Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
I wonder if anyone reading this message has ever had the experience of praying for something special, and not getting what you asked for. I've talked with someone who prayed and prayed and prayed for a blessing, something that everybody needs, not a luxury, just something down to earth--a job where he could earn enough to support the family with the barest necessities of life, and the kind of work he is trained to do and is competent to do. It seemed that his prayers had not been answered.
Were Jesus' prayers always answered? It seems so, as we read the gospel stories. One day He saw a fig tree all decked out with leaves--a sign that it should have had some delicious figs ready to eat, and He was hungry. But there was no fruit, only leaves; and He said, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again"--because you have deceived us with the pretense of having leaves without fruit. And immediately the tree withered away from its roots.
The disciples marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" (Matt. 21:19-20). Then Jesus answered, "If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (vss. 21, 22).
When we pray, let us (1) believe that the Lord hears us, (2) believe that He loves us and is fair, and (3) be patient to wait for the answer if it is delayed (Daniel prayed a long time for a blessing, but all that while the angel was wrestling with the King of Persia who was hindering the answer from coming). Let us (4) remember that wars are not always won in a day or two, (5) thank the Lord for what blessings we do have, and (6) remember that others are suffering too, and the Lord is teaching us to be compassionate for them.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."
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