PSALM 27 VERSE 7 COMMENTARY Written and edited by Glenn Pease

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;

be merciful to me and answer me.

1. It is extremely frustrating when it seems like God is not even listening to your

prayer, and that is how David is feeling at this point. It is surprising, for he has been

so positive and optimistic up to this point, and he was acting as if every prayer he

uttered was answered on the spot. Now, all of the sudden, he is pleading for God to

pay attention to his cry for help. He is praying for his prayer, and asking that it

might be heard. His theme in this moment of prayer is the mercy of God. He does

not tell us why he suddenly feels the need for God to be merciful to him. It seems

that God has been more than merciful in allowing him to face an army of vicious

attackers without fear, and come out a winner with awesome odds against him. Why

he is now so fearful that God's mercy will forsake him is a mystery, but it reveals

what is a true emotional roller coaster that believers go through. At any moment a

believer can be struck with the emotion of doubt and fear. It is one of the paradoxes

of the believer's life. He can be riding high in victorious faith, and then suddenly feel

the black cloud of negative emotions shutting out the light of the sun. He can come

away from a service where he shouted in praise to God for his grace and love, and

then while riding home feel a gloom coming over him because of his sin or failure, or

any number of negative thoughts that rob him of the joy of his salvation. This seems

to be what is happening to David at this point. This positive Psalm suddenly turns to

a negative plea for help.

1B. When life takes a turn to the negative side our prayers tend to become very self

centered, and this is normal, as it was here with David. We feel a need, and that

need sometimes dominates us so that our prayers are all about us and our need.

There is no intercession here for anyone else in their need, but only his own that

takes center stage. Self-centeredness is sometimes a place where we need to be, for

we are not much good for anyone else until we get right ourselves.

2. Newell C. McMahan has written a poem about how we can feel so negative about our prayers not being answered. I will share a part of it. He wrote-

DO YOU EVER DESPAIR?

WHEN IT SEEMS GOD DOESN'T ANSWER YOUR PRAYER?

DO YOU EVER PRAY EARNESTLY FOR GOD TO MEET A NEED IN YOUR LIFE,

AND YOU PRAY FERVENTLY TO OVERCOME ALL HINDRANCES AND STRIFE?

WHEN YOU HAVE FINANCIAL NEEDS AND THE HEAVEN SEEMS TO BE BRASS,

AND IT SEEMS GOD ANSWERS ALL OTHERS PRAYERS BUT OURS HE SEEMS TO PASS.

HAVE YOU PRAYED AND PRAYED AND DONE YOUR BEST TO PRAY THRU,

WHEN YOU HAVE CONFESSED ALL SIN AND DONE ALL THAT YOU KNOW TO DO.

WHEN YOU HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THE BIBLE SAYS IN TRYING TO PRAY,

WHEN YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED YOUR RESOURCES AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.

DO YOU EVER COME TO THE POINT OF SEEMINGLY UTTER DESPAIR,

WHEN YOU PRAY AND GOD DOESN'T SEEM TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYER?

DO YOU THINK GOD HAS FORGOTTEN YOU AND LEFT YOU TO FEND ALONE,

OR DO YOU BELIEVE GOD IS STILL ALIVE AND STILL SITTING ON HIS THRONE?

3. David records his negative emotions as well as his positive emotions so that their

is an honest balance in the picture he paints of the believer's life. It would be

unrealistic if the Bible portrayed the believer's life as one big joyous high of love and

faith, with no valley of doubt and fear to balance it out. David was just like all of us

in that he had his downs as well as ups, and he actually expresses depths of

depression and despair that most of us never experience. God is using David to

cover the whole spectrum of human experience in order to leave no one out,

however radical their emotional swings. However you may feel, there is a Bible

verse somewhere to match it. If all that David wrote was just like the beginning

verses of this Psalm, we could not find ourselves in it, and it would not have a

message for us, for we just cannot live on the clouds and mountain tops with nothing

be sunshine and roses. We may get there, but we cannot stay there. We would like to

stay there and be like the disciples who went with Jesus to the Mount of

Transfiguaration. It was so glorious that they wanted to build chapels there and stay

there, but Jesus took them back down to a world of pain and suffering where they

were confronted with their lack of power to change things. Jesus refused to give his

disciples hope that they could live on the heights all the time. He sent them into a

world of great need where they too would suffer a great deal in striving to meet

those needs. If you are looking for a perpetual high, you wont find it in the Old or

New Testament.

4. It is, no doubt, a major reason for depression to enter the believer's life when he

or she does not get an answer to the prayer they have been praying for some time.

Spurgeon wrote, "The voice which in the last verse was tuned to music is here

turned to crying. As a good soldier, David knew how to handle his weapons, and

found himself much at home with the weapon of "all prayer." Note his anxiety to be

heard. Pharisees care not a fig for the Lord's hearing them, so long as they are

heard of men, or charm their own pride with their sounding devotions; but with a

genuine man, the Lord's ear is everything. The voice may be profitably used even in

private prayer; for though it is unnecessary, it is often helpful, and aids in

preventing distractions. Have mercy also upon me. Mercy is the hope of sinners and

the refuge of saints. All acceptable petitioners dwell much upon this attribute. And

answer me. We may expect answers to prayer, and should not be easy without them

any more than we should be if we had written a letter to a friend upon important

business, and had received no reply."

5. No answer to our prayer leads to anxiety, and sometimes to panic, in fear that it will never be answered. It is no comfort to say sometimes God says no, or wait, or

forget it. We want an answer, and so we cry out for God to be merciful by giving us

some meaningful answer, and not leave us hanging. Barnes wrote, "The phrase

“when I cry with my voice” refers to the fact that he prayed audibly or aloud. It was

not mental prayer, but that which found expression in the language of earnest

entreaty." Calvin adds, "By the word cry, he expresses his vehemence, as I have

elsewhere said, that he may thereby move God the sooner to help him. For the same

purpose, also, he a little after mentions his misery, because the more the faithful are

oppressed, the more does their very need induce God to extend his favor towards

them."

5B. For a study on unanswered prayer see Appendix A.

6. What we have here is another aspect of temporal salvation. He has been saved in

body from all his foes, and they have fallen by the way, and God has kept him safe

and secure. Now he has another battle where he needs help, and that is in the realm

of the mental rather than the physical. He needs salvation from his emotions that

lead him to depression and doubt. Do believer's have doubt and depression? You

bet they do, and they need saved from these pits that rob them of the joy of their

salvation.

7. The mercy of God is what he appeals to, for he is not worthy of God's protection

from all the troubles of life. He knows he deserves some hardships and negative

feelings, but he cries out to God to be merciful, and not let him experience all that

his sins deserve. He has experienced the mercy of God over and over, and he could

have written this poem that comes to us from Annie Johnson Flint.

Yea, “new every morning,” though we may awake,

Our hearts with old sorrow beginning to ache;

With old work unfinished when night stayed our hand

With new duties waiting, unknown and unplanned;

With old care still pressing, to fret and to vex,

With new problems rising, our minds to perplex

In ways long familiar, in paths yet untrod,

Oh, new every morning the mercies of God!

His faithfulness fails not; it meets each new day

New guidance for every new step of the way;

New grace for new trials, new trust for old fears,

New patience for bearing the wrongs of the years,

New strength for new burdens, new courage for old,

New faith for whatever the day may unfold;

As fresh for each need as the dew on the sod;

Oh, new every morning the mercies of God!

8. Unfortunately, David woke up this morning and felt the lack of mercy, and that is

why he is crying out for more of what he has been blest with so many mornings before. He actually did have the mercy of God every morning, for every day we are

alive is due to the mercy of God, but we don't always feel it, and sometimes the basic

mercies of God are not enough to comfort and strengthen us in particular battles we

must fight. The everyday mercies of God are blessings to everyone, and we are to

daily thank God for them, but they do not meet the specific needs we might have.

Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we

may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." There are times when we

need these two important things from God, which is his mercy and his grace. They

are not automatic, and so we need to come to the throne of God pleading for them

just as David is doing here.

