But, Lord, I have called out to You for help. Every morning I pray to You. Lord, why do You reject me? Why do You hide from me? (Verses 13-14)
Timing is everything. So what is God doing when we pray and don't get answers? I know we often feel as though He isn't listening or doesn't care, as this psalmist puts out there. But could it be something else?
Daniel was a man of prayer. It almost cost him his life to come before His God three times a day despite the ruling of a king who wanted all glory for himself. The Israelites were in Babylonian captivity during this time. They'd been ruthlessly unfaithful to God, so He dispersed them, in love, in Babylon. To teach them what it's like to be away from Him. God set a time limit on the exile. Purged a generation of their idolatry, then sent them back. Into the scene, early on, the Lord put Daniel and a few of his young friends. Daniel became a ruler in his later years, a confidant to the king. His heart, though, always yearned for home and for the repentance of the Jewish people. In dreams and visions, God showed Daniel what would happen in his time and in ours. This was a man whose prayers should've been answered on time. If righteousness and self-control are what's needed to please God, then why would God wait to answer such a man? But He did. On his face, fasting and pleading, Daniel's experienced a God who was silent. For three weeks. When Daniel urgently needed an answer.
The Bible doesn't say if Daniel had the same attitude as the psalmist in these verses. Did the captive Israelite doubt an answer was on its way? Perhaps he wondered if he was praying incorrectly. I think he must have had some feelings that leaned that way. At the end of the three weeks, Daniel went out to stand beside the Tigris River. When he looked up he saw a man who shone like brilliant yellow quartz. He was wearing a white linen garment cinched with a golden belt. The face of the man was bright like lightning; his eyes like fire. When he spoke it sounded like the roar of a crowd. The men with Daniel were so scared they ran and hid. Helpless and weak, Daniel was left alone. The man reached toward Daniel and touched him, sending the prophet to his hands and knees where he shook like a leaf. Yet the first words from the man's mouth were: "Daniel, God loves you very much." Unsaid was: "I know you probably doubted that since your prayers have gone unanswered."
Of course, for those of us who know the story, the delay in the answers had to do with a mighty battle in the spirit realm. The man continued: "Daniel, don't be afraid. Some time ago you decided to get understanding and humble yourself before God. Since that time God has listened to you. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of Persia has been fighting against me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the most important angels, came to help me." (Daniel 8, italics, mine)
So what's going on in the heavenlies over our prayers and our lives today? Trust me, if we know Christ, there is a battle for our earthly walk. If the enemy can make us believe God has abandoned us, doesn't care about us anymore, or never loved us in the first place, he wins. The angel of the Lord wanted Daniel to know two things right off the bat. Primarily, God loves him. And me and you. And then, that God hears when we pray. We must believe those two things in order to walk out this crazy, confusing life. If we have unanswered prayers today, it isn't because God doesn't love His child. And it isn't because He's not listening. So it has to be some other reason. In my life, I have to say I'm glad He didn't answer all my prayers the way I prayed them. Some of them were just stupid. Some I still wait on and pray about every day. Some I will never get satisfaction on in this world and may not even want to know about in the next. But I cannot think God isn't good because He doesn't meet my expectations. I need to be more interested in meeting His and in letting Him have the last word on the process here.
In the old tabernacle, the incense was set on fire by the coals from the altar of sacrifice, making it holy fire mixed with the dripping blood of the sacrificial animal. In heaven, according to Revelation 8, in the end times an angel will carry a golden pan filled to overflowing with incense which the angel will take to the golden altar before the throne of God. There the angel will offer the incense along with the prayers of all of God's people. The fragrance of the incense will go from the angel's hand up to the very nostrils of God. Then the angel lights the incense pan with fire from that altar and throws it on the earth, creating earthquakes, lightning and thunder. Retribution for all the wrongs that arise from the incense-scented prayers of His kids.
One day all wrongs will be righted. All prayers answered. Even the ones we can't understand His silence concerning today. Leviticus 1 says the burnt offerings are a "sweet aroma to the Lord's nostrils." Remember the incense, our prayers, are ignited by the fire from the altar of Christ's sacrifice. The Lord God cannot but hear the prayers dipped in His Son's blood. So we wait, if we need to, without accusation that our God doesn't care. He loves us and hears us. We reciprocate that love and stay still before Him.
