Respond with Prayer
09/14/2025
Just two weeks ago, in my message, I talked about the awful shooting in Minnesota where two young children lost their lives at the hands of an evil gunman. Then we saw news clips of the senseless murder of the young Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, on the commuter train. This past week, we once again remembered the horrible loss we experienced as a nation on 9/11. And then on the same day, there was another school shooting in Colorado and we also saw the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk.
And in the aftermath of each of these things - in our nation, we actually saw some people argue and justify these evil things. Social media saw so called 'friends' completely divided in their responses. We actually saw some people celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk because he 'dared' to freely and publicly share his opinions. And many of the Biblical values he shared, I've openly shared. In my opinion, he just did it better and bolder than I.
And I have to admit, my immediate reaction, my gut response to many of these things is anger. I think of the heartbreak of parents who have lost children and I get angry. I think about the awful events of 9/11 and I still get angry. I think about a wife who's lost her husband to yet another evil gunman and the children who've been left fatherless and I get angry!
It's the natural response to evil and injustice! A sane person who understands that we are all made in the image of God - that person should feel some kind of anger. However - even though anger might be my initial response, it's not the response that's the most beneficial. James, the brother of Jesus shared this in James 1:19-20 (NIV)...
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, (20) for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
My anger, however natural or justified, 'does not bring about the righteous life that God desires'. What response does bring about the righteous life that God desires...? - Prayer. 'But that's what we say all the time!' Do not give in to the crowd and the thought process that says prayers do not matter! And I get it - as we approach the return of Jesus Christ; when we feel things getting darker - many feel like their prayers are hitting the ceiling and bouncing back down; like they're talking to a wall...
But we have to believe that…
I. God does hear!
Why am I so insistent on this point? Because it's so easy to acknowledge this truth with our words but then fail to back it up with our actions. It's easy for me to say I should pray more - I just need to pray more! But how do we overcome this feeling that God just isn’t listening? As I looked at the scriptures on the subject of prayer, I did find that there’s a starting point we might want to address. We see this in 1 Peter 3:12 (NIV)...
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
Now, I’m not saying that every time you feel that God isn’t listening it’s because you’re not righteous enough – I’m not saying that. I don’t want to be confused with a TV faith healer who claims that if a person can’t be healed that it’s always because of a 'lack of faith' on their part or because they have some un-confessed sin in their life.
I have known some very righteous people who have at some point felt that God just wasn’t answering their prayers. However, when we do feel that God just isn’t there – it may be helpful to do an honest appraisal of our own spiritual life. Because, there is a case made here for us to be first actively seeking righteousness.
Scripture does say that God is attentive to the prayers of the righteous, those who are right with God; those who follow His commands. And it says that God is against those who do evil – those who don’t follow His commands.
What I’m trying to communicate – if you aren’t even trying to be righteous – your prayers probably aren’t at the top of God’s list. Now, not a single one of us is perfect, myself included – but, there is something to be said for pursuing righteousness.
Those who've been baptized into Christ have had their sins washed away – we live under the 'umbrella of grace'. Because of that forgiveness, we know that God sees us as righteous, clothed in Christ, despite our sin – but don’t take grace for granted. Don’t use it as a license to do whatever you desire and then just expect God to be right there to answer your every prayer request.
When it comes to your prayer life – if it feels like God isn’t listening, be honest with yourself and make sure there isn’t some glaring sin you need to talk to God about first. Once you've taken care of that, it’s then encouraging to remember…
A. Jesus believed
Jesus believed that God hears our prayers and answers. Let’s look at Jesus’ words to His disciples in Mark 11:23-25 (NIV)...
I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (24) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (25) And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Those are some pretty bold words. Jesus was absolutely convinced that God was listening to the prayers of His people and that He would answer. I do find it interesting that Jesus also comments about sin and forgiveness in His teaching here about prayer – because, there is something to be said for pursuing righteousness…
Anyone here ever pray for a literal mountain to throw itself into the sea? Probably not, but what about other miraculous things that feel just as big – praying for a loved on who’s in severe pain or dying, praying for a broken marriage headed for divorce, praying for a friend or your child or grandchild who's far from Christ to accept Jesus, praying for peace in our nation when it feels like all hope is lost? - Those kinda sound like mountains to me...
Since Jesus says that God hears – if those mountains in our lives that we’re praying about don’t budge, is it always because of a lack of faith on our part? I firmly believe that God does hear us and He does answer. But when it feels like God isn’t there, we may have to ask – do we have the correct...
B. Priorities in prayer
And I'm not ever suggesting that praying for God's help when we're desperate is selfish - but many times, I have to ask myself - who am I seeking to serve through my prayers...? Myself? Others? God? And that's a hard question to ask when you're personally hurting or frustrated.
Once again, I think there’s a lot to learn from the example that Jesus gave in His prayers. Let’s look at His prayer regarding His disciples from John 17:14-15 (NIV)...
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. (15) My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
Jesus’ attitude in this prayer reveals a very different priority in prayer than we may have some times. Jesus wasn’t praying for physical safety or comfort as much as He was praying for spiritual protection. Now there’s nothing wrong with praying for physical things. We are encouraged to take everything to God in prayer - but do my prayers reveal the same spiritual priorities that Jesus demonstrated?