9. Pink writes about the sudden reverses that can happen to believers. "For a time-

perhaps for years-the smile of Providence is upon him, and then all is drastically

altered. One trouble follows swiftly upon the heels of another, until the sorely tried

soul is ready to say with Jacob, "all these things are against me" (Gen. 42:36). The

strain of financial reverses and family bereavements undermines his health, and

Satan takes full advantage of his low spirits and shattered nerves. Thoroughly

dejected, he asks, "where are Thy former loving kindnesses?" (Psa. 89:49). " What

"changes" the real Christian experiences in his faith! On some occasions his heart

goes out instinctively to God so that he can exclaim, "I will trust and not be afraid"

(Isa. 12:2); but at other times he is filled with doubts and fears, and is quite unable

to lay hold of the Divine promises."

10. Crying out for the mercy of God is a paradox. It is wonderful that God is a God

of mercy. In fact he delights in mercy as we see in Micah 7:18-19 "Who is a God like

unto you, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of

his heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy. He will

turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and you

will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." The paradox is that one has to feel

guilty and condemned for his sinfulness to cry for mercy. In other words, one is

caught in mixed emotions of sorrow for sin, and also gladness that there is a God

who will forgive them. In the previous verse David is shouting and singing for joy,

and now he is full of anxiety and gloom as he cries out for the mercy of God. The

good news far outweighs the bad news of this Psalm, but the fact is, David has to

experience the bad news as well as the good.

11. One thing, among many, that we have in common with God is that we also

delight in mercy. We delight in mercy received, and God delights in mercy given. He

gives and we receive, and everybody is happy with mercy. It is to be one of our

greatest delights that God does not delight in judgment as he delights in mercy. Woe

unto us if he had as much pleasure in judging sin as he has in forgiving it. Thank

God that every person in history has the opportunity to pray, "God be merciful to

me a sinner."

12. J. C. Philpot wrote, "God delights in mercy. It is not drawn from him

unwillingly; it is not forced out of him even by importunity; it is not dragged out of

his heart by the cries of his children; but he delights in it as being his darling

attribute, the very pleasure of God being in showing mercy to the miserable. How

hard it is for us to believe this until mercy visits the soul and a sweet sense of it is felt

in the conscience. How we represent to ourselves God in his anger, in his justice, in

his dreadful displeasure against sin and sinners; how unable to believe that there is

mercy for us, and that he delights in manifesting mercy to poor, miserable, penitent

sinners. Who ever would have thought of mercy unless it had first been in the bosom

of God? Who could have ventured to entertain or suggest such a thought that "there

is forgiveness with God;" that he can "pardon iniquity, and transgression, and sin;"

that he can cast all our sins behind his back, and blot them out as a cloud, yes, as a

thick cloud? This is what God has revealed of himself in his word, but it is only as

mercy visits the troubled breast, and God displays his goodness and love in the

revelation of his dear Son, that we can rise up into any sweet apprehension of what

his mercy really is, and rejoice in it not only as suitable, but as saving."

13. This is a good place to study the mercy of God.

GOD IS MERCIFUL Based on Ps. 51:1

Dr. A. J. Cronin was raised in the strict tradition that if one did wrong they

were to be punished. Justice demanded it. In 1921 he took the post of medical

officer in an isolated district in Northumberland, England. He was young and

inexperienced, but though trembling, he one night performed a tracheotomy on the

throat of a small boy choking with diphtheria. He inserted the tube and gave a sigh

of relief as the boy’s lungs filled with air. He then went to bed leaving the sick boy

in the care of a nurse.

Some time in the night the tube filled with mucus and the boy began to choke. Instead of cleaning the tube, as any good nurse should have done, the boy girl fled in

panic to get the doctor. When Dr. Cronin arrived the patient was dead. His anger

blazed at such blundering negligence, and he decided right there he would ruin her

career. He wrote a bitter letter to the County Health Board and read it to her with

burning indignation. The 19 year old Welsh girl listened in silence half fainting with

shame and misery. But finally she stammered, “Give me another chance.” He

shook his head and sealed the envelope as she slipped away.

That night he could not sleep. Give me another chance kept echoing through his mind. Deep inside he knew he wanted to send that letter for revenge, and not

because of his love for justice. When morning came the light of mercy came as well,

and he tore up the letter. Twenty years later he wrote, “Today the nurse who erred

so fatally is matron of the largest children’s home in Wales. Her career has been a

model of service and devotion.”

Mercy, even on the human level, has saved many lives from being tragically

wasted because of some sin, error, failure, or folly. None are so godlike as those who

can exercise the virtue of mercy. In Shakespeare’s Merchant Of Venice old Shylock

wants revenge through justice, but Portia disguised as a young lawyer pays her

tribute to mercy and says, “It is an attribute of God Himself; and earthly power

doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.” And then she says again,

“Consider this-that in the course of justice, none of us should see salvation; we do

pray for mercy; and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of

mercy.”

Shakespeare not only understood the teaching of Christ that the merciful are

blest, but he understood the truth that David learned as well; that mercy is the only

hope for the guilty. There is no salvation for anyone in justice. Justice leaves us all

condemned, but mercy opens the door of hope and gives us another chance. That is

why David begins this great Psalm with a cry for God’s mercy. There is nowhere

else to begin. God’s mercy is the only hope for the salvation of the sinner and the

sanctification of the saint. If you take a concordance and look at all the references

to the mercy of God, you will soon understand why Andrew Murray called it the

greatest wonder of God’s nature. He wrote, “The omniscience of God is a wonder.

The omnipotence of God is a wonder. God’s spotless holiness is a wonder. None of

these things can we understand. But the greatest wonder of it all is the mercy of

God. Mrs. Helen E. Hammond wrote,

The great celestial bodies are

Most marvelous and grand,

And how they keep their courses

Men cannot understand.

But something far more wonderful

Than stars that brightly glow

Is the mercy of the living God

To creatures here below.

The basic meaning of the words for mercy in the Bible are kindness, loving

kindness, and graciousness. The Psalms deal so much with the mercy and loving

kindness of God that the Jews have always made this theme a major aspect of their

songs and prayers. In the 12th century the Jews in Spain sang a hymn on the Day of

Atonement, and it sounds very much like the opening verse of this Psalm.

Lord, blot out our evil pride,

All our sins before thee;

Our Father, for Thy Mercy’s sake

Pardon, we implore Thee.

The Jews have always recognized that their hope is in God’s mercy, and over and over again they sang that the mercy of the Lord endures forever. Psa. 25:10

says, “All the paths of the Lord are mercy.” His mercy is not only everlasting, but it

is also universal. Psa. 145:8-9 says, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to

anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and His compassion

is over all that he has made.” Both the Psalmist and the prophets explain God’s

mercy by saying He is slow to anger. This is a very important thing to grasp to

understand how God can be so merciful and still be a God of justice. The Bible

makes it clear that in spite of God’s all-encompassing mercy He is also a God of

judgment. How can the two be combined? It is all a matter of speed. His mercy

moves swiftly and gives the sinner every chance to repent and be forgiven before His

slow moving wrath ever reaches the sinner.

Spurgeon, in a sermon on Nah. 1:3, which says the Lord is slow to anger, explained it with these eloquent words: “When mercy cometh into the world, she

driveth winged steeds; the axles of her chariot wheels are glowing hot with speed,

but when wrath cometh, it walketh with tardy footsteps; it is not in haste to slay, it is

not swift to condemn. God’s rod of mercy is ever in His hands outstretched; God

sword of justice is in its scabbard, not rusted in it-it can be easily withdrawn-but

held there by that hand that presses it back into its sheath crying,” sleep, O sword,

sleep, for I will have mercy upon sinners, and will forgive their transgressions.”

God is not quick to destroy rebels, for he knows that many can be brought back to loyalty and allegiance. If He was speedy in His judgment, none would be saved.

It is the combination of His swift mercy and slow justice that makes salvation

possible. Because of this combination God’s judgment is never unfair. Mercy is

always given first chance, but if mercy is rejected, then no one can complain when

justice catches up and does its work.

