this summer, you will have heard a variation of this morning's sermon. And we're going to follow it up with what we're going to preach this morning in mind. But when we're thinking of prayer, we're often told to pray, to pray without ceasing, to continue in prayer. But what I want us to think of right now is what do you do after prayer? What comes next? Well, we're expecting something, aren't we? We're in anticipation of God's answering of our prayers. Our title today is, When God Answers. We're to be a praying people, to live those lives of prayer. And we anticipate that our Heavenly Father hears us because He tells us that He does just that, that He hears His people. Now in our text today of Matthew chapter 7, it's saying to ask. We're to be asking of God and He will give. We're to seek and we will find knock and it will be opened to us. Now, if an earthly father is asked of his son to give him something, he's going to give him something good, isn't he? He's not going to give him what's bad for him. A good earthly father knows how to give good things to his children. I have a lot of kids. They ask me for things. They ask me for milk. I give them chocolate milk because that's good. But as an earthly father, I'm limited in what I know is truly good for my children. I know things that they may need. I know some things that's good for them. But even as I am limited in what I know my children truly need, so are we in knowing what we really need from God. But we do know that He, even though we being, as He says, evil fathers, know how to give good things to our children, how much more does God know what to give His children? Because He is a good Father. He is all that is good. He is all that is righteous. He is all that is holy. And He tells us to come, to seek, to ask, to knock, and I will give it. And His implication here is that we think we know good things to give. But only God knows what we need. Now my children don't really need chocolate milk every day, so I give it to them on Saturdays. Because I know chocolate milk's not what they need every day. But God in all of His wisdom, in all of His knowledge, knows what we need in every circumstance of our life. He knows what we need when we come to Him in the good times. He knows what we need when we come to Him in sorrow. He knows what we need when we come to Him in struggles and in the storms of life. He knows what you need when you're depressed. He knows what you need when you are fearful. He knows what you need when you are worried. But we come to God bringing our burdens, but also our fixes. God, I am worried about this situation, and I know what would make it better. It's this, God, so I pray that you make this happen. Now, is it ever wrong to really ask for things to happen? No. We'll see that here in today's message, that we ask and God gives the request that we ask. But we must remember, are we asking for what is good for us? Are we asking in accordance to the will of God? 1 Peter 3.12 says that God's ears are open to the prayer of the righteous. Not righteous by our deeds and what we've done, but righteous by implication of the blood of Jesus Christ upon His people. God hears those prayers. You, being covered by the merciful blood of Jesus Christ, have opened the ears of God to you. He does not hear the cry of the wicked. His ear is closed to them. His back is turned from them. He does not hear them. But He hears your cry. Prayer gets very practical in this sense. James 5.14 says we're to pray over the sick, and God will hear our prayers. Matthew 5.44, we should pray for our persecutors. James 5.16 says the faithful fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Here he's speaking of Elijah with the rain clouds. Not being able to see that there's rain coming. Not knowing that there's rain coming, but having faith. that God is a God of promise. James 4 says, you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. Sometimes we do go to God with our own fixes and it's not what is best for us. It may seem good to the human mind. It may make sense. to our common sense nature. It may make sense to the world. It may even make sense to a wise person. But is it what we really need at that time? Is it what is really good for us? And when we say good for us, we are talking about our relationship with God Almighty. Because that is our greatest good. Is our prayer drawing us closer to Him? Is our petition with His glory in mind? Or are we going to God as an advisor in prayer? Or am I going to go to Him as the God who knows my needs? Those are two vastly different things. Very different things to go to God to advise Him in your prayer or to simply fall on your face before a righteous God and say, what I need. But isn't it joyful? Isn't it something to rejoice in when you pray and God answers that prayer? That is something to rejoice in. That is something to get excited about. There's two examples. When the prayer is immediate, when you pray and God answers your prayer, it brings such a joy to our hearts. We can rejoice knowing that God answers those prayers. In Acts 4, verses 23-31, we read how the believers had prayed to God for boldness to be able to continue the Great Commission. despite all the intimidations and threats that were opposing them. And they're in this room praying for God