Esther's Example

One of the many things I enjoy about studying the Bible is discovering the hidden treasures that it contains. Gems of wisdom, waiting to be unearthed with just a little bit of digging. Like this little beauty in the Book of Esther.

I read through the book last month and didn't notice this. Then, during our pastor's sermon on Sunday about how we should approach God in prayer, the lightbulb came on.

We were studying Luke 11 in church but I was mentally pawing through the Old Testament book of Esther. There IS a connection. This was from Luke 11.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." - Luke 11:9

Our pastor then said this regarding Luke 11:9:

"Rudeness or inappropriate boldness should never be part of our prayer."

When Esther's people were threatened with annihilation she knew she had to ask the king for help. But to enter his court without permission meant certain death. UNLESS the king extended his scepter.

Esther approached the king anyway but she did so with a HUMBLE boldness. She was willing to sacrifice her life for her people.

Esther approaching the king is the perfect example of how we should approach God in our prayers.

The king loved Esther. And God loves us. But we cannot just blurt out our prayers expecting God to respond to our needs like some genie.

Shouldn't we bow down to our king and ask Him permission to enter His presence? And THEN seek His help by our knock on His door.

"On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” - Esther 5:1-3

Now THAT is an answer to prayer!

You will notice in verse 1 in the Esther passage it says, "On the third day." Esther and her people had already been fasting and praying for two full days before she went to see the king.

Do you and I prepare our hearts and minds before we pray as Esther did? Perhaps, if we first asked God for permission to enter His throne room in prayer, rather than barging in, God's answer to our prayer might be more readily given.

No Answer To Prayer?

Have you ever felt like God is not answering your prayers? There's probably a reason for that.

I have heard a lot of people tell me that they don't feel like God is hearing their prayers. He's just not answering them, they say. I'm not sure they understand who God really is. He is not a magic genie - rub his belly three times and make a wish and he grants it. Read these two verses and see if you don't learn a little about God and His answering our prayer.

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." - Isaiah 59:1-2

It won't hurt to read that again. Our sin causes God not to listen. So when someone tells me God is not hearing their prayer my next question is, 'So what's going on in your life that would cause God not to answer?"

I have a friend who stresses out about many things at work. Her husband has had a series of injuries or medical conditions. She prays but things just aren't getting any better. So I ask, "How has your worship been?"

"Well, we haven't been to church for quite a while. Just can't find the right church."

"So, why would God answer your prayer then?"

Another person struggles at work too. "The people don't like me. If feels like they're ganging up on me. I pray about it but nothing improves."

"Hmm. Have you examined yourself to see if there's something God wants you to change first before He answers?"

"No. Not really."

She has never been married but has had two children and seldom goes to church. Yet, nothing seems to be wrong in this person's mind.

I'm not innocent either. I pray, but not as often as I should. Is my pitiful prayer life keeping me from receiving answers to MY prayers? I also am a great procrastinator. Maybe if I would get after the tasks God has for me my prayers would be more readily answered? Don't get me wrong. God has blessed me greatly already. But how much more awaits if I would only, completely, surrender all?

There is a great misunderstanding in many people's minds about who God is and what His character is like. God does not need us. He is the Creator of The Universe. What makes us think that He should answer OUR prayers? We should be praying for mercy and forgiveness and worshiping on bended knee! But God often proves to inconvenient for us. Still we want Him to answer our prayers. Really?

God is an amazingly loving and gracious God. He would move mountains and part oceans for His faithful children. He has done that for Israel. He has done that for present day people as well. He is still on His throne! He still works miracles!

The question we need to ask ourselves is this. Are we truly His children? Or is our "religion" a faith of convenience? Look, all are welcome into God's family. But it is to be on HIS terms that we enter in to it, not ours.

"The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught." - Isaiah 29:13

Have we truly placed our faith in Jesus? Are we walking in obedience to God's Word? Have we removed all the "idols" from our lives and placed our faith in Christ alone? Is He worthy of our worship and praise? Yes! Then let's do those things . . . first! Let us worship and praise Him. Let us seek forgiveness for our sins, FIRST. Let God see the change in us. Then let us see what God is willing to do in our lives. Open the flood gates!

In Christ Alone - Keith and Krysten Getty
Is He Worthy? - Chris Tomlin

Does God Really Hear My Prayer?

One thing that always bothered me about believing in God was, "How does God hear ALL of our prayers?" I mean, there are millions of us praying each day, right? Sometimes multiple prayers per day! How could all those prayers possibly be heard, let alone answered? The answer is simple. Two words.

He's God.

