This verse here gives us a clear insight into the relationship between God’s promises and our prayers. This is a totally misunderstood subject as many well meaning believers think that God’s promises will automatically come true. They wait impatiently for God to fulfill His promises and some times even find fault with God for His callousness about His promises.

This verse here tells us the secret about the many unfulfilled promises of God. We know that God promised Abraham seed like the sand of the sea and like the stars of heaven (Gen.22:17). Yet it took quarter of a century before Abraham had the joy of seeing his promised son. There was a time when Abraham was willing to make a compromise and he was willing to accept Ishmael as his heir (Gen.17:18). We can imagine Abraham being fed up with waiting for the son of his promise. And in his conversation (prayer) with the Lord, Abraham was now making a negative suggestion; that he was willing to accept the seed of his flesh as the promised seed! But God would NOT compromise on His promise to Abraham. God said “No” to that suggestion of Abraham and God wanted Abraham to wait patiently for His promise to be fulfilled. We can well imagine Abraham asking God when that glorious day was going to be! Abraham was obviously waiting and praying that God would fulfill His promise soon. And at last Isaac was born as promised by God, in answer to long and patient wait and believing prayers of Abraham.

This truth is confirmed in the incident that followed. Now that Isaac is married, there is yet another problem for the promise to be fulfilled. We are told that Rebeca was barren! It was indeed the least expected thing. But this situation teaches us the fact that the promises of God would not come true in our lives in a natural process. It is absolutely true that God promised seed like the sand of the sea and that not one of the promises will ever fail either. It is also true that God will fulfill all His promises right in time (Acts.7:17). God is faithful and He will surely fulfill His promise with out fail. But the amazing truth is that God fulfills His promises ONLY in answer to the prayers of His people!

All the promises are written down for us in His Word (Rom.1:2) and all promises are for all who believe (Gal.3:22). We are told that the promises of God are to be obtained by faith and patience (Heb.6:12,15). And we are asked to perfect holiness since we have these promises (2Cor.7:1). With all the above, if we do NOT continue in fervent prayers, the promises of God will never come true in our lives. This truth is expressed through out the scriptures and we need to take heed to it to see that we obtain the promises of God in our lives.

Let us look at the life of Jacob as a clear example of this truth exemplified for us. Jacob comes to Bethel and there he receives the promises of God (Gen.28:10-22). Then in the life of Jacob there was that long gap of twenty years where he seeks all short cuts to make His life a blessing. But alas! Twenty years later, though he became a big number physically, yet he was more a miserable person than ever before. But at Peniel he wrestles the whole night and there he became the heir of his promises. His name was changed and he became a new person altogether. We see that though he got promises at Bethel, only after his Peniel experience, the promises got fulfilled in his life.

From Dan. 9:2-3 we learn that Daniel knew this truth as well. When Daniel learnt that the captivity was going to be for seventy years, knowing that he was living at the time when the promise is to be fulfilled, he turns to God in prayer and in supplication. And God reveals to Daniel the mystery behind seventy year captivity. In that most solemn passage of Scripture we have the exact date of the crucifixion of our Lord predicted (Dan.9:26)! Daniel was able to get that truth because he was willing to spend time praying that God would indeed fulfill His promise made by His prophet.

We often wonder why God is slack in fulfilling His many wonderful promises of His Precious Word. Once we get the grip of this truth, we know the real reason for this situation. It is not God rather we, His people, who are responsible for God’s promises not being fulfilled.

Does that mean that God’s promises will never come true in its appointed time? Read what the Lord says about His promises. ”The LORD gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance. Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed” (Hab.2-3). And to Jeremiah the Lord said, “‘You are right’, the LORD said, ‘and I am watching to see that my words come true’” (Jer.1:12).

Surely God will fulfill all His promises in time with out fail. But because He does it ONLY in answer to prayers of His people, unless we pray, God will raise others who will pray and in answer to their prayers God will fulfill His promises in time! We can see this truth exemplified in history of the church again and again. Where ever there was a praying church, there was a mighty movement of the Spirit of God. If ever there was slackness in the Lord’s work, it is because the people of God failed to call on Him in prevailing prayers. Also we can see that before God begins to do a mighty work, He gets His people praying. Zechariah the prophet sees that in future there is going to be a mighty turning of the people of Israel to God. And before that happens the prophet says that God would pour on them the spirit of grace and supplication (Zech.12:10ff).