to help them right then and there, to do what He has called them to do. And they say, Now Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness. And after they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Immediately, God answered their prayer. What goosebumps if you're in that room! Just a feeling of God is listening to me now, and He has answered what we needed immediately! because they are asking for God to give them the grace to do what He has called them to do. And immediately, God rains down in a powerful force upon them and answers their prayer, what rejoicing. God still does that for us today. God still answers our prayer. And when we see it happening, we can find joy in that. One of my favorite stories as a child growing up, That was the story of Blind Bartimaeus. He's sitting there and Jesus is walking through and Bartimaeus is calling out in Mark chapter 10. Oh, son of David, son of Jesse, son of David, God Almighty, come to me. And they're, shush, be quiet, be quiet. He's got better things to do and yet he calls out even more and more and Jesus comes over to blind Bartimaeus and he says, what is it that you would have me to do? And he says, Lord, that I might see. And immediately, God opens his eyes. How wonderful! This man has been blind from birth and he's an old man now. And God grants him his prayer to see. But not just that. Imagine a man blind from birth, calling out to the Messiah, Lord that I might receive my sight. And what is the first thing that God blesses him to see? But his beautiful face. What a time to rejoice! I can't imagine the people being around blind Bartimaeus when they see that happening. And the joy that he has and how they must have felt. There's this bubbling inside of happiness that this man has cried out in faith to God and God has granted his prayer. It's such more of a blessing than to just give Him sight, but to let Him see His face. How beautiful a picture! It's a blessing when God answers our prayers how we ask. And we should rejoice in that, but how should we see God when the answer is not how we prayed? Or not how we thought it should be? Because quite times, most often, that's how our prayers get answered. Now it's a rejoicing time when they're answered how we ask. Praise God for those times. But I will tell you from experience, my experience is that the majority of time I have either prayed wrongly or I just don't understand what God is doing in my life or the lives of those around me. Sometimes our prayers are just urgent. We need something to change now, Lord. There's a situation and I need it to change now, Lord. But what happens when the answer to our prayer is delayed? God, can't You show me some mercy? Well, my mercy child is in waiting. God, don't You love me? I'm loving You by waiting. God, don't You care to answer my prayer? I'm showing You that I care by waiting. I'm not going to answer your prayer right now. There's some great examples in Scripture of this, but just two that we can look at that should all come to mind is Abraham and Sarah with the birth of Isaac. God had promised Abraham years ago that he would have offspring and that his offspring would be numerous. And here he is now, a hundred years old, with no answer to his prayer. How many times do you think Abraham had prayed to God that God would answer the promise that God had given him and give him that child? How often do you think that Sarah had prayed that God would open her womb and grant them the promise that He had long given them? But you see, Abraham and Sarah here are learning to live by faith. If God had answered the prayer immediately, would Abraham's faith have been so strong and to believe the Word of God that when God told Abraham to go and sacrifice his one and only son, would Abraham have truly had the faith to raise that blade to slay his son? Or would he doubt the promises of God? You see, in delaying the promise of Isaac, God is teaching Abraham and Sarah to trust in His timing. according to His promises that He will answer when it is good for you, Abraham. It is not good for me to give you this son when you're 50. What about 60, Lord? No, Abraham. What about 75, Lord? No, Abraham. What about 95? No, Abraham. 100. Then your faith will be made whole. Isn't that a long time? Yes, it is. But maybe it's what took that long for Abraham and Sarah to truly learn to have faith in God. Well, we see Abraham tried to take things into his own hands. He started to lose sight of the promise of God. Well, God promised this. But maybe I need to go ahead and take things into my own hands. He promised to give me the Son, but God has not fulfilled His promise, so I will make His promise happen. And he takes Hagar, and they have Ishmael. And for generations to come, and still to come, trouble is brewed upon the earth, because Abraham did not have faith in the promise of the Son that God would give him, and he took it into his own hands. So it took years for Abraham to learn that faith. But then God granted his prayer by answering his promise to Abraham and Sarah. And he gave him that son. And it is that son that Abraham had to wait decades for that God then tells him to go and sacrifice as a sacrifice to God. And Abraham does not hesitate. Think of that. A parent asks to go sacrifice their child, and without