All through history we see God gives a warning before His wrath falls. People

were warned through Noah long before the flood came. Israel was warned in

advance by the prophets before she faced judgment and captivity. Nineveh was

warned by Jonah before God’s anger struck, and because they responded with

repentance and cried out for mercy they were spared. When the warning is not

heeded, however, and when the offer of mercy is not received, God, with all His

loving kindness, cannot spare the sinner. Jesus said of the evil working Jezebel, who

was destroying the church at Thyatira in Rev. 2:21, “I gave her time to repent, but

she refused to repent of her immorality.” There was no alternative but judgment.

We see that the Lord even spares the worse just as long as He can. He reverses the

pattern of nature and sends the thunder of warning long before the lightening of

judgment. Heaven is God’s will, and He is not willing that any should perish, but

when mercy is refused then judgment is inevitable. Hell is the destiny men choose

for themselves because they reject the mercy of God.

Mercy and justice are perfectly combined in God so that one or the other deals

with all evil. Mercy is the alpha and justice is the omega. In our impatience we

often wish God’s judgment was not so slow. Like Jonah we want God to destroy the

wicked pagans before He gives them a warning and an offer of mercy. Mercy

sometimes seems almost like a crime when it is offered to one that you think is

deserving of wrath. David felt this way when the prophet Nathan told him of the

rich man who took the poor man’s only lamb and killed it for his meal. David was

not like God, but just the opposite. His sense of justice was swift, and he was ready

to reek immediate vengeance on the wicked man. He only reverse his rush toward

revenge when Nathan said, “Thou art the man.” David then realized that he was

the scoundrel whose sin had made him so mad.

When he saw that he was the one under condemnation, then mercy became far more precious than justice. We tend to want justice for the other guy, but mercy for

ourselves when we are the ones who are guilty. The truly godly man will learn to

love mercy for everyone. God required that the godly man combined mercy with

justice just as God combines it in His nature. Mic. 6:8 says, “He has showed you, O

man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to

love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” The degree to which we succeed

in showing mercy and loving kindness determines much as to the mercy we receive

from God. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”

Someone wrote,

Teach me to feel another’s woe,

To hide the fault I see;

That mercy I to others show

That mercy show to me.

It is tragic but true what George Eliot wrote, “We hand folks over to God’s

mercy and show none ourselves.” True godlike mercy is both a feeling and a matter

of action. As an emotion mercy is the desire to pardon one who deserves

punishment. It is that feeling parents get when their children do something so

wrong that it deserves severe punishment, and yet there is a desire to pardon

because they love their children. As an act of the will mercy is doing good for and

forgiving one who deserves punishment. How many mothers have had children

make a mess of something that called for a spanking, but who not only didn’t spank

them, but in order to let them get in one something they have planned, even cleaned

up the mess? That is mercy in action.

God does not sit in heaven with feelings of mercy, but He enters into history to

act in mercy to get men to respond. Charles Finney in his Systematic Theology says

of mercy, “It will employ the intelligence in devising means to serve the repentance

of the sinner, and to remove all the obstacles out of the way¼” This is what made

God give His Son, and His Son give His life while we were yet sinners. Mercy does

not wait. It is ever busy seeking to save the lost. Finney says, “It is also this attitude

that energized in prophets, and Apostles, and martyrs, and saints of every age, to

secure the conversion of the lost in sin.”

As important as mercy is in God’s plan, and in the Christian life, it is a problem for most Christians. Life refuses to stay simple, and instead becomes

complex, and this is so with the virtue of mercy. How do you prevent people from

taking advantage of your mercy? People try and do this with the mercy of God, but

we know they cannot fool Him. If men call upon God to forgive their sin, and then

go and willfully engage in it again, they do not deceive God. The man who said, “I

love to sin and God loves to forgive sin, and so we have an excellent relationship,”

has no understanding of the mercy of God. As this Psalm makes clear, if there is no

broken and contrite heart, then mercy is rejected. The proud sinner is not forgiven.

When we look at men’s attempt to imitate God in kindness and mercy, however, we see that it seems to give evil an advantage over the good. For example,

a young boy was pushing a cart of goods up a steep hill and a stranger came along

and helped him. When they got to the top the man got his breath and said

indignantly, “Only a scoundrel would expect a youngster to do a job like that. Your

employer must have known it was to heavy for you.” The boy said, “He did, but he

said go ahead, your sure to find some old fool who will help you up the hill.”

Do-gooders and those who show kindness and mercy are often considered to be

fools, for they let people take advantage of them. Evil men who do not respond to

mercy only take advantage of it to continue their sin. Pardon the offender and they

use their freedom to commit more offenses. There is also the sentiment expressed,

“He that is merciful unto the bad is cruel to the good.” Total and absolute mercy

seems to give evil a break, and so the Christian needs to learn to balance mercy and

justice just as God does. Jesus said in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, even as your Father

is merciful.” Only as we understand the mercy of God can we obey the command to

be merciful as He is, and then reap the rewards for doing so.

God hates sin more than any person, and His anger is to be feared. God’s

attitude is that sin and evil must be overcome and conquered. By sheer power He

could destroy them, but this would be inconsistent with His love and mercy. God’s

primary goal is not to see that men are punished, but to see that they are saved. A

bandit in Mexico was asked if he had any enemies, and he said that he had none

because he had shot them all. God could have taken this approach also, but that is a

mere victory of power, and not a victory for love.

God will punish the sinner, but before He does He seeks all possible ways to

win the sinner, or the lost sheep, back to the fold. Jesus came to seek and to save

that which was lost. This has ever been God’s program of mercy. One of the first

questions of the Bible is God asking of Adam, “Where art thou?” From that point

on the Bible is the story of a search. It is the search of God for all possible means to

confront men with His mercy. God knows we are but dust. He knows the folly and

sin of man, and the advantage they will try to take of His love, but yet it is true what

the poet writes,

There is no place where earth’s sorrows

Are more felt than up in heaven.

There is no place where earth failings

Have more kindly judgment given.

God so loves His people, and all people, that even when He is forced to send judgment on them His primary thought is on how to restore them. When He falls

out with man it is something like the attitude expressed in a cartoon. Two junior

high girls were walking home from school when they saw Gregory on the other side

of the street. One nudged the other and said excitedly, “There’s Gregory!” The

other girl responded, “Oh, we’re not speaking anymore. I’ve lost all interest in him.

We haven’t spoken for three days, six hours, and 23 minutes.” She may have been

angry, but she counted the minutes until they were reconciled. So it is with God and

man. In Isa. 54:7-8 God said to His people who had suffered His judgment-

“For a brief moment I forsook you,

But with great compassion I will gather you.

In overflowing wrath for a moment I hide my face from you,

But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you.”

God does not treat sin lightly, and so no one can make a fool of Him. He will

judge and condemn, but He is ever seeking a way to reconcile a sinner and grant

them a merciful part. The wicked man is welcome on his dying day to say yes to

God’s mercy. A man fell from his horse and broke his neck. He cried out for God

to forgive him before he died. These words were put on his tombstone: “Between

the stirrup and the ground I mercy asked, I mercy found.” If we are going to be

Godlike in mercy, then we must recognize that is does not mean we never judge or

condemn sin, but it means that even when that is necessary we do not write off the

offender, but do all we can to be reconciled.

There is always hope for the worst of men to respond to love. All of us are combinations of love and hate. We are like the girl who got mad and ran away from

home. She left this note: “Dear mom, I hate you. I’m going away. Love, Linda.”

The reason our conscience bothers us when we do wrong is because we really do

love what is right. You hate it for bothering you, but it bothers you because you love

it. The conscience is one of God’s agents of mercy. He made it to bother us when we

do wrong so that we feel sad and in need of mercy, which He stands ready to give.

It was God’s mercy that brought David to the point where he cried out for

mercy. The sinner cannot be forgiven until he prays, “God be merciful to me a

sinner.” When he does so he does not gain any merit, for it is God’s mercy that

makes him so pray. Some poet put it,

“I sought the Lord, and afterwards I knew

He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me;

‘Twas not so much that I on Thee took hold,

As Thou, dear Lord, on me.”

