PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT SERIES

DELAYS IN ANSWERED PRAYER

Lets look in the book of Romans chapter 15: 22 For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you. But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.

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There are two reasons for delays in answered prayer. Paul wrote this book to the Romans where he has not started a church there. Paul in writing to the Romans expresses his great desire to go to them. He says that whenever I go to Spain I must drop by to see you. And he even says that for many years I have desired to go there. We believe that God has planted a seed in Paul's spirit that he must go to Rome. And in that direction he continually prayed.

As we look at that we must understand God's language. When God says now or soon, it may not be tomorrow or next week. God's language is different from ours. Many people when they hear God say now or soon think that it is next week. Let's lay some background on God's language. And for that we need some Old Testament scriptures.

Samuel pronounced a judgmental prophecy against Saul for his disobedience to God in 1 Samuel 13: 13-14 For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. He says the Lord would have established you as king forever. But now he says your kingdom shall not continue. Notice he says "now" your kingdom shall not continue. Apparently Saul went on as king for a few more decades. All in Saul reigned for about 40 years. He continued for another one or two decades because this incidence happened towards the early part of his reign. God said now your kingdom shall not be established. Ten years past and he was still king. Twenty years past and he was still king. God said now. So the next time God said now. Please take it in God's context. We need to understand God's language.

Now let's look on in the book of 1 Sam. 15:26-28 Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe and it tore. So Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and have given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. This time the Lord said "today" your kingdom is torn away. But several decades passed by and that "today" did not come to pass. A day to the Lord is to us like a thousand years. If the Lord says today, it may be a prophetical today.

God spoke through Jeremiah's lips and said after seventy weeks the Israelites will be restored. Daniel was both a prophet and a bible scholar. As he was studying Jeremiah's prophecies, God spoke to him regarding the seventy weeks and said they were seventy weeks of years. He said the time is right for them to return to the Promised Land. And there was an actual fulfillment but not a total.

So we know that prophetic language is symbolic. A great prophet of God may come to you and say, "Now I have called you. Today I have made you an evangelist." Tomorrow don't go and resign your job. You may have nothing to eat for the next five years before your ministry takes off. Now to the Lord could be ten years, could be twenty years, understand His language.

God told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill you horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons. David was anointed king. But it was many years later when he was 30 years old that he reigns as king. There may be a time gap between when God seed into your life and when He fulfills His promise. You must be aware of what He spoke and when He manifests. When God promise us something, we have to remember God's language when He says now or today, so that we won't get impatient and say to God that He didn't keep your promise.

In Roman 15 where we read about how Paul says he had a great desire for many years to see them. It was a burning desire. And this epistle to the Romans was most probably was written from Corinth in Acts 18 which was some where in his second missionary journey. He says for many years. That means that even possibly in Acts 15 he already had a burning desire. I would reckon Paul being the kind of man he was, he would have brought it to the Lord in prayer. He would have prayed constantly for an open door to Rome. Lord it is your word. And there was a delay in prayer.

I heard one preacher who preached this sermon in Romans 15. He titled the sermon as "Unanswered Prayer". I think he missed the point. There was an answer. But there was a delay in the answer. Why was there a delay? God did not answer it the way Paul expected it. He did reach the shores of Rome. He did walk the streets of Rome. But not the way he expected it. Not in a manner he could conceive. I would never classify that as an unanswered prayer. There was a delayed answer.

And the reason is sometimes God answers in a different way than we expect it. All the time you are looking for an answer in this corner here. "Lord when it is?" The answer is already working on the other side. God is doing something over there and you are still here. We missed the whole answer. God did not provide the way we expected it to be. Sometimes we are just looking in one direction the way God provides and we miss what God is doing. God has million of ways to supply your needs. And that is one reason why sometimes prayers are delayed. It is because we were in the wrong place and in the wrong position. When God is already working in one position and when you move out of that position and just keep a one-track direction, you missed what God is seeking to supply. God has million of ways to answer your prayers.

Some of you may be praying for finances. And all you think is that if only you could get that one deal, you had it made. You just focus on that one deal. All your expectation is built up and it is really do or die. Sooner or later your attention gets to that and away from God. Then when you go further into that deal, that deal means a little cheating; a little white lie here and there. Slowly because you are just absorbed in that, you get sucked into the whole thing. Before you realized it the whole deal falls through. Like a prodigal son you look up to God and say, "God where are you?" God replies, "Where are you? It was not His problem. It was your problem. He could supply all our needs but not necessarily in the way we expect.

That is why when we go into this prayer, it is important for us when we pray to focus more on the results and the answer than on the way that is to come to pass. When we pray, we visualize. It is more important that we visualize the results. But do not limit God by visualizing the method He would use. For example, if you are like Paul praying to go to Rome, then visualize yourself in Rome. But how you get there is God's responsibility. Your responsibility is to visualize yourself there. You visualize the answer. Your responsibility is to visualize the end results of the prayer. The in between part is God's responsibility.