hesitation, they take that child. And without hesitation, he takes the wood up, and Isaac says, Father, where is the sacrifice? And he says, God will provide Himself. A sacrifice. Because Abraham remembered the promise of the Son, and he also remembered the promise of what that Son would bring of many generations to come. Abraham had enough faith to not know even how God would do this, but he knew that if he slayed his son, God would raise him from the dead. Abraham had faith to know that. Because God had been faithful through the generations to Abraham. And God showed His mercy. But sometimes it takes decades for those answers to come. Because God may be teaching you faith. To wait and see that I am the Lord. Wait upon Me. Another example that should all probably come to mind is of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. He's sold, is betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, sold to Potiphar, falsely accused, thrown into prison, and just left. How many nights did Joseph unjustly imprisoned, unjustly sold? How many nights did he pray, God, what are you trying to teach me? God, isn't a year in prison enough? Okay, maybe I needed to learn a little humility when I'm telling my dreams to everyone. Isn't two years enough? I just want to see my father. I want to see my kindred. I want to see my little brother. Isn't five years enough? No, Joseph. Five years is not enough. But God, haven't I been faithful through it all? Haven't I showed myself faithful in Potiphar's home? Haven't I been faithful here in this prison? Don't you want to show me mercy? Joseph, I am showing mercy. A greater mercy than you could ever imagine by leaving you in prison. How does that make sense to us? It doesn't. It doesn't! Because we don't understand all of God's ways. God, isn't a decade enough? Ten years? Show me mercy! Joseph, mercy comes in three more years. Now is not the time. I am showing you mercy. And mercy to a great number of people, far more than you could ever imagine by leaving you in prison. For thirteen years! Joseph had been stolen away from his family before God released him to his freedom. And it took more years beyond that, that Joseph was able to see the fruit of what God had done in those thirteen years. Because he was able, through God's wisdom, to foresee the famine. And be wise enough, through God's wisdom, on how to store up for the famine, to save many people. But even after those 13 years of being sold or in prison, it took more years for him to see all of that come to fruition. Of course he would have wanted out of the jail. Of course he would have wanted out of that desperate situation. Especially when you've done nothing wrong to deserve it. But God showed a greater mercy in leaving Joseph in that destitute situation for years to come. Parents, especially you aged citizens of Israel, how often and how long have you prayed for the salvation of your lost children? Have you prayed for thirty years? Is that time to stop now? Forty years, is that enough of praying where God won't answer? I tell you, don't stop praying for the salvation of your children. You pray until your dying breath that God would save your children. My own brother is an example. Forty-four, forty-five years old, he was a heathen and a hellion for years. I saw my parents pray for year after year. He was desperate at the bottom. And they never stopped praying. And we never stopped praying that God can go to the depths of the deepest pit to draw anyone He wants from that mire and save their soul. And just a few years ago, He did that to a slobbering drunk. He brought him up. The guy's on fire for the Lord now. Don't stop praying. God is still listening. Maybe He's making your faith stronger. I don't know the answer. I don't know why. I don't know why. But God in His infinite wisdom does. Don't cease to pray for your loved ones that are lost. They are not a lost cause to God. Keep praying, even if it takes you to your end of days to pray. Continue to pray, knowing that sometimes His answers are delayed. What about when His way, His method of answering is completely unexpected? When it's not the way you would have fixed the situation, you pray and God answers your prayer, but it's by some radical means that you never would have thought of. Well, I tell you, in these situations, God is showing that He is in control. That He is a God over all things. Two great examples. The passage we read this morning in Acts chapter 12. Peter's imprisoned. Herod locks him up. He's zealous because people are excited that he's persecuting now, so he locks Peter up. He's going to have him falsely tried and probably killed. And what did we hear Brother Jonathan read this morning? That the people were praying without ceasing the middle of the night. These people are praying in the middle of the night. They're having a prayer meeting that God would spare the life of their beloved Peter. They rightly should have been praying. It's a scary time. They should have been praying at that time. Because no telling what was going to happen that next day. A good prayer, a prayer that we could all pray is like, Lord, change Herod's heart. Lord, change the magistrate's mind that when Peter comes before trial, justice would be served, true justice, and you would allow the world to see that