Dear Pastor Bobbie,
Is it possible that God would get angry with us because we pray too much about a particular problem? I worry about bothering Him too much with my problems.
ANSWER: Absolutely not! The Bible tells us to persist in prayer and to pray about everything. God doesn’t always answer the way we think He should, or when we think He should.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “always keep on praying.” Jesus tells a parable about a persistent widow who constantly begged a judge to act on her case, which He eventually did (Luke 18:1-8).
Two things: First be sure you’re not trying to change God’s mind about something which He’s already answered. In other words, it’s possible God will answer a prayer of ours with a “no” rather than a “yes.” Are we willing to accept His will? Remember, God answers prayer in one of three ways concerning time; yes, noand wait.
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In prayer we’d like, above all else, to have God’s will done, and when He has acted we must not second-guess Him or try to get Him to change His perfect will.
Second, remember there are times when we ourselves are to act as well as pray. That is, we become the answer to our own prayers. For example, on one occasion Jesus told his disciples to “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” In the very next verses we find the disciples themselves were sent out to do God’s work. They became the answer to their own prayers (Matt. 9:38, 10:1).
Prayer is one of the privileges of the child of God, made possible because Jesus Christ has opened up the way to our Father. God loves you, and He wants you to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God” (Phil. 4:6).
We should actually be grateful God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we think He should, or when we think He should, because He knows far better than we do what’s best for us! In fact, this was one of the best “fuzzies” of becoming a Christian and trusting Christ as Lord and Savior.
If I truly gave everything to Him because I was sick and tired of doing things wrong, I didn’t have to worry about what I was praying for or how it was going to work, because as His child, I just had to trust Him because I wanted what He wanted for me and whatever way it turned out, I knew it was His Will for me. I didn’t have to get upset because it wasn’t what I wanted, or when I wanted it. That to me, is one of the best advantages of “living for Christ.”
Send your questions to: 318 N. Oakland Ave., Green Bay, WI 54303.
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