Title: God over answers prayer
Scripture reading: 1 Samuel 1:10, 20
“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
“So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
The thing is God always answers!
Someone once said, ‘the faith to pray must include the faith to believe God can give even when our prayers are lacking.’ There are all sorts of things we pray all the time and we do not necessary believe them to come to past – but yet they are prayers that get answered.
- Introduction to prayer
What is prayer?
The simplest answer to this question is “talking to God.” or “to have a conversation with The Father.”
The bible references prayer countless times and reminds us in Philippians 4:6-7, “not to worry about anything but instead, to pray about everything…”
Luke 3:21 (NLT) mentions Jesus praying as he was being baptized by John the Baptist: “One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened.”
It means that heaven’s barrier is removed and it is a symbol of new access to God.
A. What is the purpose of prayer?
Contrary to what the world tells us; God is not our spiritual Santa Claus. He is not at our beckoning call to just answer every prayer with a YES but God will answer our prayers. The purpose of prayer is not to get God to do our will but instead for us to align with God and the will that He has for our life.
1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
B. God is still in the business of answering prayers.
All throughout scripture, there is evidence to show that prayers are answered. God shows us through his word that he truly is a God who will answer our prayers!
1 Samuel 1:10 says, “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
1 Samuel 1:20 says, “So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
C. GOD always answers!
A Christian lady gives personal testimonies of God always answering her prayer. She had a notebook of her answered prayer. She said, ‘Here are my personal testimonies of answered prayers:
4 months of waiting – answered prayer.
- For a job
- For daughters
- For a nursing career
- God over answers prayer
One of the most often-heard phrases in the church is, ‘God answers prayer!’ Yet that is only half the truth. The whole truth is ‘God over answers prayer!’
Firstly, God over answers in prayer request.
Proverbs 30:15-16 that there are three things that are never satisfied and one of them is a barren womb.
Hannah prayed, ‘And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.’
She bore Samuel, whose name means ‘God has heard.’
God did not just give Hannah a son. He gave her a history shaping prophet. Then God visited her again and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Instead of one child, she received six in total.
Secondly, God over answers concerning our sin.
In Hosea 14 God over answered Israel concerning their sin.
Hosea 14:2,Hosea prophesied to Israel, ‘You are backslidden – but you are still God’s people. Now return to the Lord and pray. “Take with you words and unto Him, take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.’
All Israel asked God to do was to take away their sin and receive them graciously: ‘Lord, have mercy. Cleanse us – receive us back into your grace.’ Yet God not only forgave their iniquities – He not only cleansed them and received them back graciously
Hosea 14: 4-7 as if God is speaking to you. God says, ‘I will heal your backsliding. I will love you freely: for Mine anger is turned away from you. I will be as the dew unto you: you shall grow as the lily, and cast forth your roots as Lebanon. Your branches shall spread, and your beauty shall be as the olive tree, and your smell as Lebanon. You that dwell under his shadow shall return; you shall revive as the corn,and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.’
Dew of heaven is the presence of the Lord.
Hosea 14:2-7 is God’s call to you who have sinned and are going through judgment. Here God gives a message of hope, repentance, and restoration.
Thirdly, God over answers concerning enemies.
Judges 10:9 says, ‘Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight, so that Israel was sore distressed’
The ammonites were descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. The name means ‘sons of my people.’ So these people are related to us, literally and figuratively, probably in the church.
Going back to the text, Ammon had been used by God to correct Israel’s sins. God uses enemies to correct our sins.
Hosea 14:15 they say, ‘We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.’ When the enemy comes in like a flood, they began to be haunted by their sin. Isn’t that the case with many of us? So, they could not conceive of asking God for anything more than just to spare them. That is the first right step you should take. Their simplest of prayer is, ‘Lord, deliver us just this one time! Don’t let us be defeated or overrun by our enemy.’
Most Christians pray, ‘Lord, just give me victory in this one battle.’ But the Lord responds, ‘I will give you that – yet I have much more in store for you. I want to subdue your enemy so you will not have to get just one victory at a time. I want you to have a total victory.’
Fourthly God over answers in His giving.
This can be seen in the example of Elisha and the widow’s oil. Many of us often find ourselves in the position of the widow.
Luke 6:38 says, ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.’ 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, ‘But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.’
In conclusion we can grieve God, even anger Him by not asking.