justice is served and Peter is able to take those shackles off and walk out of there a free man. That's a good prayer. It makes sense. It's a common sense prayer that justice would reign. But God wants to show that it is He who is in control. And in the middle of the night, He sends an angel, while these people are praying in the middle of the night, to Peter. And He stirs him from his sleep by striking him in the side. Peter, half asleep, half in a daze, doesn't know exactly what's going on. And the angel says, put on your shoes, put on your feet. The chains fall off of him. And he says, follow me. and they walk through gate after gate and they get to the final iron gate and they walk through and the angel disappears and Peter comes out of the stupor in amazement. He realizes what has just happened. Do you think Peter had been praying for freedom? Probably. And he thinks it's a dream and then he realizes that God has performed this amazing miracle that he couldn't have thought of. He couldn't have thought to make the chains drop off on his own. He couldn't have thought to walk past the guards. He couldn't have thought to walk through a locked gate. Who would think of that when it doesn't make sense? So he goes to where the prayer meeting is, and he knocks on the door, and he's desperately knocking. And he's calling out, and Rhoda goes, and she hears his name, and in astonishment that God has answered their prayer, she runs back to the prayer meeting. As if Peter's outside, and their response is, Praise the Lord! He's answered our prayer! And it's like, What? No way! God doesn't answer prayer that way. Yes, He does! In the most miraculous way, God has answered their prayers. And they come and they take Peter in and they're all in astonishment. Because God is showing, I am in control over all things, so don't cease praying. He may use some radical means to answer your prayer, but God is in control. What a way to have a prayer answered. And then shame on them and shame on us, quite frankly, when our prayers are answered and we're shocked. We just simply don't believe it. I can't believe he answered that prayer. Really? Were you not praying in faith? We like to say we were praying in faith, but are we really? Brothers and sisters, expect God to answer. He may not answer in the way that we think He should. He may wait years to answer. He may use a different method or he might not answer at all. But pray earnestly and expect an answer from God. That's how you pray with faith. Another one, this is just, to me, one of the most mind-blowing examples is in Exodus. The people have fled Egypt or they've left Egypt. Pharaoh gets mad that he let them go and he starts chasing them down and they get to the sea. And all of a sudden they see chariots behind them. And there's this fear, and they're crying out, and Moses is crying out to God, and the common sense thing to do would be like, Lord, help us in battle. Grab your swords, men, we're going to fight the Egyptians. The Lord is with us. Why wouldn't He be? He just performed these ten amazing miracles. These plagues upon Egypt. That's the God we have upon our side. Grab your sword and fight. But God says, stop. Just stand there and I'm going to get fire. And I'm going to put fire between you and him. Between you and Pharaoh. And then I'm going to get smoke. I'm going to put smoke between you and Pharaoh. And then I'm going to part the waters and you're going to walk across. That is nothing we would have thought of. At all. Ever. No one in that situation would have thought of that. And God says, I know. Because my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts. I want to show my might and my power just as I did with the ten plagues in Egypt. I'm still the God that is leading you. So I'm going to save you through your prayers in the most radical method that you never would have thought of. So everyone knows that it was me, God Almighty, who did this. God answers prayers in some of the most unexpected ways. I have a short example of that. I think I've given this at our church before, but now I've got some fresh material for it. But years ago, I was desperately wanting to start a prayer meeting at work. And it's a very large company. We've got 10 buildings or so in Huntsville. And at first I was timid about it, so side note to everyone. there's other people out there at work that want to pray. They're there. They may be quiet, but there's people there. So I started talking to some brothers about starting a prayer meeting, and people got excited. And there for a while, every Monday in my office at lunchtime, had about five or six men, and we prayed. We were getting excited. God was answering some prayers in those prayer meetings. I'm telling you, it was amazing to see the way that he answered prayers. So then we prayed. Wouldn't it be awesome if God would spread this prayer meeting to other buildings at our company? And God answered the prayer, but it's not how He expected. He answered. He said, Titus, I'm going to answer your prayer by moving you from the nicest building in Huntsville to 15 minutes further away from work to the oldest, ugliest, dreariest building we have. but I'm gonna answer your prayer. We got excited because we saw what was happening and we started a prayer meeting in that