So, if there is an urge within us to pray, it is an indication that God’s grace is at work within us. When we feel an urge to pray let us put aside every thing else and be at His feet discerning His will and praying that He would accomplish His will for His glory. If we fail to do that, God will raise others who will pray and in answer to their prayers He will fulfill His promises. And we will be the ones who are the losers. We would have lost the privilege of being co-workers with the Almighty in bringing about His purposes on earth! May we be sensitive to the call of the Spirit of God and may we bring glory to His Holy Name by seeing that all His promises are fulfilled for His glory.

The Bible ends with last the promise of our Lord and John’s response to that promise in Rev.22:20. May we also make it our prayer as we wait for His coming in these very last days of the age of grace.

Let us always remember that the key to get a positive answer to our prayers is to take hold of the promise of God and make it our prayer. Once we know some thing is the will of God, we need to pray in perseverance till we receive our answer. May the Lord give us grace and may His name be glorified. Amen.

 God has a SOVEREIGN will by which He decides where we will be born and what our DNA code will be. He decides it without consulting any one.   This He does according to His good pleasure (Eph.1:11).   “From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live”  (Act 17:26).   “The Most High assigned nations their lands; he determined where peoples should live. He assigned to each nation a heavenly being” (Deu 32:8). 

 Then He has a perfect will for each man alive on this earth.  This PERFECT will of God for us is revealed to us through His Word.  God makes His Perfect will clear to us as we study His Word regularly.     There will be that peace of God KNOWING that this is what God wants me to do when we know it.  Now it is OUR duty to pray till that takes place takes place in our lives.  It does NOT happen automatically.  That would be fatalism.  The Bible does NOT teach fatalism.  The Bible does NOT teach that all that happen to us so happen because that is decreed by God.   God only tells us what He expects of us.  He never forces any one to His will in their lives.  We must choose to do His will and we can do it only by His help by praying to Him for His grace.  We must also remember that Satan is always against us to enjoy God’s perfect will for us.   That makes prayer as the only means of reaching God’s perfect will for our lives. 

 We read about the perfect will in Rom.12:2 and once we know some thing is God’s will it is for us to PRAY THROUGH and see that it is accomplished in our lives
 

Let us look at Elijah on the top of Mount Carmel in 1 Kgs.18:40 ff   the Lord told him that it was going to rain after they destroyed all priests of Baal.  Our natural reaction would be,  “ well, any way the Lord promised and His promises can never fail”  and we go and sleep expecting God to fulfill His plan.  But look at what Elijah did.   He put his head between his knees and he was praying.   What is the significance of his head between his knees?   We know that women among the Hebrews those days gave birth to children sitting (cf.Ex.1:16 and note the reference to stool in that verse).  They had some thing before them to which the child would fall as it comes to the world.  That is the position in which they could exert maximum energy to push the child out of their bodies.   We call it agony of child birth.  Elijah, as he put his head between his head, he was agonizing in prayer that God’ will MUST be accomplished as God promised.  read v. 44   how long he had to pray like that.   He prayed   till answer came. 

Look again at Dan.9:2,3 where this truth is once again illustraved.

`Now read Rom.15:30-32   where Paul talks about striving with him in prayer that the will of God may be accomplished  The word translated “strive” here is translated in Lk.22:44 as “agony”.  So “strive with me in prayer” can well be put as “agonize with me in prayer”.  Look at what Jesus did in His life when He prayed (Heb.5:7).   Read Mt.6:10 where our Lord taught us to pray  “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”.    In heaven God’s perfect will is accomplished automatically   but here on earth now, if Perfect will of God must be accomplished,  WE MUST PRAY TILL IT HAPPENS

So,  many believers today are NOT living IN THE PERFECT WILL OF GOD.

Time to accomplish God’s perfect will for us depends upon the fervency of our prayer

Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man avails much in its working.  (Jas 5:16)
 
 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  (Rom 12:2)

 Then there is the permissive will of God where God permits to live all who do not reach His perfect will.  Tragically majority in the world and in the church are living in the permissive will of God.  If we do that, we suffer ourselves and we let God suffer as well.  God watches helplessly asking “why should you die?” (Eze.18:31).

The God of the Bible is a God of love.  He is gracious and compassionate.  There is no comparison to His Person any where in the universe.  He is goodness in personified form.  He is love personified.  He is an all-positive person.  There is no negative element in Him at all.  The Bible says even His anger is righteous anger.  Such is the God of the Bible.

