GETTNG ANSWERS TO PRAYER

"THIS KIND COMES OUT ONLY BY PRAYER"

Mark 9.29

We understand so very little.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John to see His transfigured, resurrection glory.

They did not understand what they had just seen. The Father had to interrupt Peter's "prayer" and tell him to listen, not talk. To listen, to learn. Not to talk, not to tell. Jesus told them not to be talking about the transfiguration until after His resurrection.

But, they did not understand what He meant by "the resurrection," either.

Down the mountain, Jesus found the other disciples arguing (which is what we do when we don't know what we are talking about) with the Pharisees, with a large crowd of people watching. As He asked what they were arguing about, a man interrupted everything with the plea, "If you can...heal my son."

Jesus responded to the overall confusion of the disciples, Pharisees, crowd, and this man: "'If you can?'...Everything is possible for him who believes." And Jesus healed the boy.

The crowd dispersed and Jesus took the disciples into a house where they asked Him, "Why could we not drive (the demon) out?"

This question could have been asked by the boy's father, by the Pharisees, and by everyone in the crowd.

And should be asked by us.

Jesus' answer? "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Prayer is where we learn to believe. That's what the disciples were doing---learning to believe. Jesus talked with them about their lack of power, their lack of faith, their lack of prayer. The disciples were now listening to Jesus, just as the Father told Peter, James, and John to do at Jesus' transfiguration (Mark 9.7). They were now praying as the Father instructed them. Their prayer was to listen, to learn. To stop talking so they could listen, learn, believe, and obey.

Then they could speak and serve. After they listened.

When our prayer becomes honest talk with God, we speak little and listen much to what He has to say. When prayer is listening to God, the Holy Spirit tells us what we need to know and understand to strengthen our faith. When prayer is the time we listen to what God has to say to us instead of being the time we expect God to listen to us tell Him what we want done, we will begin to understand more about Who Jesus really is and what the Father wants for and from us. Our faith will become great and strong. We will become salt and light, effective ministers of the power of God to save men and transform their heart, soul, mind, and body.

We are too much like Peter, James and John, who did not understand the transfiguration or the resurrection at that moment. We are too much like the rest of the disciples, standing around arguing with unbelievers about things we do not understand, because we have spent very, very little time listening to and learning from and about the Lord Jesus Christ.

The first thing Jesus tells us pray for is "hallowed be Thy Name." To know and worship the God who reveals Himself to us, astonishing us by what He says and does, is far, far more important than our reciting the same prayer lists over and over, day after day.

It is unbelief that repeats the same prayers every day.

Effective prayer of a right-believing person is quickly, powerful answered.

Effective prayer is for God's will to be done in our life on earth so that we speak clearly and act courageously.

Effective prayer is where the disciple of Christ listens and learns what God has to say. It is not the time that we tell God what we want Him to do. We don't know enough, just like the disciples, like Peter who so often put his foot in his mouth, to tell God what to do, even when we say "Please."

Prayer is the time to ask God what He wants. To seek to know and understand what He means by what He says. The Holy Spirit speaks clearly when we read Scripture to understand God and His will for our lives.

Prayer is how and when God speaks to us. Just as Jesus spoke to His disciples every day yesterday, so Jesus speaks to His listening disciples every day today. And will do so every tomorrow.

The disciple who uses prayer to listen and to learn to do all that Jesus commands is the disciple will learn to know, believe, trust, obey, praise, glorify, and serve the Lord Jesus.

God will do great and mighty things when we listen to Him, exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or think.

Effective.

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. And ever.