I remember talking to a person who was praying for a life partner. This person was praying, just focusing either on him or death. Usually when you focus long enough; it is either him or death; either I get her or I don't want to live. Because you have focused that way, the end result could be that. That you could end up with him or her. But how you are going to end up is a different question. How you are going to end up there could be many ways. Your ways are not necessarily His ways. Our thoughts are not necessarily His thoughts. So I remembered counseling this person who is now married. Everybody think that it is not God's will. And there are people who have visions and said I saw this vision. In that vision you got involved with a girl who turned into a snake. So everybody opposes. Finally he came to me. I remained neutral. I gave him enough scriptures for that person to move into what really is of the Spirit. But things didn't work out the way he wanted it. It came to a point where it looks like it never was going to work out. Somehow or other God answered him in a ways that are totally unexpected. But God still answers. When He speaks to you and promises you something, you can visualize the result but do not to visualize the method and limit Him.

So Paul sees this whole situation. And he knows that he is supposed to end up in Rome. God knew how he was going to do it. One of the reasons God kept it from him was because he didn't go to Rome the way he expected. He went to Rome as a prisoner of the Roman Empire. And he went to Rome also because of his persistence. That vision was burning in him. Acts 21 Paul was captured. In Acts 23:11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. Paul's purpose was to visit the church in Roman. But God's purpose was that he visit the church and testify to the Roman Emperor. But for that to be arranged Paul had to pay a certain price. God arranged it so that his transportation was free. He was put on trial and he gave his testimony to the Roman Emperor. Part of the reason for the delay in Paul's prayers is the design of God. But Paul had a responsibility to keep it burning in him. During his trial even in Jerusalem, it looks like he was never going to make it. Things came to a standstill in Acts 24 after being put on trial by various top officers. In Acts 24:27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul in prison. Now he was a prisoner in Jerusalem for another two years. Jesus even appeared to him in Acts 23:11 and said Paul after this you will go to Rome. Remember symbolic language of God. God said soon you would be in Rome. That soon maybe two years, three years, or four years in terms of God's language.

There he was in Jerusalem, but he kept it burning in him. And the moment he was brought on trial again by Festus in chapter 25: 10 So Paul said, "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. He is already visualizing the end, In verse 12 Festus said, "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go!" If Paul did not say that with consistence, he would have not convinced the others. Paul was determined to go to Rome. Remember when he was free in Acts 18 he wrote to the Romans I desire to be with you. That was already many years. Now he was a prisoner and he still desired to go to Rome. There was a delay in answered prayer because God does not work the way we expect it.

Finally when everything looks nice and they are all ready to launch forth to Rome, they had another delay. In chapter 26 he had another trial by king Agrippa. During these trials he testified before the most prominent people. And he could not have done that unless he was a prisoner. God has a purpose for everything. In Acts 26:32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, "This man might have been set free if he had not appeal to Caesar." Because he appeals to Caesar he must go to Rome.

Paul also had a part. He never allowed that vision to die. He knew what he must do. He must go to Rome. And because he appealed he got there. The subtitle to Acts 27 says the voyage to Rome begins. As he stepped into the boat he would be very happy. His vision is coming to pass. It does not matter whether he goes free as a prisoner or he pays his own fare. In chapter 27 everything goes very nicely. But along the way there was a shipwreck. Looks like everything is being delayed. But God has a purpose. He gave Paul a chance to practice his evangelism again. The moment he landed in Malta the bible tells us that there was the father of Publius who was sick. It said Paul laid his hands on him. A lot of things happened that naturally prevented him. There was the shipwreck. Secondly when they are all cold picking wood, a poisonous viper came and bit him. A normal human being would have died. Thank God for his word. All the prisoners and every one there looked at him and said this man must have been as murderer. Everybody was watching and waiting for him to die. But Paul just shook the snake into the fire. And the people changed their opinion and said he must be god. And there were all those people who were sick. He had a healing ministry there. In fact God had designed that Paul had a refreshing break on that island. And finally when they were refreshed they went on to Rome. And he reached Rome. Prayer answered. What was the delay?

One reason for the delay is that God is answering the way we are have not expected. The answer does come but not the way we expect it. And we need to be flexible enough to flow with God's methods and not our methods. Be solid and uncompromising when it comes to the word. When it comes to God's message be creative and flexible. Allow Him to work the answers to the prayers in His ways and not our ways.

