Overcoming

One answer for unanswered prayer

10 Comments / Overcoming, Prayer, Relationship with God /

One of the most frustrating things everyone has to deal with at one time or other is unanswered prayer. Unanswered prayer is so perplexing because it brings us face to face with the mystery of God’s ways. It is an unsettling reminder that God does not always do things our way nor operate according to our time table. It confronts us with the reality, as Steven Curtis Chapman sings, that “He is God and I am not!”

It is particularly difficult, if not painful, when the unanswered prayer is a strategic one; a prayer upon whose answer so many other things and breakthroughs in our lives depend. It can be a prayer for the mending of a broken relationship, a financial release, a healing and deliverance from some affliction or wisdom to make a critical decision etc.

When prayers like these go unanswered they have a way of putting our lives on hold. It is as if everything hangs in the balance upon God answering that prayer. Sometimes even our relationship and trust in God can seem to be at stake, because we feel that if He doesn’t answer such an important prayer in our lives, He must not love or care for us.

This type of prayer might be called a linchpin prayer. A linchpin is a fastener that holds two important parts together, like the pin that keeps a wheel from sliding off an axle. Without a linchpin the wheel eventually comes off, the car breaks down, the journey comes to a halt, plans are put on hold and you are stuck. The natural reaction then is to begin to pray desperately, fervently for a linchpin. Linchpin prayers demand answers because we depend upon them to get our lives unstuck and moving ahead in God’s purposes.

My wife and I have had to deal with that reality over the past two years in our prayers to sell our vacation home. Everything I know about prayer in 40 years of walking with Lord has been applied to that end. We have done it all: faith confessions, crafted prayer with scriptures, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of agreement with other believers, binding and loosing prayers, forgiving and blessing prayers, humbling with repentance and fasting prayers etc. etc. But seemingly it has been all for naught and we have not had one bite in two years! It is as if God has totally ignored our prayers to sell the place. We did rent it out for a year, which gave us a reprieve from our concern about it, but our renters moved out last month and now we are back to square one – once again wholly dependent upon an answer to our linchpin prayer.

Yesterday as I was praying again about this I had a revelation. I believe it was inspired by the Holy Spirit for it had never crossed my mind before. The thought came to me, “maybe you should change the way you are praying about this.” Hmmmmm.

It was a liberating thought because although I have sought to be persistent in this prayer, as Jesus teaches, I was finding very little peace and confidence in the process. (Luke 18:1) Sometimes praying linchpin prayers simply fuel our anxiety rather than faith. That was a nagging affect my praying was having upon me.

We can become so obsessed with an answer coming our way in our timing that we slip from the “tranquility” of faith into the “toil and chasing after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:6) Sadly then, we can fail to pick up on God’s subtle re-directives through unanswered prayer.

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The secret to solitude

Overcoming, Relationship with God /

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke5:16 (NIV)

This week when I read this verse it literally jumped off the page and filled me with joy. I have read this passage of scripture many, many times before, but for some reason it never registered with me the way it did this time. I came to the realization that Jesus’ consistent habit of seeking solitude actually triumphed over the things in His life militating against it. Developing a life punctuated by solitude and communion with God is a battle that can be won.

We know from the gospel accounts that crowds were constantly besieging Him and His life was at times so frenzied that He and His disciples did not even have time to eat. (Mark 3:20 & 6:31)

Our world today is no different. People, projects and media demands are constantly besieging all of us as parents, spouses, employees, students, home owners etc. The fast food business in our culture is booming because like Jesus and the disciples, we often do not have the luxury of time to sit down and eat a decent meal. Which brings up a point that often intrigues and irritates me at the same time – have you noticed that drive-through customers seem to get faster service than those standing at the counter? I am not going to go down that rabbit trail, not today.

The point I am really making is that carving out time in our busy schedules for intimate communion with God has its ups and downs but it is a winnable battle if, like Jesus, we persist. Of the seven specific accounts in scripture of Jesus seeking solitary time all but two of them were interrupted. Only His all night prayer to choose the twelve and His time with Peter, James and John on the mount of transfiguration were sacrosanct. (Luke 6:12-13, Mark 9:2)

During His 40 days in the wilderness Jesus was plagued by the Devil. At the outset of His ministry we learn His attempt to steal away in the early morning hours for prayer is spoiled by humans. Simon and the others go looking for Jesus, find Him and immediately put pressure on Him to respond to the multitudes who are also seeking Him. (Mark 1:35-38)

The one time we are told that He wanted to take His disciples apart with Him by boat to a solitary place, the crowds got wind of it and beat them there. (Mark 6:31-33) Later that night after a busy day of teaching, feeding more than 5000 people, and sending His disciples back by boat, He climbed the mountainside to seek some time alone with His Father. But again He is interrupted as He sees in the distance the disciples straining at the oars and decides to go to them. (Mark 6:45-48) Of course, the coup de gras of Jesus’ solitude disturbances was His arrest in theGardenofGethsemane.

It has always amazed me that Jesus did not seem to be discouraged or frustrated by these interruptions. To the contrary His compassion for the disciples, the crowds and even His enemies moved Him to see it as an opportunity to teach them and further His Father’s purposes.

