Satan specializes in finding our weaknesses and using them against us. Unless we are properly equipped to defend ourselves from his taunting attacks, we are at risk of becoming overwhelmed by sin and compromising our relationship with God. How can we expect to be spiritually attacked? Most importantly, what can we do to protect ourselves from temptations we experience and win our battles against sin?
Eric Rank
And Now We Wait
The anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ is a source of great excitement. As we watch the events that lead up to that time occur in shocking consistency with prophecy, the excitement grows even greater. Because of this, it can be hard to wait. Yet the Bible instructs us to be patient and dedicate our efforts to our spiritual preservation, leaving the details about physical protection to God.
Children of God
The fact that God is a family is good news, because we have the opportunity to be a member within it. But this special privilege to be a child of God is not something that is automatically given to all mankind. What does it take to be counted among the children of God? How does it affect our lives now? How will it affect our lives in the future?
Hope Does Not Disappoint
The promise of God to bring His saints into His family and allow them to inherit the kingdom of God is a tremendous thing to contemplate about the future. It is the ultimate object of hope in the life of a Christian. Hope involves more than having something to look forward to, however. Hope also involves faith and taking the actions that are within our control to fulfill the goals that God sets for us.
God’s Protection
With so much trouble in the world today and in the future to come, mere thoughts of danger might invoke anxiety and inspire fear. However, God promises protection in the most dire of circumstances, but not to everyone. How can this divine protection from God be obtained?
What Do You Seek?
If we want to find the answers that will lead us to eternal life, we need to ask the right questions. What are the kind of questions that Christians need to ask? How are we to respond once we learn the answers? By actively seeking the will of God to be done, we will obtain the greatest gift ever offered to mankind.
By Design
Are the universe, our personal existence, and the circumstances we encounter determined by a sequence of fortuitous random events? This is what the modern world professes, but the truth is much more sensible. The Bible clearly states that God applies His design and expresses His intention in every component of existence, great and small.
Threat and Reaction
Last week there was a credible threat of a violent attack targeting some of the federal agencies close to the one that I work with. Nearby in Fort Collins an entire campus of federal offices was shut down, forcing hundreds of employees to be turned away from work. As the news broke in my office, very little information was known, and what was known was delivered through a wide variety of different sources. The rumors made quite a swirl throughout the morning – some made it sound like the threat was imminent, and others made it sound fictional.
My own work place was in a different, but related federal facility than the one directly threatened, but everyone that we work with still had to make a decision about what to do for themselves. On the one hand, the threat seemed remote and unrealistic, but on the other hand, our office seemed like it could be a legitimate target. In the interest of playing it safe, dozens of people working in a different branch in the building were sent home. It was a surreal moment as I contemplated how to handle the situation for myself and the team that I manage. It was truly difficult to judge from the information that we had if this was a threat that was credible enough for us to take drastic actions.
Fortunately, nothing significant came from this event, and normal life resumed the following day. But to me, this event was a reminder of how quickly and unexpectedly something serious can occur in the world we live in and trigger panic. As the anniversary of the tragic September 11th attacks approaches this year, I recall what that day was like. It was just like any other day. I went to work for the day, just as I normally did, and by the time I had arrived two jets had crashed into the twin towers in New York City. In that ten minute commute, the world had changed. But it was going to be “just another day.”
The event last week also reminded me of even more important things, which are recorded in God’s Word. As comfortable as we may be in this modern age, a simple catastrophic event, or even a rumor of an event, can strike as quickly and unexpectedly as a bolt of lightning. And so we have been warned, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4). Even though the day of the Lord will come as a thief, when we may be having an otherwise regular day, it is also something that we have been made aware of far ahead of time. We may be surprised at how unpredictably the events might unfold, but we will not be caught completely off-guard if we pay attention to warnings and watch for the signs of the times, as the Bible instructs.
Even if the events of fulfilled prophecy happen on a day when we have not planned for a catastrophic event to occur, we can rest assured that the instructions that we have in the Bible will successfully guide us. The only thing that we can do is rely on God’s protection. We cannot, and must not, rely on our own wit or strength to protect us. “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12). When catastrophe strikes and threatens our safety and well-being, we can and must have faith in God to lead us to safety.
Last week as I contemplated how to respond to a threat of a violent attack, the thought that I need to rely on God—and only God—tempered every fear that I had. I wasn’t sure what judgment was right, but I was unwavering in my confidence that God would offer protection in the time of need.
Why Doesn’t God Answer All Of My Prayers?
One of the foundational practices of every Christian is prayer. It is a tool that we rely on to communicate with God, through Jesus Christ as our Mediator, to share our innermost thoughts. When prayers that we present to God, especially those which include a request, seem to go unanswered, it can be a frustrating experience. Why would God, who promises never to forsake His children, decline to answer their prayers according to their expectations? When this inevitably happens to a Christian, it is helpful to understand exactly why prayers might not be heard and otherwise seem to fail.
