Answered Prayers

During the last blog, I posted about how The Lord's Prayer can be used as a template whenever you are praying to God for something.  The funny thing about praying for something, is that we often-times want an answer back from the Lord.

How often have you felt like Job when he said "I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. (Job 30:20)?

I am surprised how often I get an answer to my prayers.  It seems the more I pray, the more I feel I get answers.  It is not always the case however.  Here are some reasons that I think I don't always feel heard:

1. We learn in James 4:3 is that "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.  So I guess that means if we ask for things selfishly, or in a way that will only be used to satisfy ourselves, we shouldn't be surprised if we don't hear back from God.
2. In Psalms 37 we are told to "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him," Have you ever taken time to consider that the Lord was answering a prayer and you were just too busy to take the call?  I truly believe one of the most powerful tools the Devil has over a leader is the power of distraction.  There are so many things that need to be done in a day....so many meetings.....so many tasks...Have you ever been reminded by a loved one about a conversation that you had with them, that you totally forgot because you were "multi-tasking" when you were talking to them?  How many times have you tried to multi-task God?  Take quiet time EVERY day to listen.
3. In Ecclesiastes 3:11 Solomon states "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."  When I read this verse, I remind myself that God is not my assistant.  I need to remember that I worship him, not the other way around.  Often times, when I don't hear an answer, it is because I have put God on my schedule.  As leaders, we are used to other people getting back to us in a "timely" manner.  However, God's time is different than ours and he will answer your prayer when HE sees fit.  One way to test this is to keep a prayer journal.  Jot down what you pray for every day.  On a weekly basis, review the prayers that you made and check off the ones that were answered.  Continue to revisit the ones that go "un-answered".  I found that over the course of time, most of my prayers were answered. (I'm sure all were answered, I just may have missed a couple, or the answer may have been "no")
4. Finally, learn how to listen.  When I was a boy and read the old testament, I expected God to speak to me like he did to Moses.  That I would hear a booming voice that made my bones shake.  What I have experienced is something much more subtle but no less impactful.  God doesn't need to shout to get his point across.  However, I am always sure when I am supposed to do something.  It is very hard to explain, and it has taken me practice, but I can feel when I am supposed to do something.  I think it stems from responding to something that I felt lead to do, and then seeing the result.  As I continued to act on these "feelings" I noticed that more often than not, it lead to outcomes that I had prayed about.  Bill Hybles wrote a book called "Whispers" that does a great job talking about this topic.  I would recommend reading the book if you are interested.

The whole topic of hearing God's voice is something that is very polarizing.  Some people think that it is crazy to think that an all powerful God would respond to every person in the world who wants to speak with Him.  But if God so loved the world that he gave his only Son for us so that we would not parish but have eternal life, don't you think he would at least take the time to get to know us?  And when it's all said and done, isn't that what prayer is all about?

How to Pray as a Leader

One of the most important things to understand as a leader is that you can't do it alone.  Leaders, of any kind, are faced with hard decisions that impact others.  If you are prudent, you would seek advice and council from others before you make any major decision.  With that in mind, ask yourself: "Do I pray to the Lord about the decisions that I make?"  If the answer is "no", then I would like to submit a couple of things for your consideration.

Throughout history great leaders have asked their heavenly father's advice when they are in need.  George Washington was found on his knees praying when his troops were struggling through the winter at Valley Forge in the Revolutionary War.  There are also prayers published that Abraham Lincoln used to help guide him during the Civil War.

So how do you pray as a leader?  How do you pray a all?  These are questions that I have struggled with, and still do, since I can remember.  Over the next couple of blogs I will give you my thoughts on how I try to pray when I need to make a decision.  In this blog I want to focus on Matthew 6:5-18.  This is where Jesus first introduces the world to the "Lord's Prayer".  This can be used as a template whenever you talk with the Lord.  While it may sound basic, I am going to break down the Lord's Prayer and explain how I use it to guide my prayer, especially when I am asking for something.

Our Father, Who art in heaven - Well this part is pretty easy to expalin.  This just tells me that I need to be conscious of who I am about to pray to.

Hallowed by thy name - I think that this is the part of the prayer that gets overlooked.  We often times forget that we are about to converse with the all powerful God who's name alone should inspire respect.

Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven - This reminds us that whatever our need or our request, we recognize that it is in God's hands.  It is an understanding that I am ok with whatever God decides.

Give us this day our daily bread - This is where Jesus tells us that it is okay to go to the Father to ask for things that we NEED in order to survive.  I interpret "daily bread" as meaning that God does not give us the green light to ask for whatever we desire, but only the things that we need to get through the day.  It also implys that the Lord will not give you answers for the next 3 years, He will provide you with just the right amount of what you need to get you through the day.....and that is enough.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors - Jesus tells us that when we pray, we need to be clean with the Lord by asking him to forgive our sins.  There is a second stipulation as well.  We are expected to forgive those around us.  I always think of the story that Jesus tells in Matthew 18:24 about the man who can not afford to pay the debt that he has to his master and so he begs him for mercy.  The master grants the forgiveness of the debt and releases the man.  As the man walks down the street, he meets another man who owes him money.  He brutally demands the repayment of the debt with no mercy for the other man.  When the Master hears of the injustice, he no longer shows the man pity, and has him thrown in jail.  I think that is the same expectation that the Lord has for us.  He is willing to forgive our unpayable debt, but his expectation is that we do the same for others when we get the chance.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil -  This is the safety claus of the prayer.  When I am making a request to God, I always include a portion of the prayer that asks the Lord to use his discresion and not grant my request if it will lead to trouble down the road.  I defer to God's knowledge of what the potential pitfalls of a request may be and use his judgement when listening to my prayer.  Discipline kicks in when I don't get the answer that I want.  It is very hard, in the moment, to not rationalize to get the outcome you want.  But if you don't feel like you have gotten an answer from the Lord, then that very well might be your answer.

I use the Lord's prayer to structure my time with God, especially when I am going to him for a request about a leadership decision that I need to make.  It insures that I am going to him appropriately and in a manner that insures that he is open to my request.  Then I really try to do my best to listen...and wait...
One of the things that I have learned is that the earlier that I go to God with my concerns or needs, the more often I feel like I have a clear answer.  My thoughts have always been that God wants to be part of the entire process, not the "closer" that you call in near the end of the game to bail you out of trouble.

Next time you know you have important decisions that you have to make, or that you have needs that you could use some help in meeting, remember the structure of the Lord's prayer as you go to the Father.  You can even recite it verbatim and just include your specific requests at the appropriate time.

There are many different ways that I like to pray, especially when it comes to trying to be a better leader.  Today I covered how I structure my prayers when I am going to the Lord to ask for something.  I will write about a different type of prayer next time.