Thank God For Unanswered Prayer Matthew 7:7-11 (NKJV)

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, August 18,2013 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Thank God For Unanswered Prayer Matthew 7:7-11 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to the seventh chapter of Matthew's gospel And let's read verses MATTHEW 7:7-11 (NKJV) 7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is here among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him? P R A Y E R >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ILLUSTRATION Introduction If you are a fan of country music, I'm sure you remember the hit song recorded by Garth Brooks back in 1990, entitled Unanswered Prayer. In the first verse of that song, Brooks talks about a guy who ran into one of his old high school sweethearts one day. And as his mind started wandering back to the days when they were boyfriend and girlfriend, he remembered how he used to pray that GOD would one day let her become his wife. Then in the second verse, the guy comes back from his little trip down memory lane, and he looks at the wonderful wife God blessed him with instead and he thanked GOD for Unanswered Prayer.

2 As you look back over your life aren't you thankful God didn't always give you exactly what you asked for? In fact, some of the greatest blessings in our lives are the result of GOD not giving us what asked for. Because you and I have limited knowledge and understanding, especially in matters related to our future, we have asked for things we thought would be good for us, and GOD didn't give it to us because He knew the terrible heartache and misery it would bring. How many times have we begged GOD to open a door of opportunity that we thought would be ideal, only to have GOD open a different door instead that turned out to be a far greater blessing? Because He loves us, GOD will never deprive you and me of anything we ask for that is within His divine will. But it is also because He loves us that GOD will never give us anything we ask for that is outside His will. Isn't that how any loving parent would respond to a request of his son or daughter? Let's say this Christmas one of your kids asks for a pet rattlesnake. Are you going to give it to them? Absolutely NOT! Why? Because you love them and care for them you know a pet rattlesnake can harm them. That is exactly the point Jesus is making in these VERSES. If we as loving parents would never knowingly give something to any of our kids that would harm them, then isn't it reasonable to expect our loving Heavenly Father to do the same when it comes to answering our prayers? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> For the remainder of the message I would like to share with you a couple of examples from the scriptures of Unanswered Prayers and show you how those unanswered prayers turned out to be wonderful blessings.

3 Our first example comes to us from the Old Testament. And that is... I. The Unanswered Prayer of Elijah Please turn with me to I KINGS chapter 19, and let's read verses 1-4. I KINGS 19:1-4 (NKJV) 1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers. 1. LORD, TAKE MY LIFE! What would ever cause this great prophet of God to reach such a breaking point that he would actually pray that God would take his life? 2. Consider this: (A) This was the prayer of A DESPERATE MAN. Desperate people pray desperate prayers. Elijah was a marked man! After hearing that he had executed the 450 prophets of Baal, Queen Jezebel went ballistic. She sent a messenger to tell Elijah that he was going to be put to death by that same time tomorrow. Now I don't know about you, but if I knew the government was sending people to execute me within the next twenty four hours, I would probably be pretty desperate too, wouldn't you?

4 So when Elijah prayed, LORD, take my life that was the prayer of a desperate man who had a bounty on his head. What Elijah was praying was that he would rather that GOD take his life than to die a violent death at the hands of Jezebel's hit men. (B) This was the prayer of A DISCOURAGED MAN. After GOD'S decisive victory over the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, Elijah believed that the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) might once again be united and their worshiping of the One true God in Jerusalem. When Elijah received word that Jezebel had ordered his execution, all of Elijah's hopes and dreams for a restored Israel were shattered. This was the prayer of A DESPERATE MAN. This was the prayer of A DISCOURAGED MAN. (C) This was also the prayer of A DOG TIRED MAN. You know what it means to be dog-tired don't you? We've all had those days that literally wore us out to the point we could hardly put one foot in front of the other. And we dozed off to sleep the moment our head hit the pillow. That's dog- tired. Elijah was dog-tired. Earlier that day Elijah had the contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. That contest drug on for many hours as the prophets of Baal were unsuccessful in their attempts to get Baal to answer their prayers to consume the sacrifice they had laid on the altar. We know that contest ended abruptly when GOD sent down fire from heaven and completely consumed the water-drenched altar Elijah had set up.

5 After the success on Mount Carmel, Elijah commanded the children of Israel to seize the 450 prophets of Baal and take them down to the Brook Kishon, where the scriptures tell us Elijah executed them. Even though Elijah was carrying out God's command, can you imagine the emotional and physical stress of executed or ordering the execution of 450 men? After that, ELIJAH climbed back to the top of Mount Carmel and engaged in a period of intense prayer to GOD to bring the three-year long drought to an end. When Elijah saw that cloud the size of a man's fist out over the Mediterranean Sea, he tied his robe up and ran sixteen miles from Mount Carmel to Jezreel. Are you tired yet? I know I am! But wait, there's more! After Elijah received word that Jezebel had put out a warrant for his death, VERSE 3 tells us, He arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba. We're talking 95 miles! That would be like like running from here (Plymouth, NC) to Norfolk, Virginia. 3. Do you understand now why Elijah prayed, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, LORD, TAKE MY LIFE! This was the prayer of A DESPERATE, DISCOURAGED, DOG-TIRED MAN who was so blinded by his circumstances he could see no way out. He had lost all hope! 4. Thankfully, God didn't give Elijah what he prayed for. Psalm 103 tells us, As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 5. Rather than giving Elijah the death he prayed for, God allowed Elijah to get some much needed rest. And God sent an angel to provide food and water for Elijah in the wilderness for the next forty days and nights to prepare Elijah for the next phase of his prophetic ministry.

