And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

Mathew 21v22

Yesterday we looked at 2 famous Old Testament figures who did not get what they asked for, even though they were known as people of great faith. But there are New Testament heroes of faith that also did not get what they prayed for. Paul is one of them.

Paul was the writer of most of the Epistles. He was one of the greatest evangelists that ever lived and was a man of great faith, prayer and fellowship with God, yet he didn’t get what he prayed for. In 2 Corinthians 12v8 Paul tells us that on 3 different occasions he pleaded with God to take away the thorn in his flesh. We’ve no idea what this thorn was. It could have been an infirmity of some kind, or it could have been an emotional weakness, or an actual person who hindered him continually. We don’t know. But we do know that Paul, the apostle who had amazing personal encounters with God, and was used mightily by God, did not receive what he earnestly prayed for.

So how do we understand this passage, and what conclusions can we make from it?

We could jump to the conclusion that God does not mean what He says, and therefore is untrustworthy. If that is so, then none of us can be sure that we are saved, or that there is even a salvation to be had!

We could conclude that this was a promise that was given only to those disciples at that time and no longer applies today, but that would mean that praying is a useless activity.

We could also jump on the “The Bible is full of contradictions, myths and fairy tales” bandwagon and reject it as the authoritative Word of God.

Or, we could do what we are commanded to do and study the Scriptures to understand what they mean and how to apply them to our lives.

Shallow, superficial Bible study will pluck any verse out of the Bible and build a doctrine on it. We live in a world where we want quick answers with minimal effort. Pondering, meditating on Scripture and serious Bible study (that includes reading church history and knowing what each passage means in the context it was given) is not appealing to our fast- paced society where we want to click and collect and have next day delivery. Understanding God’s Word takes time and effort. There are things that are simple to grasp, but there are also deeper truths that need to be sought out and studied to be understood.

There are so many preachers, teachers and church workers today who seem to have a very superficial understanding of the Bible. They preach and teach easy messages that have little depth to them, and as a result people build their faith on a faulty, or even false gospel. Lives can be devastated through poor teaching that does not prepare them for the very real trials and struggles of the Christian life.

Over the next few days, I’m going to try to unpack the truths behind this verse, for there is more than one. But I encourage you now, not to just read and accept what I have to say about it on this blog, but to begin to dig deep into Scripture yourself. We are told to love God with all our minds. God gave us intellectual ability and he expects us to use it to the measure He has given us. The gospel message is not just about loving God with our hearts, but is a call to love Him with our minds as well.

Christians are not called to leave their brains behind them when they enter the church. Salvation is not just an emotional experience, but an intellectual one as well. We are not called to have a blind faith that just opens its mouth like a baby bird to receive anything given to it. We must engage our minds and intellect to be able to build our lives on a firm foundation that will not be shaken through the stormy trials of life.