Life is full of disappointments, and to say it isn’t would be a lie. But to say having faith in God brings disappointments would be the greatest lie of all. Last night I received a text message from a person who has been “confessing the scriptures and believing for months” and is convinced Jesus won’t heal them.  To say they are disappointed would be an understatement.  Now if Jesus healed all who came to Him back then, and the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8,  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and for ever, and He doesn’t heal the one who asks today, there must be a reason.  But are we willing to face that reason head-on and do something about it? That’s the $64,000 question.

You know me, I’m not afraid to confront difficult issues, and tell it like it is.  All of us know what prayer is, and I think most know what makes prayer work, but some want God to do things THEIR way, sort of like using Him as a genie in a bottle. News flash: God is GOD ALMIGHTY, and if we want anything from Him, it will be on His terms, and not on ours.  Not that God will not listen to our petitions, in fact, He wants to hear them and invites us to petition Him.  Note His simple instruction in Isaiah 43:26:

Isa 43:26  Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

Imagine that!  God wants YOU to be justified when you ask Him for something!  First off, why does God want you to put HIM in remembrance of anything?  Oh, I know, He must be so old He forgot what He said earlier, right?  No!  You can’t remind God of His promises if YOU don’t know them.  So first off, that calls for research on your part.  Just as any lawyer would search prior cases for precedence in defending his client, God expects you to do your own homework.  Search the scriptures to see what God has said about your particular situation, then you will have precedence to approach Him with.  Then make your case, that’s what He wants you to do, His desire being that YOU are justified.  How do you become justified in God’s eyes?  Glad you asked that!  You become justified in God’s eyes by being in agreement with Him.

Note the words of Jesus concerning prayer, and not just any old prayer, but prayer that PREVAILS WITH GOD.
Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

We have then the supposition that we must “wear God out” with our continual begging for this or that, but the key to this parable is in the last verse:  Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Numerous people through the years have asked me to keep praying for months and months for them for a particular need.  Sorry, that’s not going to happen.  I pray ONCE in faith, knowing the LORD has heard me, knowing I don’t need to “wear Him out” to get results.  God is not looking for someone who can wear Him out, but rather for SOMEONE WHO HAS FAITH TO ASK ONCE AND KNOW IT’S DONE!

Hear another word of advice from the Lord Jesus:
Mat 7:1  Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Mat 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Did you catch that last verse?  Some tell us, Ask and KEEP ON ASKING, seek and keep on seeking, knock until you’ve worn a hole in the door.  That isn’t what Jesus meant, or He would have plainly said so.  His parables are not dark and hidden, they are plain to anyone with understanding.  Here, let me make this simple for you: suppose you ask your wife or husband to get a loaf of bread at the store. He or she said OK.   You ride to them to the store continually asking them to get you a loaf of bread.  You enter the store with them, continuing to ask you to get them a loaf of bread.  You continue down the aisle with them asking them to get you a loaf of bread.  They put the loaf of bread in the cart, still, you’re cointinuing to ask them to get you a loaf of bread.  You go through the checkout line, STILL asking them to get you a loaf of bread.  They pay for the bread and the cashier puts it in the sack and you head for your car, still asking them to get you a loaf of bread.  Dummy!  They heard you the FIRST TIME!  Yeah, you got your loaf of bread, are you proud of yourself finally?  You asked and kept on asking.  One thing for sure, they won’t be taking you back to the store with them anytime soon….
And we do this to GOD!!!

Have you ever stopped to read this simple instruction in Psalm 100:4?  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. That’s the very FIRST thing I bring to God when I need something, and I believe thanksgiving and praise is the key to entering God’s Throne Room.  Justified by the blood of Christ Jesus, I have confidence to petition for my needs, or the needs of others, knowing I have access to Him anytime day or night, and that He loves me and isn’t condemning me.  Jesus told us how to have our prayers answered in Mark 11:22-26, and maybe we need to review that again for the thousandth time, in case someone wasn’t paying attention:

Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Mar 11:25  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mar 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Jesus explained things so plain and simply, you’d have to work hard to confuse it, although many succeed in doing so, thereby leading many into error and disappointment.  God loves us, gave His only Son as payment for our sins, offers us His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, and it is His fervent desire to lead us into a blessed and fulfilling life, with abundant blessings and health.  And we seem intent on complicating things until even God cannot get through the muck that we’ve made.  And you wonder why Jesus asked, Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? You know, if Jesus was concerned about this, shouldn’t WE be?

Instead of trying to get God to do things our way, why don’t we simply do them HIS way, so we are sure to get the desired results?  I find it very easy to get my prayers answered very quickly, but I find it very difficult to get people who ask for prayer to BELIEVE.  Then they want to blame God when their prayers go unanswered, saying “Jesus won’t heal me”, or “ I asked God for such and such and He didn’t give it to me”.  Listen, that goes EXACTLY against what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7.

Now either God is a liar, or YOU are the problem. If I were a betting man, I’d bet God is not the problem.   Like I said, people don’t like hearing the truth if it doesn’t suit them.  But remember, it’s not about YOU, it’s about HIM.  Getting God to answer your prayers is EASY, as long as you follow His instructions.  Now, He will let you continue to do things YOUR way and live a disappointed life, but the wise will listen to counsel and become wiser still.  Enough said.  God is looking for faith and honors it. So what will it be; your way or His way?  Your choice; choose wisely!  Even if you’ve missed the Mark before (no pun intended), doesn’t mean you have to keep on doing so.

Some people just don’t seem to like to read instructions. They may go to the store and buy a bicycle for their child and go home to assemble it without reading the instructions.  Oh, they know what a bicycle is, so why read the instructions?  And they end up assembling something that looks like, well, they’re not quite sure, but it SURE  doesn’t look like a bicycle.  And hours later they still haven’t figured it out.  Look, save yourself some heartache: and read the instructions.
God is offering you some instruction right now for a better life.  Use it, and both you and God will be happy.