6 Another interesting thing to note is that not only did GOD not take Elijah's life the day he prayed that prayer, GOD never took Elijah's life. Elijah was one of only two men in the entire Bible to never experience death; Enoch being the other. 6. Thank God for Elijah's Unanswered Prayer! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Our second example comes to us from the New Testament. II. The Unanswered Prayer of The Apostle Paul Please turn with me to II Corinthians 12, verses Corinthians 12:7-10 (New King James Version) 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

7 1. In this scripture we see three things: (A) First, we see PAUL'S PROBLEM (v.7) Paul refers to his problem as a THORN in the FLESH. When we think of a thorn we think of something prickly that causes a slight pain or irritation. But the Greek word Paul used for thorn is the same word as tent stake. In other words he is talking about something that caused him excruciating pain. Now just what Paul's thorn-in-the-flesh was is something that has been debated virtually since the day Paul wrote this second letter to the Corinthian Church. Some have speculated his thorn-in-the-flesh could have been epileptic seizures...a speech impediment...fleshly temptations...hateful persecutors who caused him constant trouble... recurring earaches...a grotesque physical appearance...and some have even suggested his thorn-in-the-flesh was an estranged wife who made his wife miserable. However, the two most common suggestions are that Paul suffered from recurring bouts with malaria which causes migraine-like headaches that are described as being like having a hot iron driven through one's forehead. The other common suggestion is that Paul suffered from extremely poor eyesight. In GALATIANS 6:11 (NKJV) Paul wrote: See what large letters I have written to you with my own hand. Who writes with large letters? Someone with very poor eyesight. At any rate, we will never know for sure just what Paul's thorn-in-the flesh was while we remain here on earth.

8 (B) The second thing we notice in this passage is PAUL'S PRAYER. v. 8 Concerning this thing (this thorn-in-the-flesh ) I pleaded with the LORD three times that it might depart from me. In the original Greek three times indicates an action that was repeated over and over again. Paul prayed over and over again that God would take away his thorn-in-the-flesh. Perhaps when this problem first appeared, Paul thought, No problem, I'll just ask God to take it away from me...problem SOLVED! But nothing happened, so he prayed again! STILL NOTHING! And so he prayed again...and again...and again...and PAUL'S PRAYER TURNED INTO AN UNANSWERED PRAYER AT LEAST IN THE SENSE THAT GOD DIDN'T GIVE PAUL WHAT HE ASKED FOR. And that brings us to THE THIRD THING we see in this passage and that is... (C) The third thing we see in this passage is GOD'S PROVISION. v.9 And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. While GOD didn't respond the way Paul had hoped He would respond, GOD did answer Paul's prayer in a different way. Instead of taking away Paul's thorn -in-the-flesh, GOD gave him His all-sufficient grace and strength to live with the infirmity.

9 Why didn't GOD give Paul what he prayed for? We see at least two reasons in our text: One, was to keep Paul HUMBLE.. Two times in verses 7, 8, Paul acknowledged that his thorn-in-the-flesh was to keep him from being exalted above measure. Remember before Paul became a Christian he had prided himself on being the Pharisee of all Pharisees. Perhaps that pride was an on-going battle in Paul's life. And by NOT removing his thorn-in-the-flesh GOD kept Paul's pride in check. The other reason God didn't give Paul what he prayed for was because Paul's weakness MAGNIFIED Christ's greatness. (vs.9,10) There is a tendency among some Christians to exalt the MAN of GOD above Christ. By NOT taking away his thorn-in-the-flesh, GOD was insuring that people could see the source of Paul's strength was CHRIST not himself. 2. I would venture a guess that everyone of us here this morning has PRAYED at some time or another that GOD change something or remove something from our lives. *Perhaps you have prayed that GOD would take away some physical infirmity. *Or maybe you have prayed that GOD would change some difficult situation you and your family deal with every day. *Or maybe you have begged GOD to open the door to get another job or maybe you have asked GOD to get rid of an over-bearing boss or co-worker. (I don't mean take them out of this world!)

10 3. What if that one thing you have asked GOD over and over again to change or remove from your life, is actually a blessing in disguise? What if that one thing is keeping you humble? What if that is the one thing that causes you to lean on the LORD for strength and help? 4. Perhaps we should THANK GOD FOR OUR UNANSWERED PRAYERS! C O N C L U S I O N As we close I want to take you back to that night when JESUS prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you remember what He prayed? LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME. Have you ever wondered how different our lives would be if GOD had answered that prayer? *There would be NO FORGIVENESS of our sins, For without them shedding of blood there is NO FORGIVENESS. *We would have NO SALVATION! NO HOPE! NO FUTURE! NO HEAVEN! NO ETERNAL LIFE! We would be condemned to horrors of hell forever and ever! Thank GOD Jesus finished His prayer by asking that HIS FATHER'S WILL BE DONE! THANK GOD FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER!