If I Ask Enough, Will God Give Me What I'm Praying For?

06/20/22 • 10 min

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Difficult Relationships - Christian Wisdom for Life's Toughest Ties

Is prayer simply a matter of endurance? The question we answer in this episode is If I Ask God Enough, Will He Give Me What I'm Praying For?
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Building Faith Podcast from Kris Reece Ministries is a podcast to provide biblical solutions to life's tough challenges.
TRANSCRIPTION:
It is said that there is power in prayer and if that’s true, which it is, there must be real power in persistent prayer. Persistent prayer is Biblical. Matthew 7:7 reminds us to “ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be open to you.” So, is prayer, simply a matter of endurance? Meaning, that if I keep on persisting, eventually I’ll get what I’m praying for. There’s a dangerous line that we cross when we take persistent prayer too far.
In fact, there are three destructive patterns that we can fall into if we rely solely on the persistence of prayer.

Number one is thinking that prayer is persuasion. We can’t change God, it’s arrogance if we actually think we can. Prayer is not persuasion. God is not going to conform His will to our whim. Once we cross into thinking that prayer is persuasion, that leap isn’t that long into manipulation. Proverbs 19:21 tells us that many are the plans in the mind of a man but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Yes, there are times in the Bible where God does change his mind, but those times were conditional. It certainly happened every time a sinner repents as well. God then changes his mind. We now go from being an enemy of God to being his beloved child.

Number two is thinking that prayer is a form of mysticism. Much of the new age, occult practices have seeped into the church’s beliefs. For example, the Law of Attraction, which is basically “what I put out, I’ll get back” mantras and many other mystical teachings has become a regular part of a Christian belief. Many of these mystical practices can translate to prayer when one believes that simply praying prayers of repetition will bring back good things to you, thinking that your persistence somehow has power, put you into a more magical state of mind, rather than a surrendered one. We reduce God to a formula and dare, I say some magic formula. God is not a formula to be figured out. He is our Father and He is to be trusted. No one understands why He blesses some and not others. God does not enable us to always understand everything perfectly or completely right now. When I am tempted to throw in the prayer towel, I am reminded of the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18.

Starting at verse 1, Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said in a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought and there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with a plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary”. Verse 4; For some time, he refused, but he finally said to himself, “even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this Widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually come and attack me”. And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the Son of man comes, will He find faith on the Earth?”

Does this mean that if I keep asking that I can eventually wear God down and He’ll give me what I’m asking for? Well, we have to be careful, not to reduce God’s sovereignty to a magic formula.

Number three is thinkin

Does this mean that if I keep asking that I can eventually wear God down and He’ll give me what I’m asking for? Well, we have to be careful, not to reduce God’s sovereignty to a magic formula.

Number three is thinkin

Previous Episode

Why Isn't God Speaking to Me?

Are you struggling to hear from God? In this episode, we talk about 4 ways that God is speaking to you and how to attune your ear to hear from God.
FREE 5 Day Created with Purpose Devotional
https://krisreece.com/5-day-devotional-series/

Building Faith Podcast from Kris Reece Ministries is a podcast to provide biblical solutions to life's tough challenges.
TRANSCRIPTION
Are you struggling to hear what God is saying to you? Maybe you’re battling with your identity or you have a decision that you need to make and you think to yourself, if God would just speak to me, send me a sign, something so that I know it’s him, then I would know what to do. One of the perks of having a personal relationship with someone is that you get to communicate with him directly. I mean, there’s a mutual give-and-take of ideas and honest expression, but what happens when you feel like the relationship is a little more one-sided when you’re doing all the talking and you feel like you’re getting nothing in return. Well, unfortunately, that’s how many people have described their relationship with God. They feel as though their prayers are just bouncing off the sky and they can’t hear his voice.

Today, I want to talk to you about the ways that God is speaking to you and how you can attune your ear to hear his wonderful voice. But before we dive in, I want to get the obvious out of the way. If you were trying to pray to God without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you will not hear from God, repentance of sin and acceptance of his son opens the line of communication with God.

Jesus said, in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So if you’re not my friend, may I encourage you to make Jesus, your Lord, and Savior and let that amazing relationship begin. But for the sake of this video, and this podcast today, I’ll assume that you are a follower of Christ and as a Christ-follower, I have amazing news for you. He is speaking to you.