building. And over the next four or five years, we had at least five prayer meetings in different buildings because God kept moving me from building to building. Now I'm at a new building. I've been there for two months and we've had a prayer meeting going on for almost two months in that building. God answers prayers, not how we expect it. But in some radical means, God still answers our prayers. So be prepared for God to answer. But what if God's answer to you is no? That's hard. That's a hard one to swallow. I can't think of any loftier righteous men to bring up as an example to this than Moses, David, and Paul. All righteous men, all men who have penned words of our Scripture, all men who prophesied, all men who were great in the kingdom of God, and God still told these men, no. Moses was a man that the Lord spake to as if with His own friend in Exodus 33, it tells us. That is the closeness that Moses had with God. No other prophet spoke to God as Moses spoke to God. David was so close to God that he was a man after God's own heart. Paul was called in such a unique way to be a special apostle for God. Yet all three, all three of these men prayed passionately for something that was very dear to their heart. And God's answer was no. No. Do you think that they were praying wrongly? I don't think that they were praying wrongly. They just didn't understand what God had for them when He said, No. Moses longed to enter into the promised land and to see God's face. Two things. David pleaded desperately for the life of his child to be spared. And Paul repeatedly petitioned for relief from the thorn in his side. In Deuteronomy chapter 3 we read of Moses begging the Lord to enter the promised land. Now Moses had been told he could not enter the promised land anymore because when he had struck the rock, he did not give God the glory. When he struck the rock for water to come forth, God had said, speak to the rock. that my power may be known." Moses struck it, but he said, must we bring forth water? It wasn't the striking of the rock. It was the not giving the credit to God saying, must we bring forth water? And God said, you will not see the promised land because you did not glorify me in the presence of the people. This is Moses. He dealt with them for 80 years, but he doesn't get to go into the promised land? He tells God in a conversation, Lord, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand for what God is there in heaven or on earth that can do the works like Yours and mighty acts like Yours. Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan. But the Lord was angry with me for Your sakes. And the Lord said, Moses, speak to me no more on this matter. Let it satisfy you that you may look into the promised land. He's saying, Moses, my mercy is in letting you see the promised land from the top of the mountain. but I will not grant you passage into it." I am showing mercy in this answer. How is God showing mercy in telling Moses, no, that he cannot enter into the Promised Land? In two ways. One is the way that Moses responds. And in two, it's in giving the glory and the honor all to the name of God. Even holy Moses, a righteous man, is not above the glory and the honor of God. And the people of Israel needed to see that and know that, that God would be glorified in front of all men. It was a lesson for the people. God is showing mercy to the people by not letting Moses enter. Another time Moses asked, God let me see Your face. This is the man that God spoke with as a friend. Like no other prophet, God let me see Your face. God shows Moses mercy in this prayer by placing him in the cleft of the rock and covering his eyes and walking past. And then he removes his hand to let Moses see his back as he walks away. How is that merciful? Because Scripture says you cannot see the face of God and live. He's saying, Moses, I'm showing you mercy and telling you no, because you do not know what you're asking for. If I grant your prayer, you will die. My mercy is no, Moses, because you do not realize what you're asking for. So I am being merciful, and I am showing you love by saying no." 2 Samuel 12, David had committed the sin against Uriah, against Bathsheba, against the people of God, and against God Himself. The result is Uriah is murdered, Bathsheba is pregnant, She gives birth and the child becomes ill. David falls prostrate on his face for days. And in a puddle of his repentant tears, and we know it was a repentant prayer that David is praying right now, because after this prayer, David arises and he writes Psalm 51, the penitent prayer. But he is on his face in a puddle of his own tears, weeping and pleading to God to spare the life of his baby. Had the baby done wrong? Had the baby sinned? No, it was David's sin. God have mercy on this child. But God's answer is no. God, how are you merciful in taking the life of a child? How does that show mercy? Because David, my name will be praised. Because David, you are to worship and glorify me. Because David, I have placed you upon this throne. Does God's answer of no hurt? Yes! Sometimes it hurts extremely. No one wants to lose a child, but God's answer is still no, David. I will not spare this child. Paul. Paul pleaded before God in 2 Corinthians three times, Lord remove this thorn from my side. Take