The hope of the world is not in justice, but it is in the mercy of God and the

mercy of man for his fellow man. Memorial Day got its start in mercy, on an April

morning in 1863 a group of women came to the cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi

to dedicate the graves of their dead soldiers. The Civil War was still raging. One of

the women placed flowers on the graves of her two sons, and then walked over to

two mounds at the corner of the cemetery. One of the women asked what she was

doing because those were graves of union soldiers. “I know,” she said. “I also know

that somewhere up in the North, a mother or a young wife mourns for them as we

do for ours.” She faced the other women and continued, “They are dead, our heroes

of the South, and they are dead, these unknown soldiers of the North. All of them

are lying here in our churchyard. When the war is over and peace comes, we shall

call all of them heroes. We want someone to do this for our loved ones in nameless

graves. We must do it for these in our cemetery.” She put flowers on the graves of

these so-called enemies.

The story made its way to the New York Tribune, and then across the country.

It was the beginning of the effort to replace hatred with love. In 1868 General

Logan issued an order designating the 30th of May as a day to decorate the grave of

all who had fallen in war. This Declaration Day became our present Memorial Day.

It all began with the loving behavior of a mother and an act of mercy. We live in a

world of so much evil and conflict. As Christians we need to be the salt of the earth

and keep negative emotions from dominating the way people respond to all this evil

and conflict. This can only be accomplished as we experience an express mercy.

14. GOD IS MERCIFUL based on Acts 17:16-34

In 1867 a bearded Norwegian named Lars Skrefsrud, and a Danish colleague found two and a half million people called the Santals living in a region north of

Calcutta, India. He quickly learned their language and began to proclaim the

Gospel. To his utter amazement the Santals were expecting just such a message, and

they were excited and enthused about it. One of the leaders said, "This means

Thakur Jiw has not forgotten us after all this time. Thakur means genuine and Jiw

means god. The Genuine God has not forgotten us.

Lars was dumbfounded, for he expected to tell these pagans about a God they never heard of, and instead, he finds they have heard of the one supreme God. He

asked them how they knew, and one of the elders told him of their oral tradition.

"Long, long ago thakur Jiw, the Genuine God created the first man and woman.

They were tempted and fall, and knew that they were naked and were ashamed.

They had 7 sons and 7 daughters, and founded 7 clans. But the people became

corrupted and so God hid a holy pair in a cave and destroyed the rest of mankind

with a flood. The pair that was saved multiplied and God divided them into many

different peoples.

"The Santal people once obeyed Thakur Jiw, but as they made their way through

the Khyber Pass they became discouraged with the hardships of the mountains, and

they began to pray to the spirits of the mountains, and then to the spirit of the sun.

They just drifted away from Thakur Jiw. They still recognized him as the one

supreme God, but they developed their religion around lesser gods."

The missionary could not believe his ears. Here was a people who had the same

experience as the Jews. They had the truth of the supreme God in their tradition,

but went after other gods, and their religion became corrupted. When the Gospel

was proclaimed they recognized it was their supreme God showing mercy on them,

even though they had forsaken Him. If this was only an isolated case we could put it

into the category of the freak accidents and coincidences of history, but it is not

isolated. Don Richardson, author of Peace Child, in his book Eternity In Their

Hearts reveals how the belief in one true God is a part of the tradition in hundreds

of cultures throughout the world.

This one true God has many names, but he is always the Creator and Sustainer of all, and supreme over all. The missionaries who confront these people have to

make a decision as to whether the name of their God is the name of the God of the

Bible, or not. In many cases they have concluded that it is, and the result is God has

a great many names.

It all started with Abraham and Melchizedek in Gen. 14. Abraham had just come

back from a victory over some kings and Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought

out bread and wine and blest him. He was the priest of the Most High God, and he

said to Abraham, "Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, Creator of heaven and

earth." This God was El Elyon. This was a Canaanite name, and Abraham was

being blest in his name. Abraham did not say, "Hold on there, my God is Jehovah,

and not El Elyon." He not only did not say that, but he gave this high priest of El

Elyon a tenth of all he had. Heb. 7 makes much of this and shows Jesus Christ to be a priest forever after the order of melchizedek. El Elyon became associated with the

God of the Bible and God was named in the Bible as Elohim, and El Shaddai.

This same thing happened in the New Testament world. Zeus was the king of the

gods, but he was so corrupt that he could not represent the one supreme God. But

the Greek writers, like Plato and Aristotle, used another name for the supreme God

which was not contaminated. They used Theos, and this became the name the

translators of the Old Testament into Greek used for God, and this is the name Paul

used in his New Testament letters for God. The pagan peoples of the Gentile world

had names for the supreme God that were kept pure enough to become the names of

the God of the Bible.

So getting back to Lars and the Santal people-he decided if Abraham and Paul

could do it, so could he, and so he accepted Thakur Jiw as the name of Jehovah. He

said it felt strange at first to be proclaiming Jesus Christ as the son of Thakur Jiw,

but after a couple of weeks he felt comfortable. The response was overwhelming as

thousands of Santals wanted to learn how they could be reconciled to Thakur Jiw

through Jesus Christ. They were averaging 80 baptisms a day. Lars baptized 15,000

during his years in India, and 85,000 were baptized by others.

There are many amazing missionary stories like this, but now we want to look at the amazing experience of Paul as the missionary on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece.

Nowhere do we see Paul more eloquent as he faces the greatest intellectual audience

of his career. He stood on the very spot where men like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

stood, and he had to persuade the best minds of Greece. Gordon Lewis said, "Here

is one of the most dramatic moments of history as Jew meets Gentile, Jerusalem

confronts Athens, Christianity faces philosophy, faith meets reason." Athens was

the capital of the intellectual world, as Rome was the political capital, and

Jerusalem the religious capital. By his approach here Paul teaches us how the

Christian is to approach this world in fulfilling the Great Commission. You begin

by-

FINDING COMMON GROUND.

This calls for being observant, and doing some research. On the surface it would

seem that Athenian polytheism and Christian monotheism would have nothing in

common. Athens had so many gods that it became a proverb, "As well haul rocks to

a quarry as bring another god to Athens." It was the god capital of the world, and

you would need the yellow pages to keep track of them all. The streets could be

deserted of men, but their was always a god around on every street.

It is the same story over and over again all through history. Once a people stray

from the one true God in favor of lesser deities, they soon discover there is an

inflation factor in idolatry. They need more and more gods to fill the shoes of one

supreme God. You have to come with a god for every detail of life and nature, and

this becomes an endless process. The result is that even the most intelligent people

become utterly ridiculous in their multiplying of idols. The Greeks were scholars

and philosophers of the world, but in their wisdom they became fools. Athens had

an estimated 30,000 gods, which was more than all the rest of Greece put together.

Paul could have stood up and said, "You stupid superstitious screwballs." He

could have lashed out at their folly, but he did not take that approach. He took the

wiser approach and began his message by saying, "Men of Athens! I see that in

every way you are very religious." He was saying this, not with a sarcastic voice, but

with a note of appreciation. He was saying we are one in this, for I too am very

religious, and I have a religious message to share with you. He then selects a specific

object of their worship as a jumping off point to share the good news. Paul had

walked around the city, and he had observed the idols and altars everywhere. He

found one to an unknown God.

Paul was looking for some common ground from which to begin, and he found it in this altar. Don Richardson says there is some common ground in every religion

and culture, for God in his mercy has given every people an insight into the truth

that enables them to understand the Gospel when it comes. It is the missionaries

task to find that common ground, just as Paul did here.

The unknown God was perfect, for his goal was to share with them the revelation

of God in Jesus Christ. They did not know this, and so the God of the Bible was an

unknown God to them. Paul says this God whom you worship as unknown I am

proclaiming to you so you can know him. The unknown God whom Paul made

known was not just another god, but he was the supreme God. He is not one of the

gods of gold, silver, and stones, or a god who lives in temples made with hands. He is

the God whom all peoples instinctively know as the God of all. He is the God who

created all, and the God of all nations. He is the God in whom we live, move, and

have our being. Paul quotes one of their own poets who said of this God that we are

his offspring.

Paul is saying by his approach to the Athenians that there is common ground for all people who believe in God. In all the religions of the world where there is a belief

in God, there are universal truths held in common by all. No matter how corrupt

and perverted a religion becomes there is always the concept of a supreme God who

is the Creator of all, and the Lord of all men.

