Who Can Pray?

October 7
I heard an interesting message a while back from Adrian Rogers. He made the comment about prayer. I’ve heard a lot of people say they were praying about something. Most of them hadn’t a clue about what it means or what one must do to actually be part of God’s kingdom. Adrian Rogers put it this way, “Before you pray, you should determine if you are even qualified to do so.” If we are using God’s word as the test, we learn he does not hear the prayer of the lost unless it is a prayer of repentance and faith (Isaiah 59:1-3; Ps. 66:18). That means those who are lost have no reason whatsoever to believe God hears or answers their prayers. As Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees, you are praying to your father, the devil. Of course, I suspect the devil is able to answer some prayers, and, I suspect he does so to keep those bound for eternity in hell on that road.

Then I heard him suggest we cannot expect God to give us anything that is not in his perfect will for us. I think that is a wonderful truth to grasp. I can pray and pray and pray and pray again for some things that God will never provide. Wow! What a concept. God won’t give me anything that is not in His perfect will for me. Actually, the children of Israel knew better than that. He gave them meat when they prayed for it until it killed many of them. So, be careful for what you pray. Make sure to end prayers with the words, “Yet, not my will, but thy will be done.” Otherwise, you might get what you prayed for to your undoing.

So, the point seems to be elusive. We know our God hears the prayers of His children who are praying without unconfessed sin in our lives. We know God has historically answered prayers that were not in the best interest of those praying. We know God actually talked to people like Balaam, a prophet who went bad. Keeping such truths in mind, I think it is important, yea crucial we make sure we not grumble about our circumstances, we thank God for all things, we make sure to finalize our prayers with "Thy will and not mine be done," and we make it a goal in life to know God's will in all areas where He has made it known. I tremble when I think of all the prayers I have prayed in my life that God did not answer according to my will. If we are truly His children, our desires must be in line with His. When that is true, He not only answers our prayers, but He answers them with impunity. And that's His word for us today.