That a rather simplistic answer but it IS the CORRECT answer and I would like to offer you an explanation for how God hears ALL prayers. The whole problem with our believing that God cannot possibly hear ALL of our prayers comes when we try to comprehend exactly who God is . . . in HUMAN terms. Big mistake.

God is WAY beyond anything we can imagine. He is not fully understandable. He is bigger and better than anything we can come up with in our finite little minds. His thoughts are deeper, His love is greater, His wisdom far surpasses the brightest minds of our time, or ANY time for that matter. Any attempt to describe God, like this one I am typing now, is futile. He is bigger, higher, deeper, farther than ANYTHING ever imagined or ever will be!

I saw an illustration recently used by someone trying to describe God and time. When I saw it, it made perfect sense. It perfectly depicted how we try to categorize God and place Him in a box so we can begin to handle Him in our lives. God is more than just stories in the Bible. He is WAY bigger than that!!

How do we think about time? How could God possibly have time to hear all of our prayers? Well, we know that there is stuff that has happened to us in the past. We know that things are going to happen to us in the future. Simplifying - there is a past and a future. Time, to us, is linear. It's basically a straight line. If you would draw a line from Adam to our anticipated future it would look like this.

That dot in the middle is us when we pray. It is also everyone else who prays at the same time WE do. So where is God when we are in that dot? He's everywhere! And "everywhere" is more than linear. God is also up, down and all around! During our prayer time God is also answering everyone else's prayers at the same time. He has all the time he needs because time means nothing to Him.

Seeing as we are limited in this medium to two dimensions, this is only a two dimensional illustration but it really functions in three dimensions

I know all this is confusing but let me give you one more illustration that will demonstrate once and for all how God not only hears our prayers but answers them as well.

If you take the illustration I just showed you . . . remove all the arrow heads and text, and zoom in a little bit, I can show you one more piece of evidence that God hears and answers prayer.

Do you see what I see? It's the answer to ALL of our prayers! God answered our prayers 2000 years ago on the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ in the cross is the answer to all of our prayers when we plead with God to save us from the coming wrath.

DO you see the little dot still there on the cross? That's where we SHOULD be - hanging on the cross for our sins. Yet God, in His mercy and grace answered our prayers before we even prayed them. By substituting His one and only son for us.

The next time you pray, remember that. Do we pray to God like we are the reason He sacrificed His Son? We should be crying tears of bitter anguish knowing that God gave up something so precious! But that's the beauty of God's plan.

The sacrifice of Jesus paid for our sins. But then God raised Jesus from the dead and restored Him to His rightful place on the throne. God has not lost anything! Except for the souls of those who refused to believe. Only those who have been called to repentance will be saved. AN answer to prayer. :)

"11 God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." - 1 John 5:11-14

Bruce Almighty - Answering Prayers

Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers?

Does it ever seem to you that God doesn't answer your prayers? Isn't He supposed to give us those things we want to make us happy?

First of all God ALWAYS answers prayer. It's just that sometimes the answer is "no" and sometimes the answer is "wait."

Second, what are you praying for? If we want to have our prayers answered, we need to adjust our prayer requests so they are more likely to get a "yes." For example, praying for money is not going to get a positive return on your prayer. Why? Because The Bible says that "the love of money is the root of all evil." However, if you were running an orphanage and there was no more money to feed all of the babies, and you prayed for financial help so the children wouldn't starve, it is far more likely that God will respond in a positive way. HIS way.

We have to remember that God is God. WE ARE NOT!

After King David committed adultery and murder, he massively repented after he got busted for it. He prayed for days in tears, humbly seeking God's forgiveness. He asked God for a clean heart and he was given one. This is David's prayer.

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." - Psalm 51:1-17

Now that's a prayer! And God granted David's prayer.

Another reason God doesn't answer our prayers could be because of some unrepentant sin our lives. Having sex outside of marriage is a big one. If you are in an adulterous relationship, if you are having sex before, or outside of marriage, think about it. Why would God answer your prayers? Seriously? Read this.

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness." - Isaiah 59:1-3

That's pretty clear.

But the Bible says that we are ALL sinners. How can we even hope to have our prayers answered? That's simple. Repent. Seek forgiveness first for any and all of your sins. Repent means a change of direction. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more." The same words apply to us.

"So, why should we pray if all we are praying for is what God wants anyway?"

Do you call yourself a Christian? What does that mean? It means that you are a follower of Christ. It means you want to be like Him. It means that you have given up your old way of life for His. Basically, if we are not living like Christ, why should God hear our prayers? Why should He answer them?

Let's face it. We ALL sin. So why does God even answer our prayers at all. If we are sincere, come before Him in humble prayer, seek His forgiveness and THEN ask, God wouold be more likely to answer in our favor.