Timing is everything. So what is God doing when we pray and don't get answers? I know we often feel as though He isn't listening or doesn't care, as this psalmist puts out there. But could it be something else?
Daniel was a man of prayer. It almost cost him his life to come before His God three times a day despite the ruling of a king who wanted all glory for himself. The Israelites were in Babylonian captivity during this time. They'd been ruthlessly unfaithful to God, so He dispersed them, in love, in Babylon. To teach them what it's like to be away from Him. God set a time limit on the exile. Purged a generation of their idolatry, then sent them back. Into the scene, early on, the Lord put Daniel and a few of his young friends. Daniel became a ruler in his later years, a confidant to the king. His heart, though, always yearned for home and for the repentance of the Jewish people. In dreams and visions, God showed Daniel what would happen in his time and in ours. This was a man whose prayers should've been answered on time. If righteousness and self-control are what's needed to please God, then why would God wait to answer such a man? But He did. On his face, fasting and pleading, Daniel's experienced a God who was silent. For three weeks. When Daniel urgently needed an answer.
The Bible doesn't say if Daniel had the same attitude as the psalmist in these verses. Did the captive Israelite doubt an answer was on its way? Perhaps he wondered if he was praying incorrectly. I think he must have had some feelings that leaned that way. At the end of the three weeks, Daniel went out to stand beside the Tigris River. When he looked up he saw a man who shone like brilliant yellow quartz. He was wearing a white linen garment cinched with a golden belt. The face of the man was bright like lightning; his eyes like fire. When he spoke it sounded like the roar of a crowd. The men with Daniel were so scared they ran and hid. Helpless and weak, Daniel was left alone. The man reached toward Daniel and touched him, sending the prophet to his hands and knees where he shook like a leaf. Yet the first words from the man's mouth were: "Daniel, God loves you very much." Unsaid was: "I know you probably doubted that since your prayers have gone unanswered."
Of course, for those of us who know the story, the delay in the answers had to do with a mighty battle in the spirit realm. The man continued: "Daniel, don't be afraid. Some time ago you decided to get understanding and humble yourself before God. Since that time God has listened to you. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of Persia has been fighting against me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the most important angels, came to help me." (Daniel 8, italics, mine)
So what's going on in the heavenlies over our prayers and our lives today? Trust me, if we know Christ, there is a battle for our earthly walk. If the enemy can make us believe God has abandoned us, doesn't care about us anymore, or never loved us in the first place, he wins. The angel of the Lord wanted Daniel to know two things right off the bat. Primarily, God loves him. And me and you. And then, that God hears when we pray. We must believe those two things in order to walk out this crazy, confusing life. If we have unanswered prayers today, it isn't because God doesn't love His child. And it isn't because He's not listening. So it has to be some other reason. In my life, I have to say I'm glad He didn't answer all my prayers the way I prayed them. Some of them were just stupid. Some I still wait on and pray about every day. Some I will never get satisfaction on in this world and may not even want to know about in the next. But I cannot think God isn't good because He doesn't meet my expectations. I need to be more interested in meeting His and in letting Him have the last word on the process here.
In the old tabernacle, the incense was set on fire by the coals from the altar of sacrifice, making it holy fire mixed with the dripping blood of the sacrificial animal. In heaven, according to Revelation 8, in the end times an angel will carry a golden pan filled to overflowing with incense which the angel will take to the golden altar before the throne of God. There the angel will offer the incense along with the prayers of all of God's people. The fragrance of the incense will go from the angel's hand up to the very nostrils of God. Then the angel lights the incense pan with fire from that altar and throws it on the earth, creating earthquakes, lightning and thunder. Retribution for all the wrongs that arise from the incense-scented prayers of His kids.
One day all wrongs will be righted. All prayers answered. Even the ones we can't understand His silence concerning today. Leviticus 1 says the burnt offerings are a "sweet aroma to the Lord's nostrils." Remember the incense, our prayers, are ignited by the fire from the altar of Christ's sacrifice. The Lord God cannot but hear the prayers dipped in His Son's blood. So we wait, if we need to, without accusation that our God doesn't care. He loves us and hears us. We reciprocate that love and stay still before Him.
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