The second reason for delays in answered prayer can be found in Luke 1:13 The angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall him John." Do you know what Zechariah replied? "How do I know this is real?" Zechariah was an old man and his wife Elizabeth was an old woman. They were probably married in their middle age. In those days they always wanted to have children very quickly. When the children did not come the first year, the second year, it concerned them. They did not start praying when they are old. They started praying from their early days. And they could have prayed and prayed and their prayers were still not answered. Now Zechariah was growing older and older. And now in their old age it tells us here in verse 18 Zechariah himself said I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age. Let's say they were married at twenty and if they are now seventy years old, they were praying for fifty years. Most people would have given up in ten years. When the angel Gabriel said that his prayers have been answered and he would have a son, Zechariah said that it is too late. I am too old. My wife is too old. In his answer you can see the reason for the delay too. In Luke 1: 20 the angel said, "But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my word which will be fulfilled in their own time." In other words, their faith was not very steady. Even now when they are old and the angel appeared, his faith was still not fully developed. You will expect some one who the older they grow in God, the greater faith they would have. If you have been praying for something for very long, you will have great faith for it.

There are some things that I visualized for nearly ten years now. And I developed such accuracy in my visualizing on it that I would live and die by it. If you have lived by a vision, if you have lived by what God spoke, you will have more faith as the days and years go by. So we have the second reason for delayed prayers; improperly developed faith is one major cause of a delay. Perfect faith conceived. Imperfect faith or growing faith takes a long time.

Look at Rom. 4:17-21 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations) in the presence of Him whom he believed - God, who gives life to the dead and cause those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believe, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

Did you notice there were two parts of believing? In verse 17 it says he believed. But in verse 20 he says he did not waver. If you check the Old Testament story, the time when God said I have made you a father of many nations was in the early part of Abraham's life. Abraham left for the Promised Land when he was about 75 years old. By the time he had a child he was about 100 years old. That will be a gap of about 25 years. In the first 5 or 6 years. God has spoken to him of being a father of many nations. You know the problem? Abraham wavered. How do we know? You can see that he got Ishmael. You can see how he laughed when God spoke to him about child the next year. So that proves that he wavered. It was only in the last final year that he stopped wavering. Rom.4: 20 fitted it. It was only up to the time when God spoke to him when he was about 99 years old. He was still wavering. He laughed. How can it be? There was still an element of doubt. That is the second reason for delays in answered prayer. Our faith is not fully developed. It wavers between doubt and the promises of God. There are some people doing this yo-yo show for years. They are scratching their heads wondering why their prayers are delayed. Their faith is not perfected yet. There are many areas of faith we need to develop. Each area of prayer that you pray in God, you have to develop until you have perfected faith in that area before you can conceive it.

Lets say you are praying for finances. You have to develop until you have perfected faith before you start conceiving it. And you have developed that you may not have developed faith in praying for the sick. That is another area to develop faith in. There are many areas. And each time you exercise faith in an objective way, you have to reach a point of non-wavering before it manifests.

That is the second major reason why a lot of prayers are wavering. Noel Hayes prayed for his daughters for years and it didn't seemed to work. Jesus had to rebuke him and asked him why is he wavering. "Why do you believe and then the next moment doubt. Believe and then the next moment doubt. The angels cannot work for you." Finally he stopped wavering in his mind. He stopped wavering in his action. Then God worked. From the moment God spoke to him, he never entertain one more doubt. His faith became perfected for his daughter. He kept it up for months. She looks like there is no outward change. But he looked and saw what was invisible. He considered not the things he sees. He was not moved by what he saw. He refused to doubt. He perfected faith. The daughter just went wild with all kinds of worldly fame. He did not waver for months after months and did not doubt. Before that he had been praying for years and he had doubted. One day the daughter came back, went upstairs and an angel was sitting on her bed. She got such a fright. She went down to her father, repented, and came back to God.

God cannot manifest supernaturally until we stop doubting. God cannot manifest some of the answers we desire until we stop doubting. Doubt is a thief. He steals and not only steals he delays. As long as you are willing to doubt, the devil is most willing to delay you. Some people will on doubting for forty years. And they wonder why they never receive. You will receive the answer when your faith is unwavering.

So there are two major reason reasons we have touch on tonight. The first is that God answers not in our way but in His ways. So you limit God when you are only looking at one direction. Then you may cause a delay because you are looking the wrong way.

The second reason is doubt. We must get rid of these two. If God spoke to you, why do you doubt? We must reach a point where the question is not whether it can come to pass. The question is whether did God say it or not. If God said it and we are convinced in our heart that He did give those promises to you, He did give those visions to you, you cannot allow doubt to come. There are things that God gave me in a vision that I know that is Him. I am astounded at how it can ever come to pass. Because I know it was from Him, I respect and honor Him. I dare not doubt. I only wait for His purposes. It is important for us to flow with what God is doing.

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