God is not like a genie in a bottle that we rub to make him appear and grant us three wishes, God is God! We're lucky to even be alive considering all the things we have done that are against Hus will.

God WILL answer our prayers but only if doing so lines up with His plan for our lives. Only if HE gets the glory and the reward and not us. Does that make sense?

God hears our prayers. And God will always answer them. It's just that sometimes, God does not always the answer WE want, but God ALWAYS answers the way HE wants. We need to learn to pray that way. IN HIS NAME.

Pray - Sanctus Real

We've all seen it - a kid screaming his or her head off in the grocery store. Mommy was just trying to get some shopping done when little Johnny saw something he wanted and reached out for it. Then, when mommy said no, little Johnny began to cry because he didn't get what he wanted. That's when the fun begins. EVERYONE in the store begins to stare at the "evil" mom and her poor, little child.

"Look how mean that mother is! She must have abused that poor child to make him cry that much."

Actually, the "evil mom" simply was being wise, thinking that perhaps the big can of Red Bull energy drink wasn't the wisest choice for her two-year-old.

When we grow older some of us begin to understand making wise choices. Some of us do not. For example, spending. Did you know that the average U.S. household credit card debt for 2013 was $15,270. That is the AVERAGE! When little Johnny grows up and gets a credit card he pretty much gets what he wants . . . and then pays 21% interest for the rest of his life.

When you want something do you pray for it? And how come when we pray for something we usually don't get it? Doesn't God love us? Doesn't God know we NEED this? Apparently not. Or is there something we're missing?

What kinds of things to do you pray for? I've had high school kids text me, asking me to pray for their math test because they didn't really study for it? I usually reply with, "Sure, I'll pray for you." Then I pray something like this . . .

"Father, may Little Johnny learn exactly what he needs to from this test. May wisdom come to him before it is too late and his high school career is over, in more ways than one. I pray for Johnny's priorities to change. May You, Lord, become first in his life. God, I pray for Johnny and his relationship with you. I pray your Holy Spirit would convict Johnny of his poor decision making. May he realize that he needs you above all else. And may he come to know that before it is too late. But whatever You choose God. Your will be done."

Here is my nominee for the most misused Bible verse of all time.

"24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." - Mark 11:24. That verse has launched the careers of more Prosperity Gospel preachers that I can shake an asherah pole at.

Those are red letters! That's Jesus telling us that whatever we ask for we can get if we only believe it!! Cool!!

Not so fast. First of all, who is Jesus talking to? Well, I think it's His disciples . . . for sure he's talking to Peter. So, was Jesus talking to us? Or just to His disciples? Hmm.

Here's another verse to consider.

"14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." - 1 John 5:14-15

This 'God's will' thing. Umm, so we can get whatever we want as long as God wants us to have it anyway? Something like that. Praying "in God's will" requires selfless prayer. That's not to say you can't pray for yourself, but you should pray for the things that God is likely to give. If we pray for a new Ferrari our prayer is likely to go unanswered. But if we pray that we can somehow find a ride for our kids to get to Sunday school, don't be suprised if the phone rings.

I am reading a book by Mark Cahill called The Watchmen. This is from his chapter on prayer.

"Living a sinful life will literally cause God to hide His face from us. Just wrestle with the ramifications of that concept for a second.

"When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!" - Isaiah 1:15

God takes how we live this life very seriously. He is not some big vending machine in the sky where we throw up a prayer; pull a lever and whatever we asked for drops from the heavens. No, He is concerned about your character. He is concerned about our thoughts and emotions, and how we treat people. He is concerned if we are representing Him well in this crazy world."

So are you praying for something, expecting to get it, while you are shoplifting things from Walmart? Are you seeking God's favor while you are cheating on your wife? Getting drunk on the weekends?

If I were you, which I am not, I would confess my sins first, seek God's forgiveness and mercy before even CONSIDERING asking Him for any favors. Remember . . . we deserve nothing. Even our good deeds are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6)

When we remember that, suddenly the things we pray for take on a different tone.

"Holy Father, I come before you today, lost and broken. I have sinned against you Lord and I come to you on my knees, humbly seeking your forgiveness. My eyes have strayed where they shouldn't have and I have lost myself and who You want me to be. Father, I seek your help. Refine me by whatever means you see fit. My desire is to please You with my obedience and with my life. Create in me a clean heart. Forgive me, I pray. May I always seek to do Your will here on earth and one day, if you are willing, with You in heaven. Holy is Your name, Lord. I thank You and praise You for who You are and all that You have done. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen."

The Prayer - Celine Dion & Josh Groban