Should prayer just be reserved just for big things? What position should one be in for his/her prayers to be heard? Why doesn't God answer all our prayers? 

    I don't normally eat candy. I eat plenty of other unhealthy foods so I don't really need to attack my system with Kit-Kats. But last Saturday I was working at my home computer and I got up to get an apple. Before I took a step I thought, 'I don't want an apple. I want a piece of candy! Dark Chocolate! Where is my candy?' Then I came to the sad realization that I almost never have candy in the apartment. I could run over to the store! But the craving wasn't that bad. Aw, man! I'd give a dollar for a dark chocolate candy bar! (That is how out of touch I am, thinking a buck is a lot of money for a candy bar.) So I just grumped to the Lord. 'First you give me the craving, then you keep me from satisfying the craving! At least take it away.'

    I got the apple and sat back down. Then the doorbell rang. Actually, 'rang' is not the right word. Push my doorbell and you get the sound of two spoons being rapped together in another room with the door shut. And it is just one rap. The refrigerator cycling on makes more noise and is far more musical. I have had the doorbell ring and by the time its puny little 'click' sinks into my brain, whoever was there is halfway back to Wabash. When my doorbell clacked on Saturday it didn't register until whoever was there decided to knock.

    I looked up and thought, 'Oh, yeah, my doorbell.' So I hurried to the door (all of five strides in my place) and answered the door. Two kids were on the other side and one said, "Would you like to buy a candy bar?" I am always suspicious. "What's it for?" The other kid said, "Uh, class trip." I was still suspicious. The box the bars were in was one of those boxes they sell the nasty candy from for kids' projects and the bars were just about the size of a regular Tooties Roll, but for the kids...... "Where you going on this trip?" "Uh, Chicago." Hah, suspicions confirmed! No school in their right mind would send kids to Chicago! I was ready to say no and close the door when the first kid said, "We've got milk chocolate, dark chocolate, crunchy," "WAIT! Did you say dark chocolate? How much?" I think I had scared the kid. "Uh, a dollar a bar, sir." "A dollar! Wait!" One and a half strides to my table and the two dollars that lay there. I came back and handed him two dollars. "I'll take two dark chocolates!" The deal was made and I had two fun sized candy bars. Not exactly manna from heaven (they didn't have to pay for theirs) but still tasty.

    Oh, Pastor! That really wasn't a prayer on your part and besides, that was just a coincidence. Oh, really? Well, now, let's go back to the three questions at the beginning of this blog.

    First, should prayer just be reserved just for big things? I was a daddy before I was a Dad. When my son toddled over to me and presented me with a toy and said, "Play with me?" I got down and played with him. It was a joy. If God is our Father, wouldn't He be a perfect Father? I was a daddy and a very imperfect daddy, but I still enjoyed my son. Nothing was two little! Philippians 4:6---Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. So, is prayer just for the big things? No. It is God's children in conversation with God.

    Second, what position should one be in for his/her prayers to be heard? C'mon, Pastor! Where in the Bible does it say anything about sitting at the computer? It doesn't say anything about computers. However, a leper came and knelt before Jesus and begged for cleansing and therefore, healing. Jehoshaphat bowed his head before the Lord and Jesus was hanging on the cross when He spoke to the Lord. It is not the position of the body, it is the position of the heart.

    And third, why doesn't God answer all our prayers? Well, what are we talking about here? God answers all the prayers of the believer. The only prayer of a lost person He has obligated Himself to answer is the prayer seeking salvation. Romans 10:13---For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But in His hearing the prayers of the believer, all prayers are answered, just not necessarily as we want. Jesus said in John 14:13---I will do whatever you ask in My name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The key here is 'in My name.' Names had meaning in the Bible other than something to identify a person. Doing something in someone's name meant doing his will. If we send an ambassador to peace talks with the intent to bring about the end of conflict, that ambassador speaks in the name of the United States, seeking to do the will of the United States. When we end a prayer, we just think of it as the way to end a prayer. But we are actually asking His will to be done. So, all our prayers are answered, but sometimes it is 'no.' Just because we want something does not mean God is going to agree.

    Young lady. Father was dying of cancer. She dragged me into a room to pray, where she prayed and asked God to not let him die. He lived for five more days in complete agony. Parts of him were already decomposing. On the fifth day I saw her standing in the hospital hallway, sobbing. As I drew closer I heard her praying. "Please, Lord, take him." And a little later he died.

    We should pray for His will in His way. 

    So what was God's will in the candy bar? I was mulling it over. I was almost ready to go to the store. There I would have probably bought a bag of candy. So instead, I got two tiny little bars and only enjoyed one. Then the craving was over. It was all good. Actually, quite good.....