Why Does God Not Answer Every Prayer?

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Okay, good to have everybody back, and I guess this is the fourth program this afternoon, and then we can go our separate ways once again. For those of you watching us on television, we'd like to welcome you, and of course I guess I should admonish you, if you enjoy the program, pass the word. We're not well-known, we're not a household name by any chance, so be sure you tell your friends and your loved ones to tune in. And again, we always like to thank you for your letters, your financial help, and most of all for your prayers, and we realize that the Lord is using us in a tremendous way. You know, I'm always so thrilled—we're living in a day where a lot of people think that Christianity is for the women, but I think that we are unique, that we reach so many men. And all my classes here in Oklahoma are over half men, and when we have seminars around the country, it's always over half men. And I think that's as it should be. It's the men who need to be men. I'll tell you what, living the Christian life is not for the weak. It takes real men to walk it, as Paul, of course, evidenced. Okay, I guess I better let you know once again that all the past programs are available on videotape, the audio, as well as the printed page, and if you are interested in any of those, you just drop us a note or call us on that 800 number, and we'll get that material to you. Okay, I think we're ready to move on into Philippians now, chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, it's just a possibility we'll finish the book in this half hour, and be ready for Colossians then when we come back next month. Okay, Philippians chapter 4, verse 1. Very first word. What is it? Therefore. Well, what's he just been talking about? The Lord's coming, see? And that it's at hand. It can happen any time. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and long for my joy and crown, stand fast in the Lord my dearly beloved. Now never forget, where is Paul when he writes this? Well, he's in prison right next to Nero's palace, and is chained to a Roman guard constantly, many of whom I'm sure that I'm not wrong when I say were probably some of the furious warriors of the Roman army. Probably some of them had carried out the capital punishment. In fact, I was contemplating this one evening, you know, wouldn't it have been really bizarre if one of those fellows who had been commissioned to lop the head of Nero's wife had actually become a convert of Paul? It wouldn't surprise me a bit, because some of the most ruthless men, I think, in the Roman army were chained to Paul as a guard, and he was such a powerful witness that I'm sure that by the time many of them left their tour of duty, they were believers. And you say, well, where do you get that? Well, I shouldn't do this, should I? I haven't even started Philippians. Go to Titus. Go to Titus. Titus, chapter 2, and dropping down to verse 11. Now that's why I try to encourage people, when you read a verse, don't just read it, but contemplate it. Just stop and think, and I don't think there's anything wrong with our letting the Spirit lead our thoughts. How could something like this happen? Well read the verse, Titus chapter 2, verse 11, for the grace of God. Now you remember a few programs ago I gave you the illustration of John Newton, the horrible, despicable, wicked individual who came to a knowledge of salvation, and then wrote that tremendous hymn, Amazing Grace. Well alright, men have always been that way, and I'm sure many of the men in the Roman army to whom Paul witnessed were the same kind of men. So it always took the grace of God to bring that kind of a person to a knowledge of salvation. So verse 11, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men. Now of course the all men of Paul's day would have been the then known world, or the Roman Empire. But nevertheless the Gospel had already permeated the Roman Empire from the west to the east. How else could it have happened except that these Roman soldiers in their revolving tour of duty would go from one end of the Empire to the other, and they were emissaries and following in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, and taking the Gospel of grace. My, what greater evangelist than a saved, hardened Roman warrior. Do you ever think of that? Now we're going to see as we close the letter of Philippians, in fact come back to it now, that he is again going to mention those believers in the very household of Nero. But that's for the closing moments of the program. Let's come back up to chapter 4, verse 1. Now down to verse 2. Ephesians 4, verse 2. Ephesians 4, verse 2. Now these are two ladies that evidently had some differences of opinion in the Philippian congregation, but they were active. A lot of people think that Paul was anti-feminist, and that he was always putting women out. No, he wasn't, and here again he is encouraging these two ladies that he knows are active in the Philippian church, that they solve