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that 1 know of, prayers that were an–
swered were always fervent, intense,
and wholehearted.
But most people's prayers are
sleepy-time, listless, drowsy mutter–
ings, carrying little conviction or
earnestness. This has been a com–
mon problem throughout man's his–
tory.
During the times of the Old Tes–
tament prophets, people had the
same attitude toward prayer that is
so prevalent today. God said
through the prophet Hosea, "They
never pul their heart into their
prayers" (Hosea
7:
14, Motfatt).
Imagine walking into the oval of–
fice of the Presiden! of the United
States for an importan! discussion
or interview. As you begin to speak,
while he is giving you bis undivided
attention, you start to grow sleepy,
drowsy, start mumbling your words,
rambling from one topic to another,
monotonously, repetitiously, dron–
ing on and on. What reaction would
you receive from the President?
Very likely, he would boot you out
of his office and never give you an–
other audience.
How much more disrespectful is it
to God wben people "fall asleep"
while they are supposedly praying
to God, or mumble their words,
ramble endlessly, their minds on
something else!
Such prayers are about as pow–
erful as powderpuffs; they are about
as forceful as a mouthful of cotton
candy!
The New Testament word for
"zeal" is
zelos
and means " heat ,
zeal, ardor."
One man who prayed with fer–
vent zeal was Elijah, one of the most
famous prophets of the Old Testa–
ment. Many people who have heard
of this man assume he was sorne
sort of spiritual giant. They think he
was a superman. But such was defi–
nitely not the case. "Elijab was as
completely human as we are," wrote
the apostle James in the New Testa–
ment, "and yet when he prayed ear–
nestly that no rain would fall, none
28
fell for the next three and one half
years! Tben he prayed again, this
time that it
would
rain, and down
it
poured and the grass turned green
and the gardens began to grow
again" (James
5: 17-18).
With the prayers of Elijah in
mind, James declared, "The earnest
prayer of a righteous man has great
power and wonderful results" (verse
16).
But notice that little word "righ–
teous." Here is an element of an–
swered prayer which has been
avoided until now. But without it,
al! prayer is ofno avai l!
The Final Key
Perhaps the greatest single stum–
b1ingb1ock to answered prayer is
that most people are not living the
way God wants them to live.
The ancient prophet lsaiah put
the case plainly: "Listen now! The
Lord isn't too weak to save you.
And he isn't getting deaf! He can
hear you when you call! But the
trouble is tbat your sios have cut
you off from God. Because of sin he
has turned his face away from you
and will not listen anymore" (lsaiah
Bul wha is this thing called
59:1-2).
~
"sin"1
Siro
~y
put, it is the lack of
righteousness or right living.
It
means living in a way not pleasing
to God; it means violating the Ten
Commandroents of God
(1
John
3:4).
A roan whom Jesus healed of
blindness, as the nintb chapter of
John records, gives further insight
into this problem most roen and
women face. He said, ' 'Well, God
doesn't listen to evil men, but he has
open ears to those who worship him
and do his will" (John 9:31).
Before you can have real faith
and confidence that God will hear
your prayer, you must pul away sin,
evil, and everything that separates
you from God. When you begin to
straighten up your life, begin to
obey God's Word, and keep His
commandments, God promises that
He will begin to hear you and
an–
swer y our prayers1
The apostle John wrote of those
who ceased living in sin, when he
said, "But, dearly loved friends, if
our consciences are clear, we can
come to the Lord with perfect assur–
ance and trust , and get whatever we
ask for because we are obeying him
and doing the things that please
him"
(1
John 3:2 1-22).
A Special Promise
Obviously, the skeptic has never
had a prayer answered in bis life -
or he wouldn't be a skeptic. The
skeptic needs to first
prove
to him–
self whether or not there is a God.
But for those who do believe in
God and who pray, notice an in–
credible promise Jesus made to
those who believe and obey Him.
" In solemn truth
1
tell you," He
declared, "anyone believing in me
shall do the same miracles
1
have
done, and even greater ones, be–
cause
I
am going to be with the
Father. You can ask him for
any–
thing.
using my name, and
1
will do
it, for this will bring praise to the
Father because of what
1,
the Son,
will do for you. Yes, ask
anything,
using my name, and
1
will do it!"
(John 14: 12-14.)
What did Jesus mean? Notice that
He was talking to those who follow
and obey Him, living within the will
of God. He meant, therefore, that if
such a one will ask for something
within the expressed will of God
and according to His overall Plan,
that He will receive it - whatever he
asks for - as long as he obeys
Christ!
That is an awesome promise - a
flat out "blank check" which you
can cash in. Jesus did not make idle
promises.
Therefore, if you surrender your
life to God, keep His command–
ments, believe what He says in His
Word, and pray fervently, whole–
heartedly, with perseverance and
patience, then God will hear you!
You can count on it!
o
PLAIN TRUTH Morch 1973