it away, Lord. Wouldn't it have been more profitable to just take the thorn away? Wasn't Paul doing God's work? Couldn't it be more useful in the kingdom without the thorn in his side? No. He couldn't, because through his weakness, God was made strong. Through his weakness, the power of God rested upon him. That was Paul's strength. It wasn't Paul. It was the grace of God upon Paul that made him so powerful. So God told Paul, No! I will not remove this thorn, because with it I am made great, and you are made weak." All of those instances. Two of them are marred by sin. Moses not giving God the glory, and David committing sin. Two of those are marred by sin. But despite their repentance and their eternal forgiveness, God still says, No to them. But all three of those men, when they understand that the answer is no, it's their response to the no that is so important for us to know. What did Moses do when he's at the top of that mountain and God says, you can only see the promised land, you cannot enter it? Does Moses come down the hill kicking rocks? I've spent 80 years with these dadgum Israelites. They're the most obnoxious people on the earth. You gave me these people to take care of and that's what I got to deal with and I can't go in? You know what Moses' answer is? Is to go down and teach Joshua to lead God's people. Because Moses knew it wasn't about him, it was about God and God's people. So he goes down and accepts God's answer with gladness, and he teaches the next generation to carry on the statutes of God. What was David's response? To losing a child. Was it anger and grief? What we would all have as a parent losing a child? Did he go around slamming every door of the castle because he's king? He gets to slam every door he wants to? No! David got up and he washed himself clean. And he went to the house of God and worshipped! Because he knew that God is holy in all of his answers. What did Paul do when God said, no Paul, you're going to keep the thorn that has bothered you so? When Paul realizes the result of him keeping the thorn, that God says, I am made strong, you are shown weak, I will tabernacle upon you. He gladly accepts it at that point. He's glad to have the thorn because it means God's grace is ever more present with him. He's glorying in the no! My answer is no! And Paul is praising God that God has told him no. I've experienced this with my back. If anybody understands that, it's this church. I'm four surgeries in and my back still hurts sometimes. We prayed for years and years that God would ease it. But God has repeatedly told me, no, no, no. It's been 12, 13 years of it. But I have changed my prayer. I don't pray that He takes the pain away anymore because I have learned something in His no. Now, every time I feel the pains in my back, I remember. that this earth is not my home. I remember that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I remember that one day He will call this broken body full of titanium up, and He will make me into a new being. I remember that this is just a shell, a temporary resting place. When I feel those pains now, and I remember that He said no, I remember that I have grown closer to God through every time that I have hurt. That He has been my strength. I don't want the past to change now. And if my back continues to hurt, I will continue to remember that God is my strength and this world is not my home. And I find rejoicing in that. I look forward to that day when I will be with Him with no pain. What about when God answers but it's not the answer that you expect? His answers frequently do not look like answers. Most of the time they look like problems. They look like trouble. They look like loss of a loved one. They look like disappointment. They look like affliction. They look like sorrow. Be prepared for God's answers to surprise you. But doesn't Matthew chapter 7 say that He being the good Father knows what to give you? As we have seen, He is a good Father and He does know what we need. But be prepared that when God answers, it's not what you expect. If you ask God to help you love your neighbor as you love yourself, What should you expect the answer to that prayer to be? He may send someone that grates on your nerves for you to love. He may send someone obnoxious for you to love. He may send someone that is beneath you to love. Who is my neighbor, Lord? And He gives them the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans? That filthy, inbred race of people? They are going to show you to love, O righteous Jew. If we ask God's presence because we believe it is good for us to be near God, as Psalm 73, 28 says, what should you expect when you say, Lord, be near us? He may show you your sins. to give you a broken heart, because it says in Psalm 34 that God is near the brokenhearted. What if we ask God to increase our faith? It's a good prayer. We should be praying it. Lord, increase my faith. In my own life, the world around me, increase my faith. He may give you an answer that shows you your deep spiritual poverty without Him, because the kingdom is given to the poor in spirit. And He says, we shall walk by faith and not by sight. So when we say, Lord, increase my faith, He may cause you to have to walk in a faith where you do not see what's going on. Back to Elijah, he