their individual differences, so that they could be of the same mind in the Lord. Now along that same line, when people tell me, Oh Paul hated women, oh he couldn't have. He couldn't have, because he let so many help him in the ministry. So come back to Romans 16. If you ever run across somebody that says, Oh Paul was anti-woman, and you say, Well you haven't ever read Romans 16? Why he commends any number of women in that one chapter, not mentioning of course, these two, Eodius and Syntyche, here in Philippi. But in Rome, my, we'll just look at a few of them. Romans 16, verse 1, I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church, which is that centuria. See that? Now she wasn't a pastor, but she was active in the church. She was a servant. She was serving the Lord, and Paul commends her for that. That ye receive her in the Lord, as become of saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you. For she hath been a succorer of many, in other words, a helper of many, and of myself also. And then in verse 3, greet Priscilla and Aquila, but see he names Priscilla, and oh my goodness. Down to verse 6, now it's not the same Mary, the mother of Jesus of course, but greet Mary who bestowed much labor on us, and all the way through this chapter, over and over he makes reference to women. And then of course, I think the crowning accolade that a man could put on a woman, especially in those days, was that this whole Roman letter was committed unto a woman. Did you know that? It was a lady that carried this Roman letter from Corinth, where Paul wrote it, all the way up to the city of Rome. And so always remember that Paul was not anti-feminist whatsoever. I think it's in the last chapter where he makes mention of her, if I'm not mistaken. Oh anyhow, I'm not thinking of her name, but nevertheless, it was, I think it was Phoebe, wasn't it? Yeah, okay, it was Phoebe who carried the letter from Corinth to Rome, and it's got to be here in the last chapter someplace. But well, it is the first one we just talked about, the very first verse. I commend unto you, Phoebe, that your receiver in the Lord has become a saint. So my goodness, if Paul thought so little of women, as a lot of people think he did, he would have never entrusted something as precious as the letter to the Romans. But he does, and so whenever anybody comes up with that, you just pitch it, and you just tell them they're way out in left field, that that was not the case. Okay, coming back to the Philippians, verse 3. I entreat thee also, true yokeful fellow, help those women who labored with me in the gospel, and with Clement also, and with other of my fellow laborers, whose names are in the Book of Life. They were believers, no doubt about it. Now verse 4. From that prison situation next door to the most horrible death spot that ever lived, Paul can write what? Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always! And again I say, Rejoice! My if he could rejoice under his circumstances, then who are we to ever complain? Now the next two or three verses I always use when it comes to prayer for the Grace Aged Believer. For years I got hung up on John's Gospel, chapter 14, where Jesus said, "...whatever you will, I will do it." And it didn't work. I wrote to more than one friend of mine in the ministry, and I said, Now what's the matter with me? This doesn't work. And they had all kinds of gobbledygook for answers. But now I know why. He was talking to the Twelve, and in view of the Kingdom, then indeed they would be asking whatever they would, and it would happen. But here is the answer for our prayer life. Here is the answer to, does God always answer prayer? Yes. It may not always be the way we think it should be, but He always answers. But now let's look at it. Verse 5. Let your moderation be made known unto all men, and again what was the reason? The Lord is at hand. We're not to go way out in left field, and we're not to get carried away with kooky ideas, but we're to maintain a stable walk, a stable manifestation of our faith, and now here comes. Verse 6. Be careful for nothing. In our language today, what do we say? Don't worry about anything. Easier said than done, isn't it? Don't worry about anything, but in everything, and that means what it says. It doesn't just mean spiritual, it means everything, spiritual, physical, material, whatever is part and parcel of our experience here as citizens of heaven, ambassadors on the earth. Whatever our need, we can come with prayer and supplication, but there is one string attached to it, and that is to be thankful. That's why I think most people's prayers go unanswered. They are not thankful. I think many, probably a well known church congregation has gone down the tube because they forgot to be thankful. I think again our beloved nation, we have gotten to the straits that we're in because we have forgotten to be thankful. Even the pagans, let's see where is that? Go back to Acts, where Paul was in Athens. Back into Acts chapter 17, and let's just drop down to verse 24. So it isn't