Paul is saying that this is, in fact, the God of the Bible. He may be called many names, or even the unknown God, but logic demands that since there is only one

God, all concepts and names of the supreme God in other religions are the names

and concepts of the God of the Bible. All the religions of the world then have a

concept or name for the one true God who is the God we proclaim as Christians.

This becomes the common ground on which Christians stand with all the peoples of

the world. It is the key to reaching them. Mission minded people are ever seeking to

find that in the culture of other people which becomes a link to the God of the Bible.

God has never left himself without a witness. Man has natural revelation that gives

them a concept of an almighty and all wise God over all creation.

Even the religious writings of the world convey much of the truth that God wants

all men to have, and which opens them up to receive the greater truth in Christ.

Paul quotes the poet Cleanthes in verse 28. Paul read this pagan poet and said to

himself, "This is good. Here is a pagan who says some things I can use, for he sees

what in universally true." Let me share a part of the hymn to Zeus that Paul is

quoting from.

"O God, most glorious, called by many a name,

Nature's great King, through endless years the same;

Omnipotence, who by thy just decree

Controllest all, hail, Zeus, for unto thee

Behooves thy creatures in all lands to call.

We are thy children, we alone, of all

On earth's road ways that wander to and fro,

Bearing thine image wheresoe'er we go,...

He goes on to speak of God as King of Kings and universal Word, and the one

who makes the crooked straight, and chaos into order. The point is, even a pagan

poet can know much about God, and it is a Christian obligation to find out where

people are, and from that common ground open up the new light God has given in

Jesus Christ.

The reason the Christian is to go into all the world and preach the Gospel is not

because the pagan world has no light. There is much light in the world. There is so

much good religion and morality in the world, and so much that is true and wise,

but none of it will save without a Savior. God is not willing that any should perish,

but that all should come to repentance, and this can only happen as people hear the

good news of what the supreme God has done for them in Jesus Christ.

It is the mercy of God that motivates missionaries. People know much of God all

over this world, but they do not know that God provided a sacrifice for all sin, and

that He conquered death in His Son, and that they can have assurance of eternal life

by faith in Him. The full and final revelation of God is in Jesus Christ. Other

revelations are marvelous and true, but they are not complete. Judaism is one of the

most marvelous religions of the world. They have more truth about God by written

revelation than any other religion of the world. They actually have more than

Christians, for the Old Testament is much larger than the New Testament.

Quantity, however cannot take the place of quality. The final and complete

revelation of God is found only in Jesus Christ. The mercy of God compels us to

have missions to the Jews, for in spite of all their truth, they do not have the final

revelation of their God.

It is the same with all other peoples. They have much that is true, but they do not have the Truth. Christians are to go, not in pride as if we are better than others, for

we are not. What we have we have received, and it is our obligation to pass it on.

Dr. Richardson was a missionary for 13 years to the people in New Guinea. He

makes it clear that the more you study the religions of the world, the more you

realize that God has not left Himself without a witness. All people have general

revelation, and many have traditions which link them to the biblical past when all

men worshipped the true God. It is amazing how much biblical truth there is in the

folk religions of the world. The Christian does not go into all the world because

other religions have no value and truth. He goes because they need to hear of the

ultimate and final Truth of God's revelation in Christ.

The second thing you come to realize is that all religions are under law. Paul writes in Rom. 2:14, "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature

things required by the law, they are a law for themselves....they show the

requirements of the law are written on their hearts." This means that every

religious person on this planet is basically in the same place as the Jews were. They

had the law as a foundation, but their religion was not complete until they had a

Savior who satisfied the demands of the law, and saved them by His grace. This is

what all of the religious people of the world need, and mercy is to motivate us to

meet that need by getting the Gospel to them.

Mercy is the ready inclination to relieve misery. The world is in misery trying to save themselves by religion, by works, and by obedience to law. No one has ever

been saved by that route yet, not even when it was the revealed religion and law of

the Old Testament. The Christian mission is a mission of mercy. It is taking the

good news to all the world that God has not forgotten or forsaken them, even though

they deserve it, but He has made it possible for them to be saved, and released from

the bondage to their religion of law.

Mercy is not only the motive for missions, but it is the motive for witnessing in

our own land. We tend to think that because the American people know so much

about Christianity and the truth of the Bible that they do not need witnessing. But

we need to see that all around us the religious people in our land are just like those

in the rest of the world. They have all kinds of wonderful truth, morality, and

insights into life, but it is still a religion of law. They expect to be saved by their

good works and obedience to the law. They do not know the freedom of being saved

by trusting in the finish work of Christ. Jesus is not only the completion of

Judaism; Jesus is not only the completion of the religions of the world; Jesus is not

only the completion of the unknown God, Jesus is the completion of Christianity as

well.

There are millions of religious Christians who have an amazing knowledge of the

true God, but who have never gotten in on His mercy and been saved by personal

trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Mercy must compel us to share this with

people so that they can have God's best and be complete in Christ.

What is mercy? I see it as God's friendship in action. In mercy God gets

involved in our lives and in our world. He blesses where we do not deserve it. He

rescues us from our own folly, and forgives us when we are worthy of

condemnation. Mercy is what we see the father of the Prodigal practicing. He

didn't deserve a place in the barn, or a dish of leftovers, but the father restored him

to full dignity as a son, and made him the honored guest at a banquet of celebration.

It was all mercy, and the father even pleaded with the elder son to come in and join the party. This too was mercy, for he deserved to be shut out for his bitter

attitude. The father is the friend of both of his boys, for his dominant attitude

toward both was mercy. His best was available to both because of his mercy. This

is the message the whole world needs to hear, for the one prayer that is always

heard and answered is, "God be merciful to me a sinner." The best proof of this is

the dying thief upon the cross who mercy sought and mercy found. He was the first

in paradise, even though he was hell-bound. The poet wrote,

When Christ, my Lord, hung dying,

Dying on the shameful tree,

Men in all their madness mocked Him,

Yet no word at all said He.

But when at His side a sinner,

Hanging there in shame to die,

Pleading, sought his loving favor,

Swiftly came love's glad reply.

When thou comest to thy kingdom,

Lord, he cried, remember me.

Yeah, to-day, with me in glory,

Jesus answered, thou shalt be.

Was not this most wondrous pity,

So to bless a dying thief

Even amid his own deep anguish

Thus to give a soul relief?

Tell it in the highest heaven,

Tell it in the depths below;

Tell it to the lost and outcast;

Tell it in the haunts of woe:

To the ver chief of sinners

Let the blessed tidings go.

He who asks the Savior's mercy

Shall the Savior's mercy know.

Author unknown

Not only are we saved by mercy, but we are sanctified, guided, delivered, and

protected by mercy. It would take over an hour just to read all of the text in the

Bible dealing with God's mercy toward us. Let me just share a few. Daniel asks his

friends to plead for God's mercy in revealing the king's dream so that they are not

executed. Whenever God gets involved in our lives to rescue and protect us, it is His

mercy in action.

In Neh. 9 the history of Israel's departure from God, and God's compassion and deliverance is rehearsed. It happened times without number, yet he says in verse 31,

"But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you

are a gracious and merciful God." If God was not merciful there would be only one

book of the Old Testament. It is long because God's mercy endures forever.

It is one of the most frequent prayers of the Psalms. "Remember, O Lord your

great mercy and love. Do not withhold your mercy from me O Lord. In our great

mercy turn to me." Over and over, and over again in trials and troubles of all kinds

the cry for mercy goes up. It is a prominent aspect of prayer in this world where so

much can go wrong. The fact that anything goes right, and that you escape many of

the evils of life is due to God's grace and mercy. The greatest need of every human

being is for God's mercy. There is no salvation without it, and there is no victory or happiness without it. Here is a major need of every person. Jesus said that to get it

we must give it. He said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." It

is by being channels of mercy to others that we receive the flow of mercy into our

own lives.