John 10:27 reminds us of Jesus’s words when he said “my sheep, hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.” Now, you may be saying to be great Kris but I don’t hear him and I don’t know what to do.

So the question that we are going to answer in three parts is this, “Is God speaking to me?”
#1 – He is. He’s just not saying what you want to hear.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a beloved passage of scripture and it reads “for, I know the plans that I have for you, they are plans for good and not a disaster to give you a future and a hope.” And we love reading encouraging scriptures that make us feel good. But what do we do when the word we’re getting from God is not what we want to hear?

If we back up in Jeremiah 29 and read the passage, just before the promise, we find something quite different. And here’s what it says in verses 4 through 8, “the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem, Build homes and plan to stay. Plant gardens and eat the food you produce. Marry and have children then find spouses for them and have many grandchildren. Multiply, do not dwindle away, and work for peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive for if Babylon has peace so will you.”

In verse 10 he tells them, “the truth is that you will be in Babylon for 70 years.” Huh? There was a plan all right, a plan before the promise, but not the plan that they would have hoped for your city, which has been invaded by the enemy. You’ve been violently ripped from your home and carried off to a distant land. You’ve been made to live in captivity, the security that you’ve known for your entire life is now, instantly vanished. And

Next Episode

God, Am I Codependent? (6 Undeniable Signs)

In this podcast, we talk about the 6 undeniable signs that you are codependent.
Building Faith Podcast from Kris Reece Ministries is a podcast to provide biblical solutions to life's tough challenges.
Do you really feel good when others need you? Do you enable someone’s bad behavior in hopes that they’ll repent and change their ways? If you are struggling to have healthy, balanced relationships, where the needs of both people are recognized, you could be struggling with codependency. A codependent relationship will leave you frustrated and unfulfilled and it often reinforces the belief that you’re broken and unworthy. Codependency, in a nutshell, is the need to be needed. Codependency can occur in virtually any relationship dynamic; parents, children spouse, friends, pastor, and even co-workers.
Let’s talk a moment about what codependency is as well as how the traits are displayed. We will also have some solutions for how you can move forward.

You are overly concerned about what the other person is doing, thinking, and feeling. Often displayed as caring, this codependent trade leads you to believe that if you don’t take care of this person, something bad is going to happen to either you or them as a result of their behavior. Scripture tells us that each should carry his own load. You can find that in Galatians 6:5. So, it is biblical to allow others to make choices and mistakes. God certainly does it for us.
Your need to fix or rescue now becomes controlling. You attempt to control the other person’s behavior through criticism, ultimatums, nagging or giving unsolicited advice. This typically is a result of having no self-control, which is your attempt to control them in an effort to feel control of yourself. We are not responsible to change or control others. We’re only responsible for ourselves. Proverbs 25:28 tells us that a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
You walk on eggshells around the other person. You’re likely afraid of doing or saying something that will displease or anger them or set them off. As a result, you may not express your opinion, share your feelings, or ask for what you want. You may say “yes” to things that you didn’t want to, or they don’t align with your values or goals. Matthew 5:9 reminds us that peacemakers are blessed. There is a big difference between being a peacemaker and a peacekeeper.
You act like a martyr taking care of everyone and everything but resentful that no one wants to help or take care of you. Matthew 5:37 reminds us to let what you say simply be “yes or no”. Anything more than this comes from evil. Saying “yes” when you would prefer to say no doesn’t make you a better Christian.
You continue the relationship, even after the other person has repeatedly hurt you physically, emotionally, or financially. Co-dependence frequently makes you believe that they are being loving. 1st Corinthians, 13:7 tells us that love never gives up, never loses faith, and is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. My friend, God didn’t intend for you to endure abuse and tolerate evil behavior.
You are afraid of being rejected, criticized, or seen as a bad person. We all want to be loved and accepted tendency crosses the line into needing it to the point of accepting or tolerating toxic behavior as a people pleaser. It’s important to always ask the question in Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or God? Or am I trying to please people?” If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Codependency plays out in relationships, but it is also rooted in how you feel about yourself. The focus is often to get the other person to change, but the truth is, you can only change yourself and we can’t even do that. without the help of the Holy Spirit. So, if you want to se