just in an admonition to the believer, but the whole world should recognize the goodness and the provision of God. Verse 24, Acts 17, "...God that made the world, and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath, and all things. And he hath made of one all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us." And then verse 28, Acts 17, "...for in him we live, and move, and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said, for we also are his offspring." Now he's talking to pagan Greek philosophers, he's not talking to believers here, but even the unbeliever better wake up and realize that all these good things that make life possible, come from the God of Glory. Back to Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, and so we can come with our prayers of supplication, but it has to be with thanksgiving. You thank the Lord for what He's going to do, before you even ask for it. And I think that is the clue to the whole idea of Christian living, is that we live in that constant attitude of thanksgiving. Thank Him for His grace, we thank Him for such a great salvation, we thank Him for His Word, we thank Him for all the promises in it. Now if we approach Him with that attitude of thanksgiving, we can make all our requests known unto God. Nothing is held out. Now I'm not going to give people the privilege of coming up with something frivolous, but anything that is of necessity, anything that we find dear and important to us, we have every privilege in the world to bring it into the throne room. Now I always put it this way, God may answer yes, He just may answer, and miraculously or otherwise, our prayers can be answered. Always see it happen every once in a while don't we? But many times the Lord says, no, our prayers are not answered. Other times the Lord may say, you wait a while, you just wait a while, I'll do it in my own time. But now the next verse tells me that here is our immediate answer to prayer. Whether He says yes, no, or maybe later, that's beside the point. The answer to our prayer is now in verse 7. The moment we pray and ask with thanksgiving the peace of God, why? Because now we've left it in good hands. He knows how to handle it, He's in total control, and then the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Now we know we're living in a world, and I guess the catch word of the day, I hear it all the time, stressed out. Everybody is getting stressed out, and no doubt it's there. Stress works on the mind, but what is the best treatment for stress? The peace of God. That peace that passeth all understanding. It's beyond human comprehension that even when things are going against us, even when things are tough, and even when we think that God has forgotten all about us, don't you ever think that. That's just when you better wake up and realize that God is in total control. Even when the bad things happen, He's in total, total control. And so that's our real answer to prayer, that just as soon as we bring something into the throne room, God responds with His peace that passeth all understanding. Now let's move on down to verse 8, and hopefully we can finish the chapter today. Ephesians 2. Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, now here we come with a list of statements again. How many do you suppose there's going to be? Seven! That perfect number, over and over, Paul will all of a sudden peel off seven statements, and here's another one. Seven things that we can find as part and parcel of the peace of God. Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, there's the first one. Whatsoever things are honest, that's the second one. Whatsoever things are just, that's the third one. Whatsoever things are pure, that's the fourth one. Whatsoever things are lovely, that's the fifth one. Whatsoever things are of good report, that's the sixth one. If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, that's the seventh one. Now what are we to do? Think on these things, seven perfect mental attitudes. Now that's enough to heal depression, and that's enough to heal almost any malady. Oh to think on things that are true. What causes a lot of the dilemma today? People don't know what's truth. People don't know what they can believe. My, your paper, I know ours is, the Daily Oklahoman has articles every day warning us not to be taken in by the con artists of whatever media vehicle, whether it's the internet, or whether it's telemarketing or whatever. Don't be taken in, because we're living in a world that is not truthful. But we think on things that are true. Whatsoever things are honest. Here again, honesty has almost become a lost art, hasn't it? The used car dealer I suppose is the butt of most jokes in that regard. There's nothing they like better than to pull a fast one on somebody. I got a friend up in Minnesota who was a used car dealer for a long time, and he's a character, and he'll watch the program, don't worry, he's going to catch it. I'll never forget one night we were at a church picnic up there, and a dear old gentleman came up