The Christian life is to be a life of mercy. We are to have compassion on people

who are lost, and in mercy share the light that leads out of darkness into life. We

are to have compassion concerning every human need. We are to put friendship

into action, and let mercy abound in loving service. Mercy is the motive for

missions, and every compassionate concern for a needy world. The incarnation was

a mission of mercy. The life of Jesus was a ministry of mercy. His death and

resurrection was the master plan for universal mercy. The great commission is

every Christians command to take the mercy of God to all people. Mercy is to be

our motivation to help everybody we can to find God's best in Christ. Everything

we experience, and everything we share is because God is merciful.

Yea, “new every morning,” though we may awake,

Our hearts with old sorrow beginning to ache;

With old work unfinished when night stayed our hand

With new duties waiting, unknown and unplanned;

With old care still pressing, to fret and to vex,

With new problems rising, our minds to perplex

In ways long familiar, in paths yet untrod,

Oh, new every morning the mercies of God!

His faithfulness fails not; it meets each new day

New guidance for every new step of the way;

New grace for new trials, new trust for old fears,

New patience for bearing the wrongs of the years,

New strength for new burdens, new courage for old,

New faith for whatever the day may unfold;

As fresh for each need as the dew on the sod;

Oh, new every morning the mercies of God!

- Annie Johnson Flint

15. THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE

Dr. Curtis Hutson, “Forgiveness is not according to the character of the offender,

but according to the character of the offended one. There are many who believe

that forgiveness if based upon character, that one must live a moral life to obtain

forgiveness. That simply is not true. Forgiveness is based upon the character of the

one who is offended. Only the offended one can forgive. It is “according to the

riches of His grace” that you have forgiveness, not according to your character.

God has forgiven some awfully bad characters. One example is the Apostle Paul.

Before his conversion, he persecuted the church and was responsible for the death of

many Christians.”

“The Bible doesn’t say,” God, who is rich in real estate....beef steak....

gold....silver....precious stones”; it says, “God, who is rich in mercy.” He has a

wealth of mercy!”

“I use to work for a loan company. If a bill wern’t paid on the due date, there was a so-called 5 day “grace” period. But it certainly wasn’t grace, because they added a

late charge for every day the payment was late.”

“Do you why Methuselah lived so long? You say, “He ate well.” Maybe so, but that

is not why he lived long. The name “Methuselah” means “When he is dead it shall

be sent.” The year Methuselah died the flood came. God was not anxious to poor

out wrath on Noah’s world. He wasn’t anxious to flood the world and destroy all

mankind! God wanted to wait and wait and wait; and so He said, “When he is dead,

it shall be sent.” God stretched out Methuselah’s years to 969; and he lived to be the

oldest man in the world-not because he was in good health, but because there is a

long suffering God who is extraordinarily patient and whose grace far exceed s most

ideas about it.” “The Bible says in Rom. 5:20, “Where sin abounded grace did

much more abound.” “Abound” means more than enough. Where there was more

than enough sin there was more than more than enough grace.” Grace is God’s

riches at Christ’s expense.

16. Thomas Bardbury wrote, "I will sing of mercy and judgment," said the Psalmist, "unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing." (Ps. 101:1) And if some of us live until

tomorrow we shall read, no doubt, that blessed new covenant psalm, the 89th,

beginning with mercy, flowing with mercy, concluding with mercy, with mercy

which never ends. See how mercy is extolled in that 136th Psalm. There at the end of

every verse twenty-six times we find ourselves refreshed with mercy, delivered with

mercy, preserved, with mercy, guided by mercy, remembered in mercy, redeemed

with mercy, fed with mercy, overcome with mercy. "His mercy endureth for ever." I

love to sing

"A debtor to mercy alone,

Of covenant mercy I sing,

Nor fear with Thy righteousness on,

My person and offerings to bring;

The terrors of law and of God

With me can have nothing to do;

My Saviour's obedience and blood

Hide all my transgressions from view."

For many long years Stocker's words have frequently warmed my heart

"Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,

Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;

Dissolved by Thy goodness I fall to the ground,

And weep to the praise of the mercy I found."

17. The mercy of God is seen so often in our lives by the answers to our prayers.

That was the great mercy that David was seeking in his prayer. He desperately

needed God to come to his rescue and save him, for in his own power he could not

overcome all of the enemies that sought his life. Every one of us experience the

mercy of God in our lives daily, for we are spared by his providence from all of the

enemies of life that kill people daily. We are alive today by the mercy of God. You

are reading this because God has spared you to do so. Thank God right now for

answered prayer, and for his mercy in ways that you never even asked for.

APPENDIX A UNANSWERED PRAYER

UNANSWERED PRAYER Based on Matt. 6:1-14

By Pastor Glenn Pease

The story is told of a Russian scientist who was found guilty of a crime

against the state. He was sentenced to a prison in the middle of a desert. His cell

mate was another scientist. He was determined to escape, and he urged his cell

mate to join him, but he refused. After much planning he did finally escape, but

the heat of the desert was unbearable, and the lack of food and water plus in the

inability to locate another human being almost drove him mad. He was forced

to return to the prison. He reported his terrible ordeal to his cell mate, and he

responded, “Yes, I know. I escaped and failed for the same reason.” The

scientist was beside himself with frustration and said, “Why in heaven’s name

didn’t you tell me what it was like out there?” His cell mate replied, “I didn’t

want to be a negative thinker.”

For lack of negative thinkers, that is people who will tell it like it is, even

when what is is not what we want it to be, there are masses of people who, if they

do not die in the desert of despair, survive with weakened faith, and scars on

their soul. The more I study, the more I realize how absolutely vital it is that we

listen to our Lord. He told it like it was, and like it is, and like it shall ever be.

Jesus tells us in all honesty that there is a desert out there. He warns us of the

dangers, and does not shy away from being a negative thinker.

“Be careful,” he warns as he opens this chapter. There are all kinds of ways

you can lose out and damage your relationship to God. The paradox is that all

of the areas of danger are good things. They are things like giving, prayer, and

fasting. You can do all these good things in such a wrong way that they drive

you from God rather than draw you near to Him. This is not a pleasant reality

for Jesus to lay on us, but thank God for one who tells us of the dangers, and

gives warning so we can avoid them.

Most godly men will not give us such warnings, for they are fearful of being

negative thinkers. Jesus makes it clear that it is the truth that sets us free, and

truth covers a lot of territory, and it includes the dark side as well as the light

side. Only the whole truth will make us free. S. D. Gordon was right when he

said, “It is always bad to have the truth hid from our eyes.” This means that if

there is a negative side to an issue, it is bad not to think about it and be a

negative thinker. I want to focus on the negative truth Jesus tells us about

prayer. There are many books on prayer that will not tell you what Jesus tells

you, because they do not want to be negative thinkers. They hope by avoiding

the negative they will protect you from that side of reality. But what they do is

force you to learn about the negative the hard way, and risk permanent damage

to your faith.

Jesus will not do this, and that is why we must listen to Him, and test all

others by the light of His Word. You will have to read far and wide on prayer to

find anyone who comes close to Jesus in telling the negative side of prayer. I see

three major reasons why prayer is not answered in the teaching of Jesus in

verses 5 through 14.

1. First is the matter of motivation. You can pray for the wrong reason, and

when you do your prayer never reaches heaven at all. It is a bird without

wings.

2. There is the matter of misconception. You think that quantity is what

impressed God, and so by vain repetition you hope to storm the gates of

heaven. Jesus says forget it, for prayer is not magic, and God is no machine.

3. There is the matter of missing mutuality. If you do not have the same spirit

as God does in forgiving others, do not expect Him to answer your prayer for

forgiveness. God’s love is like electricity; it will not flow in where it cannot

flow out. You can’t receive what you will not give. Jesus promises us that if

we refuse to forgive our prayer for forgiveness will not be answered.

So Jesus tells it like it is in the world of prayer, and in so doing He

complicates things, and forces us to wrestle with the conditions for answered

prayer. What happens when we do not want to wrestle with such things, and

take the short cut of teaching very positively that God answers all prayers?

Such positive teaching may induce faith in those who life is smooth sailing, but

injures faith in those whose voyage is a cross stormy seas. The only real question

is this: Is it true? Does God answer all prayers? Let’s look at how this teaching

has affected the lives of those who have believed it.

