WHY HAS GOD NOT ANSWERED YOUR PRAYER? (PART 3).
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." - Matthew 7 verses 7 to 8, King James Version).
When the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7 verse 8 that "every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.", He meant it. It's vital to recollect that Jesus would not lie to us, if for no reason other than He's the Truth (John 14 verse 6). Again, it's written of Him,
"For my mouth shall speak truth;" (Proverbs 8 verse 7).
The issue as to whether God has answered our prayer or not lies in our not understanding the following facts:
1) that there's a spiritual realm, which is more real and superior to the physical realm.
2) that God is a Spirit (John 4 verse 2), the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12 verse 9), He dwells and functions in the spiritual realm.
3) that though we are spirit beings, we dwell in the physical realm and by virtue of being in Christ, it's expected that like God, we function also in the realm of the spirit.
4) the physical realm is the realm that is governed by the five senses (sight, smell, taste feeling and hearing)
5) the spiritual realm on the other hand is governed by faith.
The problem with us is that we suppose that we can perceive what God does or doesn’t do with our five senses. We think that if we can’t taste, smell, see, hear, or feel God's response to our prayer, then that’s evidence or proof God didn’t grant our request, and ‘vice versa’. Wrong!
God is a Spirit and His things are spiritual. Whatever He does, He does in the realm of the spirit. Truth is, the very moment you prayed for something, God commanded and it was given. We see it with Daniel. The Bible says that the moment he prayed, God heard his words, but for twenty one days the prince of Persia withheld the answer from getting to him (Daniel 10 verses 12 to 13).
Although it is a done deal in the spirit realm, whether or not you see it manifest in the physical realm depends much more on if you knew how to receive it than if God answered your prayer. That’s an over-simplification because sometimes there are other factors involved. Like in Daniel's case, the prince of Persia was seen to have withheld the answer. But mainly, it boils down to your receiving in the physical realm what God has already given you in the spirit realm.
Like what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7 verse 8, God answers every prayer, especially when it's made in line with His Word. This is so because God's Word does not return unto Him void (Isaiah 55 verse 11). However, we don’t always see it manifest because we don't know how to receive it. It’s not because God didn’t answer! God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7 verse 9; Joshua 21 verse 45, chapter 23 verse 14; Isaiah 49 verse 7; 1st Corinthians 1 verse 9, chapter 10 verse 13; 2nd Corinthians 1 verse 18; 1st Thessalonians 5 verse 24). In His faithfulness, He answers our prayers. In simple terms, we don't see the manifestation of His answer to our prayer because we don't know how to receive from God!
We must realize that there are tools with which to pull what's already existing in the spirit realm into the physical realm for our enjoyment.
To be continued!
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for being faithful to Your Word. I received an answer to my prayer in Jesus' name.