and he says, aren't you Don So-and-So? And he says, yeah. He said, I bought my first car from you years and years ago. Yeah, he says, I remember explicitly. He says, it's the only time I ever lost money. Well, you see, that's the glib response of a used car salesman. And they're known, they like to pull the wool over people. Now not all of them. You know, whenever I make statements like that, it's not all. But nevertheless, we're living in a world where we've got to be constantly on guard that somebody doesn't pull a fast one on us. We're not living in a world where everything is honest. OK, whatsoever things are just, that's along the same line. If it's honest and it's just, boy, that's what more could you ask for, see? Whatsoever things are pure, well, not much of that anymore either, is there? That's why I've quit watching television. There's just absolutely nothing pure on there anymore. It's getting ridiculous, all right? Whatsoever things are lovely. Now that's a word, of course, I guess I always have to think of my wife's sister. That was one of her favorite words, you know, everything was lovely. Well, that's nice. You remember that, don't you, hon? Everything was lovely. Well, yeah, that's great, but it's a word that probably is not as easy to explain as some of these others, but whatever. Take it for what it means. OK, the next one. Whatsoever things are of good report. Now you see, all of these tie in to the basic Christian premise of truthfulness, and honesty, and integrity. In fact, I can just lump the whole shebang into one word, Biblical Morality. Biblical Morality, see, and that's what makes for good citizens, all right? And if there be any praise, anything that you can really feel good about, this is where it's at. In a world that can be honest, and truthful, and with integrity. Now verse 9. All seven of these areas of Christian lifestyle, Paul says, you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen, where? In Him! Now think about that for a minute. Here was a man who filled the bill on all seven of these attributes of the Christian life. Now do you see why the Holy Spirit says, follow Paul? If you can fulfill these seven attributes as a believer in your everyday life experience, never will somebody point a finger at you and say, well there's a hypocrite if I ever saw one. No, because this is true Christianity, and there's nothing that makes us less than real. You know I've always said Christianity isn't being so heavenly minded, we're no earthly good. No, that's not what it is. Christianity is so practical, I've said it over and over. There is nothing more practical on this planet than the Christian life, but only a believer can live it, because it has to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. I'm going to finish the chapter, I've got to do it in two minutes. Verse 9. "...those things that ye have heard, and seen in me, do them, and the God of peace shall be with you." Now there's a promise, a response from a loving God. Now verse 10. "...but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein ye were all so careful or mindful, but ye lacked opportunity." In other words the Philippians were not wealthy people, they were up there in northern Greece and they were not a big commercial center like Corinth, and so they didn't have a lot to give. Now verse 11. "...not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." Now I've brought out in past programs, since we've been in Paul's letters, that I think early on when he was a big wheel in Judaism, he was a wealthy man. I think he was probably one of the wealthier Jews in Jerusalem. But he pitched it all for the sake of the Gospel. Does he complain? No, he's still content, even though he has nothing but a few pieces of parchment and a cloak or two. He never complains about his lack of physical material wealth. Verse 12. "...I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound." Again going back to his early career in Judaism. Verse 13. "...everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full, and to be hungry, both to abound, and to suffer noot." Now verse 13. "...here is the promise, I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me." We can do nothing of ourselves, but when Christ is in control, there is nothing that we cannot do that He wants us to do. Then in verse 15 he speaks of the giving and the receiving from the Philippians, and again verse 17. "...the only reason that he desired a gift was so that they in turn would get their reward in glory." Now verse 22. "...I said I'd bring the cloak, I wish I had a few more seconds, but here again he makes mention that all the saints salute you chiefly, primarily they who are of Caesars, Nero, and he found converts in the very heart." Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the scriptures and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma 74552. Or call 1-800-369-7856. Remember, all programs are available in printed form, audio cassette, and videotape. Be sure to tune in next time to Through the Bible with Les Feldick.