Are we more focused on God delivering us from this world and the problems of this world as much as we are on the spiritual battle that is raging all around us? Do we pray for God’s protection from the devil as much as we do for physical healing? Do we pray for God’s strength to endure as much as we do to remove every issue or problem in our lives?
Again, nothing wrong at all for praying for those things – but do we place as high a priority on the bigger picture? The problems of this world - as awful and painful and maddening as they can be - they are only temporary - even when it doesn't feel like it! Making sure we and our loved ones and those around us, and anyone who will listen get to Heaven – that’s kind of a big deal, it's a priority with eternal consequences!
If we struggle frequently with whether God hears our prayers or not, maybe we need to evaluate our prayer life a bit in light of eternity. And maybe, it might require…
II. Changing our attitude?
For instance - there's a big difference between ‘saying prayers’ and praying. One is fulfilling a religious obligation and the other is having a heartfelt communication with our Creator. Is your prayer life 'one sided'? Does it consist solely of you talking to God without spending as much time listening? Now of course I’m not really expecting an audible voice on the other side of the conversation, but maybe in our prayer life, we need to be reminded again…
A. God is God
It may be very unintentional, but do we ever pray as if it’s God’s job to serve us and not the other way around? Is it God’s job to answer every prayer that I have exactly as I’d like? I’m not suggesting that God doesn’t want to pour out blessings on His children, but what is our intention in prayer? Does God owe me an answer or His help - however benign or small I might perceive the favor to be?
Theologian Soren Kierkegaard made this insightful observation: he wrote, “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.’’
But many times, I’d prefer that God just answer my prayers and agree with me all the time and keep me and mine safe and content. But it’s His will that I should be most concerned with, not mine. Even when I do not understand - His ways are best!
Read through the Old Testament and you'll find story after story of the Nation of Israel dealing with suffering for hundreds of years, waiting for God to fulfill His promise of a coming Messiah. They prayed for the Messiah's arrival, and then many rejected Him because God didn't answer their prayer the way that they wanted. They wanted a King, a ruler to beat back their oppressors. God gave them a Savior - and not only for them, but all of mankind! God's answer was way better than what they wanted!
Are my prayers focused more on getting my will done in Heaven or on God’s will being accomplished here on earth? Again, Jesus plainly stated His priorities in John 6:38 (NIV)...
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
I think a lot of times we forget that prayer is an invitation. Prayer is the natural human response to God’s pursuit of us! He's the one who started the conversation! Prayer is not a human attempt to get God’s attention and compliance – it’s a response to God; it’s an admission of our utter reliance on Him for everything! Prayer is a ‘reaching up to God’ but only in the sense that He reached down first.
As I thought about my own prayer life and tried to adjust my attitude – the most Biblical advice I could give myself about prayer…
B. Surrender
Listen carefully to this part - the tragedies that I mentioned in my introduction - this is just the beginning. I don't say that to scare anyone, or drive anyone to a 'victim mentality'. My point is not to discourage you or to send anyone into a panic. I'm not trying to mount 'a call to arms'. But there's a reality here - until Jesus comes back - and He is coming back - this world will continue to see evil dominate the headlines.
This world is in a spiritual battle! Our nation is in a spiritual battle! And it's not a political battle - but a battle of good vs. evil. And understand - I am not casting one side of the aisle as righteous and the other as evil - please do not misunderstand my point. We may be close to being as divided politically now as we were in the times leading up to the Civil War. But if we look at this battle only through the lens of politics, without seeing it as a spiritual battle - that's when the tragedies that should bring us together as humanity will actually drive us apart as we see each other as the enemy.
We know evil when we see it. But only those who have surrendered their will to God's will see with 'spiritual eyes' and discern between the real enemy and those whom God is calling us to reach. If my first response of anger is not controlled by my complete surrender of my will to God's in prayer - I will not bring about the righteous life that God desires and I will not persuade anyone of the truth of the Gospel message and the hope found only in Jesus Christ!
I want to look again at the passage I shared in my very first point...
1 Peter 3:12 (NIV)
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
God is well aware of the evil in this world - and God will do exactly what is best, at the right time - and He will bring justice! My job is to pray so that I can know exactly how He wants me to respond in this life to fulfill His highest purposes!
So What?
We need to be more faithful in prayer AND in making sure our attitudes in prayer are more in line with God’s desires first and foremost. Followers of Jesus – pray! Without prayer, you're just going it alone - apart from God - and you'll quickly become pretty useless in accomplishing anything good for God's Kingdom.
When I connect with God in prayer - my frustration, my pain, my anger can then either be comforted by God Himself - OR - those feelings can then be directed by God and used to move me to action! But If I don't first seek Him - my feelings will be pointed in the wrong direction and only cause more problems.
When awful things happen - people of faith pray! We don't lash out in hate, we don't riot in the streets - we pray! We are a people of prayer - because we know our true source of hope and comfort and power!
I’m asking you to commit yourself again to prayer. God is asking you to talk with Him – to spend time with Him. God is asking you to bring your praises, requests and troubles to Him - and then allow Him to answer in any way that HE sees fit - whether it's what you want to hear, or if it's disappointing or even painful. When you do that on a regular and increasing basis – you'll be amazed at how blessed and how useful to God you will become!
On that note, let’s pray.