As we continue in this series, I want to cover another possible scenario in which we may feel that God has not answered our prayers, when we feel that he should have done so. Again, I need to say that being angry with God is evidence that we have judged God to be unfair, uncaring, or unfaithful. That judgment will eventually distance us from God and his people and often takes those who are close to us with us. If we are angry, it is important to examine the source and deal with it. So let’s look at another possible scenario that may have caused us to judge God and be angry.
A fairly common scenario is one in which we may have preconceptions about how God should answer our prayers and so miss out on the answer he does send. The answer may actually meet the need we have in a profound way, but because it doesn’t come wrapped in the paper or box we imagined, we turn it down. The classic example of this is the account of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. In this account, Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He is described as a great man but one who had contracted leprosy. He was informed that a prophet in Israel, Elisha, could heal his leprosy. So in an effort to impress the prophet, Naaman took an entourage of horses and chariots along with gold, silver and expensive clothes as gifts to the prophet. In expectation of a moment fitting his status, he proceeded to Elisha’s house.
When he arrived, he was extremely disappointed. Elisha did not meet him grandly and personally, but sent only a servant with the message to go dip in the Jordon River seven times and he would be healed. Naaman was infuriated. He declared, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the anime of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy…he turned and went off in a rage” (2 kings 5:11-12)!
In essence, he had imagined that God would answer his prayer in a certain way – one that honored Naaman and recognized his great value. He had imagined a very splendid, impressive moment when the prophet would heal him, but instead got instructions from a servant to go dip in a muddy river he disdained. Because God sent his answer in a different package than he expected , he left angry and unhealed. Fortunately, his servant convinced him to do what the prophet had instructed and he was eventually healed. He nearly lost out on his amazing blessing, however, because he wanted the prayer answered on his terms, rather than God’s.
God is always multitasking , however, and often wants to answer the heart of our prayer in ways that also accomplish other things. In Naaman’s case, he needed to humble himself before God could answer his prayer. Otherwise, Naaman would have left more prideful and arrogant than when he arrived. Instead, he left healed, humble, and grateful and was a better man and leader for the experience.
God has promised to meet our essential needs – ” our daily bread.” We may turn that promise into an expectation of making us wealthy, powerful ,and influential…which would probably distance us from God because the wealth and success would make us feel self-sufficient, connecting us socially with people who value power and recognition much more than a relationship with Jesus.
Not being wealthy or famous may be in our best interest but we may still become angry when we can’t keep up with the high rollers at the office, when “the deal of a lifetime” did not manifest, or when the lottery number “we heard from the Lord” did not pay off. When God determines to meet our financial needs in a way we did not imagine, we may feel as if he has let us down or doesn’t care about the thing we know would make us happy. Of course, our expectation is not always about money.
When he points us to the muddy waters of the Jordan rather than the mountain streams of Damascus, we may feel slighted and disappointed in many areas. This preconception of answered prayers “on our terms” may be about the perfect relationship, career, house, car, or some sort of fame or significance. I have known people that turned down jobs, relationships, and opportunities because what God may have sent them didn’t meet their expectation or “make their cut.” The less than perfect job or spouse may have grown into the blessing they had always wanted, but they were unwilling to consider that something a little less than they had imagined or felt worthy of might actually be the better answer to their prayers and real needs. In other words, when I pray for a car and imagine a BMW, perhaps, I should also be open to the dependable Ford me makes available, because when the warranty expires on the BMW, you may wish you had a Ford.
I’m not saying we should always settle or take the first thing to come along. We should, however, examine our preconceptions and “our terms” when the answer to our prayers and desires go unanswered over time. Has God actually answered our prayer in a way we had not imagined? Would our imagined answer to prayer actually be in our best eternal interest? Have we asked God how we should pray in response to a need or desire we are feeling? It is often wise to pray for the “what,” but let God deal with the “how.”
Again, if we are angry with God, is it because we believe he owes us something he hasn’t actually promised? Is it because we haven’t detected the “spiritual trap” woven into the thing we are asking for? Is it because the things we have imagined for ourselves flow out of the flesh and not the spirit? When we do pray with expectation, let’s do so with an open heart that allows God to answer the need that is reflected in our request, in a way that is unexpected but has our best interest in mind. God is a good father. Hw will way every request and answer in a way that meets our true need more profoundly than we can often see or understand. That is when we simply trust that God loves us enough, to not give us every desire of our heart.
Next Week: We may be unaware that Satan has obtained some legal right to oppose God’s answer to our prayers and will continue to oppose the answer until the legal right has been removed.