1. A young girl tore her new geography book just before school ended for the

day. She put it in her desk and went home feeling bad about it. She

remembered her teacher had taught her that God would do anything for her.

So she prayed that He would fix the book so that it was not torn anymore.

She prayed with persistence, and with faith. She eagerly went to school the

next day expecting the book to be as good as new. It was a great

disappointment to find the page was still torn. Her faith was thrown for a

loop, and she struggled with many questions. Was she a bad girl? Didn’t

God like her? Was she rejected by God? How many millions of children go

through terrible times of self-rejection because they are taught that God will

answer all their prayers?

2. Somerset Maugham in Of Human Bondage has the character Philip praying

that his club foot would be healed so he could play sports. With no doubts in

his mind he prays fervently, but in the morning he comes limping to the

breakfast table. Now he is not only defective of body, but damaged in spirit.

3. Mark Twain’s greatest objection to Christianity was the teaching of children

that God answers all their prayers. He writes of how Huckleberry Finn had

such a teacher, and of how he experimented with prayer. He once got a line

he said, but no hooks, and it warnt any good without hooks. He prayed 3 or

4 times for the hooks, but couldn’t make it work. Huck said he went into the

woods and had a long think about it. If prayer can get anything, why don’t

deacon Winn get back the money he lost on pork? Why can’t the widow get

back her silver that was stole? Why can’t Miss Watson the teacher fat up?

He concluded, “No, says I to myself, there ain’t nothin to it.”

4. R. F. Horton gives this testimony: “I remember as a child putting God to the

test. I placed a bright farthing in a drawer, and then knelt down and prayed

for God to transmute it into a half-sovereign. With trembling eagerness I

opened the drawer, and found that the copper was copper still. That was my

dawn of skepticism in prayer.” If pennies could be prayed into dollars, all

Christians would be faithful in prayer, and even eager for all night prayer

meetings. This childish dream does not last long, of course, because one is

quickly disillusioned about prayer as magic. This fairy tale level of prayer,

however, is still often imposed on children and adults by those who do not

want to be negative thinkers.

5. A study of the Civil War reveals that the South had as many godly leaders as

the North, and the prayers for victory were as sincere and fervent as those in

the North. Many godly Christians had their faith shaken when the South lost

the war they had bathed in prayer. God refused to give victory, even to His

own, when they fought for a cause which was not His will.

6. Maude Royden tells of the British soldier who came home from World War

I, and his family rejoiced as they told him how they had prayed for him, and

knew that he would come home. He protested, “Don’t talk like that. I can’t

bear it.” He had seem dozens of his comrades killed who were equally

prayed for, and some he had watched die while he prayed with passion for

them.

Illustrations of unanswered prayer are endless, and you need look no further

than your own life, for any body who is into prayer at all has experienced

unanswered, as well as answered prayer. Unanswered prayer is most dangerous

when you don’t believe it exists, and you twist and turn reality to fit your notion

that all prayers are answered. Like Miss Marshall and her aunt Miss Marsh

who prayed for Captain Hedley Vicors to be spared as he fought in the Crimean

War. He was shot and killed, but they refused to believe their prayer was

unanswered. They rationalized and said that we prayed for life for him, and

God gave him life forever and ever.

This kind of mind trick may work for some, but the fact is, they prayed he

would not die, and not that he would live forever in heaven starting then. They

made the opposite of what they prayed for to be the answer to their prayer.

Those with this gift can, of course, always hold fast to their faith that all prayers

are answered. But if you define answer to mean getting what you asked for, the

fact is that many prayers are not answered. I do not like it anymore than you

do, but I prefer to face this reality rather than to pretend that whatever comes is

an answer. With this view there is no distinction between an answer and no

answer.

It is true, however, that sometimes a non answered prayer is the best answer.

This was written by an unknown Confederate soldier.

“I asked God for strength, that I might achieve: I was made weak that I might

obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things: I was given infirmity that I

might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy: I was given

poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men:

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I

might enjoy life: I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing

that I asked for, but all I had hoped for.” God gave him what was best for him, but

the fact is, his prayers were unanswered. He got God’s will for him and not what he

prayed for, and so God in His wisdom will not answer our prayers because they are

not the best for us. So our trust is to be in God and not in prayer.

A false view of prayer that makes it the object of one’s faith is a subtle form

of idolatry. It is surprising, but a false view of prayer is the door to atheism for

many. Faith Baldwin tells of the girl whose fiancée was killed as a pilot, and she

said, “I went to church everyday and prayed. I prayed every night and almost

every waking hour. But he was killed. I shall never pray again, nor enter a

church.” Prayer changes things alright, and sometimes for the worst when it is

exalted to the level of magic, or as the key to one’s faith. It becomes a subtle

form of blackmail where you, in effect, say to God, “You either answer my

prayer, or I cancel you off my list. I don’t want anything to do with a God who

does not do things my way.”

Job said, “Though he slay me yet will I trust Him.” Now that is faith in God.

Faith in prayer says, “God, if you let me down, I will forsake you.” It is the

ultimate in presumption, for in essence it is saying, “God, you do my will, or you

are fired.” Man just loves to be in control of God. There are only three

possibilities.

1. God answers all prayer.

2. God answers no prayer.

3. God answers some prayers, and does not answer some prayers.

The first two are the only two that people want to believe because that gives

them control. If God answers all prayer, then God is the servant of man, and all

we have to do is manipulate God through prayer. We have the secret formula,

and He is in our hands. The unbeliever and atheist goes for number two, for if

God answers no prayer, He is of no use, and so for all practical purposes does

not exist, and man is in control.

The third alternative people shy away from because if that one is true, we

don’t have any control over God. He is free to chose to answer or not, and we do

not like God having that kind of freedom. It takes Him out of our hands

altogether, and it leaves us at His mercy. Like it or not, that is the way it is. God

is free, and in His sovereign freedom He can, He does, and He will chose not to

answer prayers for any number of reasons. Here are some-

1. Because of hypocrisy to be seen of men. Jesus said false motives will lead to

unanswered prayer. Matt. 6:5

2. Because of double mindedness. James says, “Let not that man think he will

receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:7. James 4:3 makes it clear that

wrong motives will lead to unanswered prayer. He writes, “When you ask,

you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend

what you get on your pleasures.”

3. Because you refuse to be reconciled with a brother. Matt. 5:23-24

4. Because you refuse to forgive another. Matt. 6:14-15

5. Because of a thousand and one ways by which we refuse to listen to the Word

of God. We become stubborn in disobedience, and like a rebellious child who

does not get his way. Prov. 28:9 says, “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law

even his prayers are detestable.” Prayer does not always change things, for if

the one praying does not change, the prayer changes nothing.

6. Some requests are just plain contrary to His will. Sometimes they are like

the man before the firing squad who was asked for his last request, and he

asked for a bullet proof vest. It was, of course, refused. And so it is with

many things we ask that have no place in God’s plan.

7. Prov. 21:13 says very clearly, “If a man shuts his ear to the cry of the poor,

he too will cry out and not be answered.” Prayer is conditional in so many

ways. It is not automatic at all. Many times God had to say to Israel that

their sins had separated them from Him, and He would not even hear their

prayers.

8. In I Sam. 8:18 God says to the people who have refused to let His Lordship

be sufficient, and who have demanded a king like the nations surrounding

them had, that he would grant them a king, but that that the king would

become a burden rather than a blessing. Then He adds, “When that day

comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the

Lord will not answer you in that day.” Here is a promise not to answer their

prayer, but a promise to not answer their prayer. I don’t think this has ever

been anybody’s favorite verse, but it is a fact, and God has promised

unanswered prayer to be a fact of life. It is not just possible, it is guaranteed.

We reap what we sow, and very often we cannot undo our choices by prayer.

God in mercy often brings good out of evil, but the fact is, He also often lets

us reap the evil of our choices. Even this may be good for us in the long run,

but it is not an answer to our prayers.

9. In I Peter 3:7 we read, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live

with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as

heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your

prayers.” Peter makes it clear that we can hinder our prayers by behavior

that is not pleasing to God. Many prayers are likely not answered because of

bad relationships and negative behavior between mates.