Many people ask questions about God’s goodness.  They say, if God is indeed good, why all this poverty and war? Why the innocent suffer?  Indeed, these are relevant questions and the Bible gives answer to similar questions.

If God was only a God of love, answering such questions would be easy.  But, if God also is Almighty, as the Bible claims Him to be, answer becomes difficult.  If God was only a God of love, answer is easy.  We know several good and loving people who are helpless.  Surely, God is not like one of them!  On the other hand, if God was Almighty alone, answer again is easy.  We know of several mighty ones who are unconcerned about any thing.  They are able to do many things.  But they will not. They are cruel.  They will never lend a helping hand.  Is God like one of them? Surely not, is the answer.

The Bible reveals that God is love (I Jn.4:8).  If any one has seen any expression of love any where in the universe, it is simply a poor imitation of God’s love.  The loving God of the Bible is not a helpless old grand father.  He is Almighty.  Nothing is impossible to Him (Gen.l8:l4).  If He says some thing it will come to pass (Ps.33:9).

Then what is the problem?  Why not God in His Almighty Love save the world from the present human predicament? 

The problems did not begin with God.  There is some one else involved in the picture.  That some one wanted to be God himself and wanted to sit on the throne of God (Is.l4:13f). It was Lucifer who had this desire.  He was one of the first of God’s creations.  He was in charge of the whole created world (Eze.28:13ff).

When Lucifer rebelled God could have chained him as he will be in the future. If God had done that, other angels would have served God with greater fear.  They would have appreciated God’s action towards Lucifer.  But it is the loving heart of God which prevented Him from destroying Lucifer.  God in His magnanimity seems to be telling Lucifer, “if you deserve the throne, you may take it”.  And Lucifer is in his attempt to capture the throne of God even to day.  The created world is under his custody to day (I Jn.5:19).  And he continues his battle by accusing God and His people.

To day Lucifer is the prince of this world (Jn.l4:30).  He is also called the god of this world (2 Cor.4:4).  God in His magnanimity stays outside and acts from outside(Isa.45:15).  God sent His only Son as man to be killed by His enemies.  In that process God demonstrated His love for the created world and wants to redeem it from the enemy.

And now God says, “call upon me be ye saved” (Is.45:26).  Thus to day God works for man only in response to man’s call.  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one opens the door, I will come in…” (Rev.3:20).  God will never force His way into the life of any man.  Unless man permits, God stays outside man’s life, waiting for his call eagerly.

There may be a good barber in the town.  That does not mean there are no hippies in the town.  Hippies have to come to the barber.  They have to permit him to clean them up.  No barber ever chases after hippies to dress them up

God is like this as well.  God has solutions to all problems of every man in the world to day.  But man has to go to God.  Man has to call upon God.  He is both willing and able to do any thing and every thing for us.  But He will do it only in response to our cries (Mt. 7:7; Js. 4:2: Eze. 36:37). 

Around the world we can meet people who claim to be born again children of God.  According to Jn l:l2 God has given us authority to call ourselves children of God if we believed in and accepted His Son into our lives.  But without prayer no one ever becomes a child of God. 

Indeed, without prayer God does not work for us to day.  God does not force any one into salvation.  If He forces some one into salvation as He did in the case of Lot (Gen l9:29) it was in answer to the prayers of Abraham. 

So to day if some one wants to be saved and enjoy fullness of God’ best for their lives, they need to pray.  If some one wants others to be saved, they need to intercede until they come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Why is it like this?  The simple reason is that this is the order that God has set.  This is the operating method of God.

Suppose some one has a doubt as to why should the sun rise in the East.  The simple answer is, that is God’s order of things and it will never change( Jer.33:20,25; Psa.148:6).  Like wise God’s spiritual laws which He has reveled to His people (Psa. 147:19) will never change also (Mt.5:18).   One of them is:  ask and receive; ask not receive not (Mt.7:7; Js.4:2).  “If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Heavenly Father will give good gifts to those who ask him (Mt. 7:11).

God will not interfere in our lives unless we permit Him to do so. We are people with freedom of choice.  We must choose to call Him.  We must choose to obey Him.  This is man’s day according to the Scripture.  To day we are the decision makers.  The Day of the Lord is coming when He will be the Decision Maker.  But to day man decides many things within the limitations given to him!  But God ever remains sovereign.  Praise be to His Holy Name.  Amen.

God will not do any thing spiritual in the world today except in answer to our prayers.  This is because it is God’s order of things.  And He will never change His laws.