A few things I do know about prayer that can say in the introduction, and that is number one, all prayers are answered. See God doesn't say anything. Well God's delays are not God's denials. Think about it. Silence can be an answer. You say, "But what if he says no?" That could be the greatest answer you could ever get. For at least you're getting divine guidance and you don't want to make a mistake. You don't want a yes if God has a better idea.
All prayers are answered. By whom you never know. How? Hard to tell. But we live in a spiritual universe where, like it or not, a lot of people have been praying for you and for me. And you can't push a button and get a replay from the prayers out of the sky. It's all in the realm of faith power.
Yes, let me repeat, sometimes "no" is the best answer. At least you're getting guidance. God almighty, you need that don't you? So do I. You may get a "no" that's permanent. Well, a decision is being made. That's guidance. That's an answer.
I have asked the question again. The lifespan of prayers is good until the end of the year, December 31? Or good until you reach the age of seventy? There's nothing in the Bible that suggests that prayers have a lifespan. They are more something that comes out and never goes away, so when you step into tomorrow, tomorrow is not an empty event. Tomorrow is already waiting for you. It's waiting for me. A lot of prayers. Wow. We don't step into an emptiness. We are not in the forefront. There is always somebody ahead of me. There's always somebody ahead of you. It's probably your mother, your father, maybe your grandmother, maybe a teacher, maybe a neighbor, maybe a friend. But, God only knows who's been praying for you. I don't know. And all who would pray for me, I don't know. But, I know when I step into tomorrow, I'm stepping into a very alive spiritual environment full of a lot of live prayers that went on ahead of me. Same is true for you. Yes, and many of us today are being shaped right now in this church by prayers that were prayed for us long ago. By someone who prayed that we'd keep the faith. That we'd be faithful in church. God knows what.
One of my favorite authors - a man who impressed me and shaped me and taught me a lot - was a psychiatrist named Dr. M. Scott Peck. Many of you knew the name and many of you read his book, The Road Less Traveled. He had an interesting story, in the book, of a colleague who told him of an occasion when he was driving on a winding, curving road around a lake. He drove that dangerous road often. "But one time," he said to Dr. Peck, "Every other thought that came to my mind was the thought that this was a dangerous road." He'd never seen it that way before. The thought continued that, "if somebody comes around that curve up there on my side of the divider line, we'd have a head-on collision. The only way to avoid that would be if I knew ahead of time, stopped, and waited at the side." And then he said to Dr. Peck, "Because of that impulse, I pulled over, stopped completely and, just as I stopped, a car came at breakneck speed, 60 miles per hour, and on my side of the divider line."
The psychiatrist telling that story asks, of the hundreds of times my friend passed that same curve, why did that thought, that compulsion to stop, why did it never occur before? And Dr. Peck says, "I can only believe somebody was praying and that was an answer to prayer."
You know, you and I, we have no idea how often we have been guided by prayer. It was a miracle. You never thought of it. Nobody reminded you of it. They didn't know, but we are all being guided by our God because people are praying for us. It's the kind of people we are. We are people, here, of faith and belief.
Now, I want you to remember one thing: when you pray, are you ready for the answers? You pray for it. What if you get what you asked for? Are you really ready for that? It's been said, be careful what you pray for; you may get it. But then, what will you do? How will you handle it? It depends on what the answer is, obviously, that's a given.
In the old classic prayer that Schuller wrote forty-eight years ago: God answers prayer either with a "no," "slow," "grow," or "go."
If the ideas not right it'll be a "no." If it's wrong it will be a "no." If it will hurt others, the answer may be a "no." There are lots of reasons why a God of love would give a "no" answer to a lot of prayers. Can you handle that? Yes, by simply knowing that God knows more than you do and His answer will be a blessing even if it's spelled "n-o." Are you ready for the answer?
Then, when the timing is not right, God says "slow." Not no, but "slow." But God's delays are not God's denials. You've heard me say that before. What a catastrophe if God answered every prayer the way we asked for it when we wanted it. How do you answer that prayer when the prayer is wait? Do you know the word "wait" is used over three hundred times in the Bible? Think of that. If God answered it when and the way you wanted it, whose working for who anyway?
When the IDEA is not right, it'll be a "no" and that will be a blessing. When the TIME is not right, the answer will be "slow." When you are not right, the answer will be "grow."
The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness. The cautious person must grow in courage. Because if he gave it to you without growing in courage you'd misuse it or run away from it. The timid person must grow in confidence. If you don't grow in confidence, you won't give leadership to it. The dominating person must grow in sensitivity so people will be able to work with you affectionately. The critical person must grow in tolerance. The negative person has to grow in a positive attitude towards details because God is always in the details.
So, when the IDEA is not right, God says "no." When the TIME is not right, God says "slow." When YOU are not right, God says "grow." And when everything is on target, God says "go."
Then the miracles happen. The hopeless alcoholic is set free. There's a new mood. There's a new momentum. There's a new insight. There's a new perception. There's a new awareness. The drug addict finds release and the doubter becomes a believer. Disease tissue comes to life. The door to the dream suddenly swings open and suddenly there's God standing smiling and saying come in. We're ready for you. And God makes the miracle happen. Hallelujah.
Let's pray. Oh, God, we've been living prayer, we've been teaching prayer, we've been all our days trusting you. Hallelujah. Now I pray for people sitting in our auditorium, listening to this voice, who need to make a decision. They've been delaying it, they've been doubting it, they've been even denying it. But, God, this is the moment of truth for them. This is the time. And I pray that they will raise their hearts, hand up, and say, "Here I am, God, I'm ready. I'm ready!" Hallelujah. Amen.