?
#13116
B. Everyone has prayed for something they didn't get.
1) The promises aren't very solid.
The great British preacher, Leslie Weatherhead, had a
personal struggle with John 14:13.
In the verse Jesus promises, "I will do whatever you ask in
my name."
Weatherhead said the sentence certainly sounds like what
businessmen call 'a firm offer,' an explicit promise.
If we are to bank on the 'promises of the Bible,' then
surely we can bank on that.
He remembered, as a boy of 15, banking on it.
He wanted to pass a test.
He read the words of the verse carefully.
It seemed too good to be true.
But there it was, definite and apparently unambiguous:
'Whatever!'
Surely graduation could be included.
You had only to add the magic formula 'in the name of
Jesus,' and the thing was done!"
Weatherhead very badly wanted to pass that test.
He had worked hard for it.
So, on the night before it began, he reminded God that
Christ had promised, in his sacred word, that whatsoever
we asked in his name we should have.
Weatherhead failed the test!
What was worse, even though he didn't think so at the time,
he lost a good deal of faith.
It didn't seem fair.
What is the good of scripture promises if they let you down
just when you want them most?
The lamp flickered that time. The light almost went out.
#19626
2) More prayers are unanswered than answered.
a) Is the problem with us or God?
b) Would positive answers to every prayer even make sense?
C. Christian explanations.
1) God always answers, but it can be yes, no, or not now.
a) Disingenuous. This approach has never satisfied me.
b) Jesus doesn't say God will definitely "give an answer,"
he says God will "do it."
2) The promises on prayer have conditions.
a) Conditions are explicit or implied.
II. The Bible's conditions on prayer:
A. You must be a real Christian.
1) God can hear anyone's prayer - for salvation.
2) He may hear other prayers, but doesn't have to.
3) To receive from God, we must first have a personal
relationship with God.
B. You must be committed.
1) Jesus often teaches on the importance of having faith.
a) We must BELIEVE while we pray.
b) This is a toughie. Who believes enough? Who has
enough faith?
2) Henry Bett wrote:
However willing God is to give his best gifts, it is simply
true to say that they cannot be given to the unwilling
and unreceptive.
The rain and the sunshine are indeed sent upon the
righteous and unrighteous alike, in the bounty of God.
But the higher gifts of grace are never forced upon a
reluctant or indifferent soul.
There is always a deep sense of NEED and a strong DESIRE
lying at the heart of real prayer. [orig - supplication]
It is these which make it possible for God to bestow his
best gifts upon us, and for us to receive them.
#22107
C. Sin hinders prayer.
1) OT prophets: bloodshed hinders prayer. Isa 1:15
"When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will
hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many
prayers, I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood..."
2) Other verses: unconfessed sin shuts off prayer.
3) Puzzle: some sinners seem to get better answers to prayer
than godly people. (as far as we can tell)
D. Broken relationships. 1 Peter 3:7
1) Tension between husband and wife can thwart prayer.
2) Are there grudges or estrangement in your life? Deal with
them.
E. Selfishness hinders prayer.
Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents.
At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their
prayers.
The youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs:
"For my birthday, I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE... I PRAY FOR
A NEW NINTENDO, I PRAY FOR A NEW LEGO SET..."
His older brother leaned over and said, "Why are you shouting
your prayers? God isn't hard of hearing!"
His little brother replied, "No, but Grandma is." #5409
1) Manipulative prayer does not compel God to give.
2) Book of James: God may not give us something if we are
only going to spend it on ourselves. James 4:3
F. Prayer must be in agreement with God's will.
1) This can be considered the clincher.
2) God won't answer a prayer that doesn't agree with his plan.
3) What about the "ask anything"?
III. Even Jesus has unanswered prayer.
A. The crisis at Gethsemane. Mark 14:32-36
1) Jesus never appears more human.
(except maybe his despair on cross)
2) His preface - God can do anything.
a) This is the rub. He can do any good thing.
Why doesn't he?
b) Certainly Jesus was not hindered by sin or broken
relationships (except with Pharisees, and they don't
count).
3) He expresses his desire.
a) He didn't want death.
4) He submits to God's ultimate will.
a) During his trial and death, he is detached and serene.
b) God had something better in mind.
1> God wasn't going to save Jesus alone.
2> God was going to save the whole world.
B. Thy will be done.
1) Why pray when God already knows what he will do?
a) Answer: Jesus did, so we should.
2) Are you willing to submit your disappointments to God?
3) Our goal should be to bring him the greatest glory.
IV. Unanswered prayer has positive purposes.
A. We are reminded that God is not our puppet.
1) If every prayer was answered instantly, God would be.
2) God has his own plan.
a) We see only portions. Even when we think we see a
clear view, we probably don't.
b) Trust in him anyway.
B. We are motivated to examine our life.
1) Our response should not be "Why?" but "What?"
2) It is an incentive to be holy.
3) We are encouraged to be more committed.
C. We learn how to wait for the best things.
1) Our timetable is not necessarily God's.
2) George Mueller's patience:
Mueller was an extremely dedicated Christian who ran an
orphanage in England in the 1700's.
He was known for having a lot of faith in prayer.
He never asked for help or money - he just prayed it in.
Early in his life he prayed for 5 of his friends to be saved.
After 5 years, one of them became a Christian.
After 10 years, two more accepted Christ.
25 years went by, and the fourth was saved.
For the last one he prayed until the year he died but never
saw the man become a Christian.
Yet 3 months after Mueller was buried, this man also was
saved.
For this last friend, George Mueller had prayed 52 years.
You never have to give up in prayer.
#2181
V. Don't give up.
A. Ruth Graham - tragedy is unprayed prayer, not unanswered prayer.
B. God may answer your desire rather than your request.
1) We have to have faith that he knows what is best.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 2181 "George Mueller's 52-Year Prayer," from sermon I preached on
March 18, 1984. Originally from Tan?
# 5409 "Praying To Grandma," Help4sunday@psst.com, March 23, 2000.
#13116 "Praying That He Would Live, Praying That He Would Die," by James
Long, Discipleship Journal #40, article is titled "Beyond the
Shadow of Doubt," July/Aug 1987, page 16. Modified by David
Holwick.
#19626 "Prayer As A Magic Formula," by George M. Bass, Rev. Brett
Blair's Illustrations By Email, www.sermonillustrations.com;
July 29, 2001.
#22107 "The Higher Gifts Are Never Forced On Us," by Henry Bett, in
article "Prayer" by G. R. Lewis, The Zondervan Pictorial
Encyclopedia Of The Bible (1975), vol. 4, page 842.
These and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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