Christian Living

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As a local newspaper reporter, I interviewed the father of a 20-something, hometown girl rising to pop music stardom. When the proud papa shared with me the lucrative salary his daughter was earning, I said, “Well, she’s not calling home for rent money.”

“No,” he laughed. “I call her for money.”

After the interview, I thought about my own dad, God rest his soul.

He didn’t get so blessed with me.

Back in my 20’s, there were times when I feared a check for seventy-eight cents might bounce.

I made several loan requests from the Bank of Dad-ville, and most were approved. I do remember one that wasn’t, and it involved a car. It was ultra sporty and shimmered in the sun like topaz—wouldn’t I look good in that car?!

“When donkey’s DO sprout wings,” was dad’s reply when I asked him to co-sign a loan.

The payments would’ve tanked me before the car was due its first oil change; therefore:

Request…DENIED.

In retrospect, I realize dad was right to say “no.”

Our Heavenly Dad is also right when He says “no”, though it can leave us disappointed and confused, especially when we can’t understand the “why” behind it. Most people survive and later see the reason, or trust that clarification will come in Heaven, where we all hope to view the big picture.

Others don’t take “no” very well, and it rocks their faith, or has them thinking their faith is too weak.

I recently heard someone say that God HAS to answer prayers—if our faith is strong enough.

Oh really? Boy, wish I’d known earlier that GOD ALMIGHTY has to do what Donna Morton says. Had I realized that God functioned as a personal genie, well, I can think of several things that would’ve panned out differently. I’d also be a size four.

Seriously, if this were true, everyone would be healed, wealthy and content. Nobody would die, ever. Poor ‘ol great-grandpa—our prayer chains would keep him earth-bound long after he was ready to go be with the Lord.

How comforting that God invites us to pray about everything (Philippians 4: 6) and that through Christ we may approach Him with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12). But—how do we get a “yes”?

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

Sometimes people say, “Here are my plans, Lord—bless them”, instead of saying “Thy will be done”, which is part of Jesus’ instructions when the disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1)

Prayer is effective when we pray God’s will, or in the spirit of seeking and submitting to his will while trusting for the best outcome. We should also examine our motives, recalling that James 4: 3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Why are we asking? Is it for God’s glory or our own? Is it for good, or will it cause problems? Is it what’s best for the person or situation we’re praying for?

Often, seeing prayer answered requires action on our part. When Moses came upon the Red Sea, God said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14: 15-16, NIV)

In other words, Moses, do something. That isn’t saying that God doesn’t intervene and change things. He can and does, but sometimes He wants us to work with Him. Ever known someone who needed money, but refused to look for a job? I’ll bet their prayer for the Publisher’s Clearinghouse guys to show up never came to pass.

God wants to do what’s best for us—“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.” (Isaiah 30:18, NIV)—but we must bow to His will, His way and His timing.

It’s then that we’ll find, “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16, NIV)

And that beats having our requests denied, or as Our Heavenly Dad might say, “When angels DON’T have wings”

©Donna G. Morton, February 2006

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