To begin with, God clearly instructs that prayer is one of the primary tools that should be used to communicate with Him. Jesus Christ provides some excellent instructions to follow that describe how to pray to God, resulting in being openly rewarded when performed properly (compare Matthew 6:5-13). We have also produced a free booklet, Teach Us to Pray, which describes in great detail how to succeed in our prayers. With such a great promise of being heard by God by following such a simple model, what are the reasons that prayers might seemingly not be answered? Several examples follow which describe different types of situations that can cause God not to answer our prayers according to our expectations.
While it is not the most pleasant answer, the most common cause for a failed prayer involves disobedience. When an individual refuses to listen to God and chooses to sin instead, God in turn may refuse to hear and approve of his or her prayers.
It is quite simple. When Azariah addressed Asa, he summarized the nature of our relationship with God succinctly: “…The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2). It should be no surprise, then, that if we have sin in our lives for which we are not actively seeking repentance, God may not be willing to hear and listen to us (compare John 9:31; Zechariah 7:13).
The Bible abounds with statements that make it very clear that sin – defined as transgression of the law (1 John 3:4) – may stand in our way of being heard by God. For example: “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). We can see from this statement that the prayers of those who refuse to listen to God are insulting to Him. This makes sense when we think about it. Why would a request be respected by God if His laws are not respected by the one making the prayer? If we want our prayers to be answered by God, we must begin by committing our lives to obeying Him.
One example that demonstrates a situation of sin causing prayers not to be responded to occurred in Saul’s life. While he began his reign as king in an attitude of humility (compare 1 Samuel 15:17), he later began to take it upon himself to determine what was right, disregarding God’s instructions. This pride led to rebellious disobedience against God’s commandments (compare 1 Samuel 13:13-14). As a result, later in his life when he sought God’s help he could not find it: “When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets” (1 Samuel 28:5-6). Because Saul consciously and consistently refused to listen to God, God in turn refused to answer Saul’s prayers.
It is important to remember that our relationship with God requires that we begin by committing to obeying His commandments. When we demonstrate our willingness to follow God’s commandments in all that we do, God listens attentively to our prayers.
We must also understand that there is a difference between a prayer that is heard, and a prayer that is answered according to our expectations. Even in situations when an earnest effort is made to live a life committed to righteousness, in repentance of sin, prayers may not be answered by God according to our wishes. There are reasons for this—some of which are under our direct control, and some which are not.
One of the reasons our prayers may not be answered involves asking for the wrong thing. When prayers are made that have worldly gain as their object, it shows that our hearts are not in the right place. In all things we do, we should be motivated primarily to grow in spiritual strength and knowledge. As written in James 4:3: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” Prayers that make a request for the passing pleasures of the world are not motivated by spiritual growth. If we know that purely worldly pleasures are enmity with God (compare James 4:4), then why would He answer a prayer that involves such a request? He will not answer these kinds of prayers. Ensuring that the intentions of our prayers are properly motivated is something we can control, which has a direct impact on our chances of having our prayers answered.
When we prepare our thoughts and analyze the intents behind our prayers, we need to make sure we are making requests that are consistent with our spiritual godly goals. When prayers asking for an outcome that brings worldly gain are offered to God, we shouldn’t expect them to be answered.
Another reason why prayers might not be answered involves the way prayer is offered. This too is under our direct control. We must remember that prayers are offerings made to God (compare Psalm 141:2; Revelation 8:3). Because of this, it is important to make the offering in a way that it pleases Him. Our booklet, Teach Us to Pray, describes this in great detail, and it should be referenced to learn the right way of praying. There are two excerpts from this booklet that help to summarize what is needed to be successful in our prayers.
First, we need to address our prayers to the correct recipient – God the Father – and in the name of Jesus Christ (compare John 14:14):
“Jesus teaches that we should address our prayers to the Father, thus pointing to the ultimate relationship that God is creating with mankind! In the account in Matthew concerning Jesus’ instruction about prayer, we read: ‘And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him’ (Matthew 6:7-8).”
When we address our prayers to anyone other than the true God, we cannot expect that He will answer them.
Also in our booklet, a set of principles is offered that helps to structure our prayers to be successful:
“In order to pray successfully, we need to: 1) ask; 2) with faith; 3) with boldness; while 4) keeping God’s commandments; 5) bearing fruit; 6) praying in Christ’s name; and 7) praying always. If we do this, we will receive from God the Father, in His due time, what we ask of Him.”
When these principles are not followed, our prayers stand a great chance of not being heard nor answered by God. The way in which we pray to God is of critical importance and has tremendous influence on whether our prayers will be answered.
