Confident in the Power of Prayer - A Series on Confidence, Part 21
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. ”
What a blessed promise! If we ask anything according to God's will, it's as good as done. God will not withhold it from us. Of course, this is not the "name it and claim it" philosophy that many false teachers spout. In their desire to make people feel good (and earn money in the process), they conveniently leave out the phrase "according to his will." To them, you ask and God gives, no questions asked. Want money? Ask God, and He'll give it. Want health? Ask God, and it's yours. They're not concerned with serving God but with serving self. But God is not a genie in a bottle or some form of vending machine. Yes, He gives, but only in accordance with His will.
Take Hannah, for example. First Samuel 1 tells us the story of Hannah, one of the two wives of a man named Elkanah. Unlike Peninnah (wife #2), Hannah was barren. The passage doesn't indicate how long Hannah and Elkanah had been married, but it does imply that it was years. And during those years, Peninnah provoked Hannah about the fact she couldn't have children. Nice gal! In fact, she troubled her to the point that the Bible says Hannah fretted, cried and refrained from eating. During the family's annual trip to Jerusalem, Hannah excused herself from the dinner table and went to the temple to pray about her barrenness.
“And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. ”
Hannah vowed to the Lord that if He would give her a child, she would dedicate the child back to the Lord. She pleaded there on her face, mouthing the words of her prayer. In fact, the priest thought she was drunk, but she assured him she was simply offering her heartfelt petition before the Lord. And so, she prayed in fervent, earnest prayer. Then, look what happened:
“Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. ”
You know this wasn't the first, second or even tenth time Hannah had prayed for a child. I imagine it was part of her daily petitions to God. Yet, before this prayer in the temple, despite her many other prayers, Hannah was distraught and anxious. What was different about this prayer? What was it about it that made her walk away, regain her appetite and lose her sadness? I believe this time she was confident in the power of prayer.
Perhaps all the times before, she did the same thing we do--gave the situation to God only to take it right back again. Maybe she prayed because she knew it was the right thing to do, but in her heart, she doubted whether it would make a difference. I don't know about her earlier prayers, but I do know this time was different, and coincidentally (or not), this was the time God answered in the affirmative. This time, Hannah was confident in the power of prayer.
“If we cast our burdens upon another, can they continue to press upon us? If we bring them away with us from the throne of grace, it is evident we do not leave them there. With respect to myself, I have made this one test of my prayers: if after committing anything to God, I can, like Hannah, come away and have my mind no more sad, my heart no more pained or anxious, I look upon it as one proof that I have prayed in faith; but, if I bring away my burden, I conclude that faith was not in exercise. ”
I love this! How many times have I thought I left a situation at the throne only to discover I was still worrying about the outcome or trying to figure things out for myself? If I walk away from the throne still sad, anxious, confused or pained, then I didn't accomplish what I set out to do, and I need to return immediately. Why? Because a worried, anxious heart cannot reside within one who is confident in the power of prayer. We say we believe in prayer. We claim God can do anything. We shout from the housetops that God answers prayer. But do we live like we believe it? Do we live lives that are confident in the power of prayer?
For Hannah, it was as if something finally clicked and she realized she hadn't fully surrendered the problem to God. So, in contrast to all the times she had prayed before, Hannah took it to the Lord and left it there, allowing her to walk away happy and free, no longer burdened by the weight of a situation beyond her control.
Are you feeling burdened today? Do your troubles keep you awake at night or prevent you from enjoying life? Do you find yourself anxious and worried even after making your petition to God in prayer? If so, you may want to examine your confidence in the power of prayer. Do you really believe it? And if you do, why won't you let go of the problem?
This lesson has been truly convicting to me. I thought I was turning my problems over to God. I thought I was living more stress-free, but upon closer examination, I now realize I have not been confident in the power of prayer. I have worried, fretted, planned and worked to bring about solutions, and all of this after "giving" the problem to God, which means I never really let it go. Now that I am aware of this, I can strive to be more confident, believing with all my heart that God is in control and will be true to His word. If I ask in His will, He will do it. The same applies to you.
I find it interesting that God answered Hannah's prayer of faith right away. Could it be that we would receive blessings sooner if we would simply trust God to do what He said He would do? Just some food for thought.