Thinking about Jesus’ dismal batting average when it came to solitude has for years perplexed me. Why couldn’t we have more accounts of His successful, uninterrupted times of solitary prayer? If Jesus’ prayer life was so fraught with distractions, how could I ever hope for anything better?

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The Happy Perfectionist

Answers to Prayer!, Growth & Development, News & Reflections, Overcoming /

This Labor Day weekend Susan and I, with some trepidation, made the trek up north to check on our vacation home. We had the place rented out this past year and our renters moved out the end of August. Having not been there for some time and only been limited as landlords to periodic reports; we came armed with cleaning supplies, tools and our sleeves rolled up to spend the weekend working.
When we drove up the driveway and walked through the front door all our fears were allayed. We were pleasantly surprised to find everything in good repair, the furniture and furnishings back in their proper places, and the house well cleaned and vacuumed. Even the garage was swept and clean the way we had left it and the lawn mowed. It was as if no one had ever lived there. What a joy! And blessed are the responsible renters for they shall inherit their full damage deposit!
Joy and perfectionism are infrequent companions and the term the “happy perfectionist” is for the most part an oxymoron. Those like me with the perfectionist gene know that perfectionism is a hard task master. Unfortunately the more afflicted a person is with perfectionism the more unlikely they are to be satisfied that things have met their expectations. And by the same token the less likely they are to be happy with the result. Thankfully however, I can say that I was a happy perfectionist with how we found our home.
There are typically only two times when a perfectionist is truly happy. First when they complete a task that measures up to their high standards of excellence and fully meets their expectations. And second, when someone else completes a task that measures up to their high standards of excellence and fully meets their expectations.

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Entertaining Angels Without Knowing It

26 Comments / Answers to Prayer!, Overcoming, Prayer /

Most of us do not think much about angels, much less look for their presence in our lives. But that does not mean that they are not looking for us and actively engaged in helping us. Contrary to some caricatures, they are not rosy cherubs floating on clouds carrying harps. They are servants of God, indued with His power and authority and sent to earth to serve His people and His purposes.

Although in some cases they appear as angels, frequently they take on human form. In the Bible we read of the appearances in person of majestic angels like Gabriel. (Luke 1) Those kind of angelic visitations are unmistakable and awe inspiring. Modern day accounts from those whom have had the privilege of seeing angels in person confirm this. But most of the time angels travel incognito and unless the Lord reveals their identity to us we are unaware of their identity. God clues us in to this in the book of Hebrews. We are told that some strangers who come into our lives may actually be angels. (Hebrews 13:2) Imagine having an encounter with an angel and not realizing it until afterward. There were people in the Bible, likeLot, who had that experience. He met two men in the public square, offered them shelter for the night and they turned out to be two angels sent by God to rescue him and his family before the destruction ofSodom.

Last week was a flurry of activity for my wife and I and our extended family. We all were involved to some degree in preparing for the big Saturday departure of our daughter Annie for a two year teaching commitment in Turkey. Such partings are always fraught with emotion, last “good” good-byes and prayers for protection.

Our other two daughters, Sarah and Carrie, took Annie out for a farewell luncheon on Thursday. All three have traveled extensively. Over lunch, as they compared travel notes, they discovered each of them had an angel story to tell. All three of them shared how a stranger had come into their lives, at a critical time of need in their travels.

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Busted! Now what?

Growth & Development, Overcoming /

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it.” (Jeremiah 17:9) ESV

I got busted yesterday. While going through airport security the TSA spotted something suspicious in my backpack. I was pulled aside and given a full body scan and pat down search. An amiable agent with gloved hand proceeded to gingerly empty my pack piece by piece, a pocket at a time. At the outset he asked me if I had any item that was sharp or used for cutting. I politely replied “No, not to my knowledge.” When I said that, I was reasonably assured because I have traveled with that backpack numerous times.

To my chagrin however, the methodical agent did find the sharp, cutting item he was looking for. It was a small red Swiss army pocket knife. You know the kind – no more than an inch and a half long, just big enough to hold a tooth pick and tiny tweezers in slots on each side. I apologized explaining I was not aware it was there. Holding it in the palm of his hand he asked if I had someone still at the airport I wanted to give it to; otherwise he added, he would have to keep it. I said “No, that’s alright . . . thank you for doing your job.”

I really did not give the incident and loss of the knife a second thought. With several of those little red knives at home and one actually on my key ring, all my teeth picking needs would still be adequately covered.

My mind was preoccupied with more important things – breakfast. After repacking my backpack I made a beeline for the concourse McDonalds to enjoy some pancakes and sausage before making my way to the boarding gate.

As I was savoring my meal I unconsciously licked the syrup from my plastic knife and was startled when the serrated edge cut me as it brushed the corner of my mouth. “Dumb” I admonished myself . . . but that got me to thinking. I had just passed through security where they are on the hunt for items that are sharp and cutting. My little knife was confiscated, and justifiably so, because it could be used as a weapon to hijack a plane, the way the 911 hijackers used box cutters to wreck havoc on our nation 10 years ago.

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