In some cases, we may follow all of these principles, but still find that we do not receive the result in our prayers that we request or expect. When this happens, we can be comforted to know that God has something different in mind for us. When we are called by God, and we respond to that calling by living our life dedicated to godly obedience, we actively submit our will to God’s. When we realize that He knows better than ourselves what we need, a prayer that seems to be unanswered is actually answered in a way that allows us to receive an even better outcome. This is the aspect of prayer that is not under our direct control. Even though it might be difficult or painful to endure, God knows what is best for us. This is why we must always seek the Will of God to be done, rather than our own.
Paul prayed to God three times requesting that a painful thorn in his flesh might be removed, but God refused to do so (compare 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Rather than getting discouraged about his situation, since God was not answering his prayers according to the outcome that he wanted, Paul realized that God’s answer was the best one. The attitude that Paul had in regard to the response from his prayers was excellent. He became reconciled with the fact that what God wanted for him was better than what he requested for himself. When we pray in obedience, following the principles of the right way to pray, we must make our requests known, but leave the actual outcome in God’s hands.
Jesus Christ offers the premier example of this kind of prayer when He pleaded with God to be spared from the need to be physically sacrificed: “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done’” (Luke 22:41-42). In this example, Jesus Christ made a request to God, which God refused to fulfill. However, because Jesus sought the Will of God to be done, Jesus’ prayer was successful. It is helpful to be reminded that even when our requests might not receive the outcome we are looking for, God’s Will is done for our greatest possible benefit.
When our prayers seem to go unanswered by God, we have a great deal of control in making changes so that our prayers can be more successful. We must begin by changing our behavior to live in obedience to God’s law. Without taking this first step, there is little chance that our prayers will be heard. We also need to ensure that we pray in the right way, addressing God the Father and praying in the name of Jesus Christ. And finally, if the requests we make to God through prayer seek an outcome according to God’s Will, God will answer in the way which is best for us and others.
Prayer is a powerful tool made available to Christians today. We can be strengthened and encouraged by the words of Jesus Christ in this regard: “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).
Lead Writer: Eric Rank
Big Things and Little Things
I had a friend in college who liked to say that “nothing is hard, but some things take more time.” It doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to find counter-examples to this aphorism, but I still find it to be a helpful reminder when encountering things that appear to be big and difficult to deal with. When we approach difficult challenges by taking one step at a time, and breaking down big jobs into tiny tasks, this statement becomes true. Huge accomplishments are made by taking incremental steps. For example, the goal of writing a book might be a daunting task for most people. Yet, books are only collections of chapters, chapters are collections of paragraphs, paragraphs are collections of sentences, sentences are collections of words, and words are collections of letters. And even preschoolers can put a few letters together. Big things that cannot be handled in their entirety tend to be merely an accumulation of many little things that can be easily handled piece by piece.
The life of a Christian involves setting our sights on the difficult and challenging way of life, which is so contrary to the common ways of the world. Jesus Christ provides us with some great advice on how to set our life’s goals in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Truly, living a life that is completely obedient to God is extremely difficult, and even impossible to do without the Holy Spirit of God working within us. Yet, this is what Christians are called to do. We are called to live a life that rejects the carnal nature of being human, which leads to sin, and choose instead to continuously increase in godly obedience. This is such a difficult thing to do, that only one man has ever been able to be successful in this task, without ever making a mistake!
If we are doomed to fail in our endeavor to live a life without sin, why would we want to choose such a difficult path? Why would we even try? The answer is that it is the only way to reach the goal of living an eternal life in God’s Family. As Jesus says, it is the only way that leads to life. The gift of life, and the reward for our efforts invested now, are promised to have value beyond anything imaginable. With this in mind, we should not ask ourselves why we should bother living a difficult life; but rather, why would we choose to give up such a great opportunity when God is faithful to grant us success? (compare 1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:3). Yes, the Christian life is inherently difficult, but worth it in the end.
Knowing that we are called to live a life that is difficult, what do we need to do to equip ourselves to endure until the time of judgment? The answer is that we need to keep our focus on our ultimate goal, and conduct our lives by taking care of the little things. If a life of complete faithful obedience to the Christian way of life is our goal, the opportunities that are presented to us in each immediate moment are where we take action. We can only really work on what’s within our grasp.
Even though it is helpful to us in a practical way to do the work of our lives in little pieces, there’s more to it. These little things are where we will be judged as well. In Luke 16:10 we are reminded, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” The little things that we encounter day by day are never too small to pay attention to. They matter a great deal. God very seriously considers how we take care of matters that might seem insignificant to us. How we work with them is an indicator of how we’ll handle the big responsibilities that are promised to us as a reward. Do we act dismissively towards the matters that are “too insignificant” to treat with godly reverence? Or do we consider that each moment is our chance to score another incremental victory in our calling to overcome sin? We must focus on the little victories if we want to claim the big one.
There is no doubt that living a life as a convicted Christian is a difficult challenge to take on. But is it too hard? Absolutely not! When we take the time and effort to live a Christian life with each moment, this seemingly impossible task of overcoming sin will become a tremendous success.