Smack Down - Round II

When I last left this thread, I was quoting extensively from James trying to figure out why or why isn't a prayer "answered". I hedged a bit by saying I didn't know, but there are some clues left sprinkled throughout the scriptures. I won't pretend to try to give a definitive answer, but instead continue to wrestle with the question.

I think it's an important question and one that is at the center of a Christian's life. Prayer, combined with the scriptures, should be at the very heart of any Christian's faith and so I would argue that effective, accurate prayer is critical. But how do we pray effectively, precisely, accurately? And what exactly is the nature of prayer anyway? I won't be able to answer those questions with any satisfaction here, but I can at least try to crack the doors a little.

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, climbing up those turnbuckles to try to get a jump on this thing. Let's return to James.

You Do Not Have Because You Do Not Ask
James 4:2 says "You do not have, because you do not ask God." So clearly, the first step is asking. Jesus tells us to "ask, seek, knock". This discussion assumes that you asked and did or did not get what you asked for, but this serves as a reminder that asking really is the first step.

Motivation
We need to take a few steps back for this section, so I will quote James more thouroughly:

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:1-3)

First James tells us that greed and covetousness is at the heart of quarells among his audience (nothing new here - think Cain) We want something, but don't get it. Someone else has it, so we take it (or covet it, or are jealous...or worse)

The first problem is not being content with what we have. We focus on ourselves and our own desires (James 1 has a bit to say about that.) The second problem is we rely on ourselves to get what we don't have (but doesn't "every good and perfect gift come from above"?), instead of relying on God. When we finally DO ask God, our motives are suspect. Why are we asking God for this thing? For our own pleasure and glory.

This, of course, is not a blanket answer. I don't think the ONLY reason our prayers aren't answered is because we're greedy hedons. In fact, I'm fairly certain that most, if not all, the prayers I hear uttered in the prayer room are sincerely offered for the glory of God. Still, I think for us to pray effectively we must be truly be in the attitude of "hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done...".

The imporant thing, I think, for us to take away from this passage is that God the Father wants the best for His children. He doesn't simply hand out gifts simply because we want them. He knows how we will use what we ask for and rather than let us be self-destructive, he simply refuses to give us everything we want when we want it. (Sometimes we get what we ask for, and then we regret it...but God knows when we will learn from our mistakes and when we'll just perpetuate our own destruction.)

But that is the easy case. The "God give me a porsche" case. Most of us are sincerely asking God for help. Many times we're not even asking for ourselves, but on behalf of another. These really aren't selfish desires - they are true pleas for God to do what we cannot. Why don't we see more answers to such requests?

The Prayer Offered in Faith
Here is where I struggle to come up with a truly satisfying answer. At this point, I I've jumped off the rope and am attempting to make contact. James has some truly difficult words for us:

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." (James 5:13-15)

This paragraph wouldn't give us pause except for that last sentence. It seems like we're given a prescription: call the elders, they will pray and anoint you and you will get well. How many times have we seen this done (or done it ourselves?) and not seen healing? A massive internal struggle then begins. Was the prayer offered in faith? I think so. Then what of James' words? How do we reconcile them with the reality that we experience? (I've landed on the question, but it remains standing! It's time to hold on for dear life and hope I don't get crushed under the weight!)

Let's eliminate the first variable from the equation, so that we're dealing with "knowns". James puts some of the onus on the sick person: "he should call the elders..." That is, there is an element of asking and humility that is involved. We often pray (and rightly so) for people who haven't asked for it. But it seems the request of the sick person is an important act of faith. Let's assume that the request has been made and we annoint and pray for that person. James seems pretty unequivocal when it comes to the power of prayer, so how do we understand a sick person NOT getting well?

Down For The Count?
I don't think I have any satisfactory answers. I, myself, am trying to puzzle it out - which is one of the reasons I'm writing this. Maybe through the sharing of the struggle, we can begin to have the first hint of understanding. What is the prayer offered in faith? How can we pray without a hint of doubt, when we've seen our own prayers go unanswered - sometimes more often than not?

At this point, I think it's important to get a better grip on this thing by laying our a few knowns (or assumptions).

1) God can and will heal the sick (or even dead!). There's really nothing beyond His power and we can turn to numerous places in scripture to back this up.

2) The scriptures are the inerrant Word of God and James' epistle is part of those scriptures. I note this because I'm using it as my proof-text. This thread isn't about Biblical criticism, so I'm not going to try to defend this right now. Just take it as an a priori assumption for now.

3) James is not the complete scriptures. One fallacy that many people (including myself) fall into is using a single verse, chapter or book to understand, justify and explain Biblical truths. It must be read as a whole, otherwise it's like trying to understand The Lord of the Rings by reading only a bit of it. We wouldn't do it with Tolkein, so why to we do it with God?

Where does that leave us? Remember, the original question was "why isn't my prayer answered?", then I decided to ask "why IS my prayer answered?". I don't think I've made it very far, but I do think I've gotten somewhere - at least I'm still holding on, and possibly in position for a hammer-lock. Here's the recap:

1) If you don't ask, you won't get.
2) If you do ask, ask with pure motives.
3) Prayer must be offered in faith. (What does that mean? I'm still trying to figure it out.)
4) It is possible for us to pray effectively. ("Elijah was a man just like us...")

Conclusion
I have a long ways to go in understanding this one. I think this will be a long match, but maybe with a few years of meditation, contemplation, study and PRAYER, I'll have a more satisfying answer. This doesn't mean I'm down for the count, nor does it mean that we have asked an unanswerable question. It means that we've just started first rounds the wrestling match and it may be the best 5 out of 7.

A few things are clear: we shouldn't stop asking, seeking and knocking. James offers us only part of the answer and we must continue to dig into the Bible to help us better understand prayer. Ultimately, prayer is about knowing our Father, not getting what we ask for. One way God reveals Himself is through His gifts, but there is much more to prayer than asking for stuff (supplication, in theology-speak.)

This is a lifelong pursuit. I'm sure I'll be returning to it here in the future. Until then, use it as a jumping off point for your own meditations. If you have something to share, please do. We are traveling on this journey together.