didn't see the rain clouds when he started praying, but he had faith that God would answer his promises. What if you ask, Lord, cause me to walk in a manner worthy of You? Colossians 1.10 says that we should walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. What kind of answer should you expect to receive? Answers that require more humility. more gentleness, more patience, more bearing of one another than you ever thought could be possible. He may give you an answer to being worthy of the Lord that causes you to be in destitution, constant affliction or mistreatment. That was the common lot of many of the saints of old. And what does Hebrews chapter 11 verse 38 say of those brothers and sisters, many of whom were beheaded, persecuted? He says, "...of whom the world was not worthy." And we're asking, Lord, cause me to walk in a worthy manner of You. His answer may be tribulation, persecution and death. Is he wrong in his answer? No, because He is a good Father and He knows what you need. We ask, Lord, Your will be done. We don't know His full will, do we? None of the saints of old knew the full will, but we ask, Lord, Your will be come. And yet we are told to pray for that will to be fulfilled, to come to pass. That is a prayer of faith. We're saying, Lord, I'm not coming to you with what I think you should do, Lord. I'm simply coming to you without anything but my faith in your promises. I'm not coming to advise. I'm coming to hear. You know what I need, and therefore my prayer is that my faith be made stronger by seeing Your will in my life, whatever that looks like, whatever that result is. Is that a hard prayer? No, not when you know that He is a good Father. If you know that He is good, The older I get, the more of life that I experience, the more troubles that I've experienced, the more trials that I've gone through, the easier that prayer has gotten. Lord, just teach me Your will. Whatever the result is, Lord, give me peace and faith in Your will. It may be delayed, Lord, show me mercy in delaying. It may be unexpected means. Lord, show me your mercy in those unexpected means. It may be no. Lord, show me your mercy in that no. That is my PTSD prayer. I prayed that God would relieve me of it. I was tired of seeing nightmares, tired of having nightmares, tired of seeing faces that I don't want to see anymore. I've prayed desperately, God take this away from me. But God is teaching me so much more through that trial than I would have ever had without it. I'm learning to lean upon Him. When I have nightmares, I go to Psalms 61, 62 and 63. Would I continually go to those Psalms if I didn't still struggle with my nightmares? Or would I start to push them to the side and become cold? You know what else it's just shown me just in the past couple of weeks? That I need you. This body. You have shown it to me these past couple of weeks. I reached out to probably ten of you brothers. I had a bad week a couple of weeks ago. I was desperate. What has Mike been teaching us in this church the past few Sundays? That we are a body. If my mind was not troubled and plagued with those nightmares, I wouldn't have reached out to you. But it showed me that I needed you. I needed your prayers. I was limping and you carried me. I might not have reached out. I might have always been saying, I'm a preacher, I need to help you, I need to help you, but God is showing me that I have weaknesses, that the body needs to carry me. So now I thank God. Would I be happy if He took my troubles away? Yes, I would. But am I going to rejoice in them? Yes, I will. Because I know that God has a plan for my life, even in the midst of tribulation. What is our takeaway from this sermon? What are we to take away? If you take one thing away from this, it's remember that when God answers, He is showing mercy. When it's not what we want, He is showing mercy. When it's a different means than we had in mind, He is showing mercy. When He says no, He is showing mercy. His answers are always merciful because He is the good, good Father and He knows what we need. This willing acceptance of God's answer to prayer as a show of His mercy will almost always produce a joyful spirit. In this prayer we find peace. That's where we'll go this afternoon. John Calvin said, By prayer we disburden our anxieties, as it were, into His bosom. Prayer is to be a regular habit and a close companion. So this afternoon we'll look at the following passage of Philippians 4, verses 6-7 where it says, Be anxious for nothing. But in everything with prayer and thanksgiving, let your supplications be made known to God. And we will see that we have peace through prayer in light of knowing that God does answer. Let's pray. Our holy, righteous, heavenly Father, Lord, we admit that it is hard to wait for those answers. It's hard to learn when the answer is no. Lord, we pray that in those times of waiting, or in those times when Your answer is no, that You build our faith. That You increase our faith to see You. That Lord, we would see that even in Your no, You are showing us mercy. Even in decades of waiting, You are showing mercy. Lord, may we be content just to approach your throne and plead before you, knowing that whatever your answer is, it is mercy. It's in Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.