INSTANT OR BREWED?
A lot of people just can’t ‘get’ prayer.
For them prayer should be a case of press the button and down falls the chocolate bar, so because the bars aren’t immediately falling they dismiss the idea even of praying at all.
The Lord Jesus Christ – time after time after time – sent His communication to His Heavenly Father and almost instantly the result of His communication manifested in the prayed-for-need being met.
As believing Christians – those who believe that God answers prayer, we too love the press button/result prayers, but it doesn’t only work that way. John 11:
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
The above passage of scripture, telling us of the Raising of Lazarus from the dead, may seem like an ‘instant coffee’ answer, but it wasn’t.
First when Christ heard of the death of Lazarus – he had probably been dead for two days, already.
Secondly Jesus waited another two days before going to the scene of the burial.
Before the prayer was answered – Jesus went through various internal spiritual experiences with His Father, (as always), that came through constant prayer and we are told also that …v33
…he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled…
So for four days Jesus carried the need, and then His prayer was answered – the man Lazarus rose from the dead.
In the Old Testament Elijah was wanting rain. So he prayed about it – but his servant had to go and look 7 times (7 nothings!) before the prayer began to be answered and even then it was a cloud the size of a man’s hand – not yet the rain. The rain eventually came of course. (I Kings 18)
The early church prayed for Peter in Prison – the time factor coming into play again – before he stood outside released after angelic intervention.
And so we could go on. Jericho – round and round the walls before prayer needs were met and down came the walls.
The Lord Jesus in the garden went three times before He came away with the definitive answer from His Father – go to the cross. (Luke 22)
To sum-up (something that could be elaborated on much more) – the bible exhorts us to
1 Thessalonians 5:17
17 pray without ceasing,
I often think of how we are exhorted to (Matthew 7/)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
To my mind the first one describes the instant result, the second suggests time delay. When we seek it takes time to find, and the third similarly suggests time and waiting – to knock, is to wait on the door being opened.
That’s two out of three involving prayer that is not instant coffee or falling chocolate bars.
seedsinmotiontruthnart 