God Does NOT Answer Prayer! April 9 Readings: James 5

Today’s Readings

Context

James concludes with a series of teachings that may go against some of our commonly held ideas. verses 1-6 are a harsh condemnation of riches, one that strikes hard at a wealthy nation such as ours. Several things are key here. First of all, James is condemning those riches gained by oppression and the mistreatment of others. No amount of money is worth hurting someone else - Christians are called to love and serve not use for profit. Second, it is the love of money, not money itself that is the sin. However, and finally, that should not keep us from being wary of our riches and the temptation they bring. We, as a culture, tend toward materialism and the warnings of James are well heeded.

His second teaching is a reiteration and expansion of one from chapter one, about the blessing of enduring through suffering. We are called to lives of hardship not ease and God's grace is sufficient to carry us through. It is in these dark times that we grow.

The teaching on prayer in verses 13-18 is another highlight of the book. It provides us one of the keys to answered prayers, which is the focus of our devotional and also gives a pattern for prayers in the church.

The book ends with an admonition to restore those who struggle and fall. 

Devotional - God Does NOT Answer Prayer

Hold on a second! Put down your stones. I think when you have read this entire post, you might understand what I meant with that intentionally provocative title, you might absolve me of heresy, and you might no longer feel the need to stone me with stones!

Here's my thesis again: God does NOT answer prayer.  

Oh, prayer is a good thing, a great thing, a powerful thing. But when we say something like this, we tend to put the emphasis on the wrong thing and miss the main point.  Let me explain. 

“God answers prayer.” It is true that when God's people seek him in prayer, he manifests his presence and demonstrates his power among them. But the point I am trying to make here is crucial.Too many people think that if they just say the right words or work up the right emotions, that God will hear and respond to their prayers as if there is some magic quality in certain prayers that commends them to God. 

We think that the key to prayer is how we pray.  Did I say the right words?  Did I pray long enough? Hard enough? People wonder why their prayers do not get answered.  They pray for healing or help or provision and when no answer comes, they assume that there must be something wrong with their prayers.  Maybe they did not use the proper format or say the magic words.  If they can just find the right way to pray, God will hear.

The phrase “God answers prayer” can leave people with the idea that there is some magic formula, attitude, posture, technique or grouping of words that makes prayer effective.  But that misses the whole point.

Look at James 5:16. Speaking of Elijah, the prophet of God, James says: 

The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. 

Or, in another translation:

The prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Note that he did not say, “Prayer is powerful and effective.”  He said that it is the prayers of “a righteous man” that move the heart of God.  Elijah prayed in the simplest words.  It was the false prophets who chanted, cut themselves and engaged in all kinds of weirdness to gain their gods’ attention and get their prayers answered.  It was not what Elijah prayed that mattered most, but who he was before God.  When a person in right standing with God prays, God hears.

So, here is my point.  

God does not answer prayer, He answers PEOPLE!

I love Caller ID.  I am old enough to remember when you had to answer the phone to find out who was calling you. But now, most of the time, I know exactly who it is on the other end of the line. And if it is my wife or one of my children calling, I will answer. A blocked call or a toll-free number? That may have less of a chance! I base my response upon who is calling. 

That’s the way our God is.  He does not respond to eloquence, or volume, or magic words, or any other human device.  He responds to people.  It was not Elijah’s prayers that moved God, it was Elijah.  Elijah was a righteous man and God listens to the righteous.

When we come to Christ, we are justified, clothed in his righteousness and granted favor with the Almighty.  We are adopted into his family and given full access to God in the name of Jesus Christ. When I pray, God sees Jesus’ name on the Caller ID and my prayers are answered. Now, in the name of Christ, I have the privilege of going boldly into the throne room of heaven to voice my praise, confess my sins, pour out my heart and make my requests.  I am welcome in the presence of God because of the grace of Jesus Christ. Of course, there are other scriptures that tell me that even as a righteous man, if I embrace sin in certain ways, my prayers may be hindered. But as a righteous man, I have the amazing privilege of coming to God in the name of Jesus Christ with confidence that God will hear me. 

God does not hear my prayer because I say the magic words, or because I moan and shout.  He is impressed by neither my eloquence nor my passion.  He hears my prayers because He loves Jesus and I am in him!  I have been accepted in the Beloved. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, I come before God in the name of Jesus to present my requests to him.  And God listens.  The God of Heaven, the Creator and Sustainer of all, hears me when I call to him.  That is amazing, isn’t it?

God answers ME.

Father, I thank you that you have, through Christ, justified me. You made me righteous and because of that work of grace, I now have access to you. My prayers are heard because of who I am in Christ. Praise your name. 

Think and Pray

Thank God for your standing in Christ which allows you access to God and the right to pray.
Do you rely on YOUR words, your passion, your personality, or your righteousness when you pray, or do you remember to rely on your righteous place in Christ?