Jesus is not anti-prayer anymore than He is anti-giving or anti-fasting, or

anti-anything that is done for the glory of God and the good of man. But Jesus

deals honestly with the negative side of these things, for the only way you can

avoid pitfalls and disillusionment is to know the truth. The truth is that there is

more unanswered prayer in this world than we can imagine. The billions of

prayers said by rote, prayer wheels, or other methods of vain repetition, plus

numerous Christian prayers based on ignorance and a false foundation, go

unanswered every day. Fortunately, many of life’s blessings do not depend on

prayer at all. God sends His reign on the just and the unjust alike, and both

good and evil enjoy the energy of warmth and light from the sun. Even those

who never pray at all experience a multitude of God’s blessings.

We can be thankful that God does not let everything depend upon the prayers

of man. He permits prayer to influence His providential plan in nature, but it is

primary objective and independent of the subjective wills of men. Every

weekend of the spring and summer some bride and groom, and some sports

lovers, are praying for sun, and at the same time there are farmers who are

praying for rain. If God permitted prayer to control the weather, a majority on

one side or another would create havoc. I’ll leave that realm of reality in the

hands of God, but even in the areas of life where God invites the input of our

prayers, there are many reasons why they are not effective, and why they go

unanswered. Don’t feel bad if you have unanswered prayer. You join the great

company of the heroes of history. They were great persons of prayer, and they

changed the course of history by their faithful prayers, but they also experienced

the frustration of unanswered prayer.

Jesus, of course, is at the top of the list. The perfect Son of God, whose

prayers were always ideal, and yet He had to hear God’s no. “Let this cup pass

from me,” he prayed, but He had to drink it to the last drop. He was ready to surrender, and He added, “Not my will but Thine be done,” but His will was not

to drink it, and He did not get His will for there was no other way. Jesus also

prayed for Jerusalem, but they rejected Him anyway, and His prayer was not

answered. He said, “I would, but you would not.” Jesus did not always get His

way, and that is why He wept and experienced sorrow to the depths. He knew

the frustration and the agony of unanswered prayer.

Paul knew plenty of this burden, and one personal problem stands out. Three

times he prayed for the removal of his thorn in the flesh, and all he got in return

was a no. Moses pleaded with God to let him enter the promised land, but God

refused to hear him, and he was not permitted to enter. David pleaded with God

to let his child live, but the child died. Sometimes God’s no makes perfectly good

sense. When Elijah pleaded with God to take his life, we can see why God

refused that request. If God took home to heaven everyone of His children who

cried out in depression for escape, the rapture would be a continuous process,

rather than an event at the end of history. If you give the issue some

concentrated study, much unanswered prayer makes good sense.

In the first place, life would be a nightmare of uncertainty if God let the

universe be controlled by the prayers of His people, rather than by natural law.

The legend of King Midas illustrates this. He prayed that all he touched would

turn to gold, and he was just delighted as he began to touch things and increase

his fortune. But then he touched his daughter, and he lost a treasure that gold

could not buy as she became a statue of gold. Thank God He does not grant

every whim and wish of His people. Once when He did it and granted Israelites

their wish for meat, they got with their miracle of the quail a plague that killed

them by the thousands. God granted their wish, but sent leanness to their souls.

Longfellow was right when he said, “What discord we should bring into the

universe if all our prayers were answered! Then we should govern the world

and not God. And do you think we should govern it better? It gives me pain to

hear the long, wearisome petitions of men asking for they know not what.”

Many a Christian can give testimony to the blessings of unanswered prayer.

One couple pleaded with God for a certain home. They didn’t get it. Later they

learned that the buyer was greatly disappointed because he found much dry rot

in it. We do not always know the good reasons why God does not answer our

prayers, but often we can find that good reason. Unanswered prayer is a

challenge to self-examination. Let’s look at a couple of known reasons why God

does not answer prayer and see how this reality should motivate us to self-

examination.

1. We already looked at I Peter 3:7 where prayer may be hindered by a

husband not treating his wife properly. This is very logical, for God

certainly is not going to be a partner in making marriage the opposite of

what He intended it to be. He will not reward behavior that is contrary to

His will, and there is no way to calculate how many prayers go unanswered

because of such behavior. The implication would be that any abuse of

another person will hinder your prayers from being answered.

2. If God answered all prayers He would be far less discriminating and rational

than our earthly fathers. They do refuse our requests quite often because

they are selfish and uncaring. They refuse many of our requests because

they are caring of us. They know that much of what we desire is either

dangerous for us, or not appropriate at the time. They know some of the

things we request our just plain stupid, and it would be nothing short of evil

to grant the petition.

Is our heavenly Father less concerned about such matters? No way! He too

refuses to grant the enormous number of immature prayers His children

pester Him with daily. He would be irresponsible if He allowed the world to

be run by the whims of His children. We respect parents who do not let their

children turn their home and life into chaos, but who discipline them and say

no. So we ought to expect as much from our Father in heaven. This means

we need to examine our requests and ask ourselves if we are being selfish and

unreasonable to even expect such prayers to be answered.

Is there any value in all of this negative thinking about the reality of

unanswered prayer? Yes there is! It sets us free from those things that hurt us

worse than the truth that many of our prayers will not be answered. For

example:

1. It sets us free from the illusion that we have a formula for controlling God.

This is a dangerous illusion, and leads to much disillusionment. This view

that all prayer is answered leads many to give up prayer altogether. The

woman who played Olivia Walton, the mother on the Waltons T.V. show,

told of how she was taught by a priest that all prayer was answered. She got

so excited she began to pray for a bicycle. When she got shoes instead the

disappointment was so great she struggled the rest of her life with doubts.

She could have been spared all of that by being told that maybe, or maybe

not, her prayer would be answered for a bike. The simple truth would have

set her free and given her a realistic view of prayer.

It could have saved Bob Ringer, the author of Looking Out For No. 1, and

Winning Through Intimidation, a loss of faith in prayer. He wrote of his teen

experience. “I prayed for some things that were pretty important to me and

nothing happened. So I just gave up the whole idea. Sort of outgrew it, I

guess.” This is what false teaching on prayer leads to in many lives.

2. It sets us free from a false dependence on God. People who expect God to

take care of everything lack initiative to take the responsibility to work out

their own problems. You cannot just pray for weed to go away, you have to

get out there and pull and spray. God will not let you get by with praying

about things that you can do yourself. You chances of getting a toothache

taken care of by prayer is quite remote. You can go to the dentist and use the

means available to take care of it. Just as the bank will not cash all checks

until certain conditions are met, so God will not answer many prayers

because you have not met the conditions. If you use the means available to

solve a problem and it does not work, then it is appropriate to seek God’s

answer in prayer. But to expect God to hand you an answer when you do not

even try to use the means He has made available through the wisdom and

labors of men is presumptuous. The church was established to meet many of

the needs of the body, and we need to take advantage of that and not expect

God to do directly what He does through the body of Christ.

3.

4. It sets us free from the practice of Christian voodoo. We do not stick pins in

dolls to try to influence people, but we do try to do the same thing and get

control over others through prayer. We would like to manipulate the lives of

others by prayer, and we would if it would work. But God does not allow

prayer to be like magic. He will not allow us to force people to make the right

decisions through our prayers. They have to make the right choices

themselves. It is legitimate to pray that they will make the wise choices, and

to follow the prayer up with what influence we might have, but we cannot

expect that prayer alone will make people choose wisely. When you pray for

others to do what is best, be prepared for many unanswered prayers, for God

does not rob people of their free will in answer to anyone’s prayers.

We must constantly fight the battle for balance, and not be caught up with

the extremes that say all prayer is answered, or no prayer is answered. Both

extremes are false, and so we need to live in the middle where we know some

prayers are answered and others are not. The Bible portrays all the great prayer

warriors as suffering the agony of unanswered prayer, but never do they give up

on prayer because of their disappointment. The batter that gets 3 or 4 hits out of

10 is a hero. He misses more than he hits, but he does not give up and quit. So

men ought always to pray and not faint the Bible says, for those who are

persistent in prayer will have far more answers than those who give up and cease

to pray. Partial success always beats total failure in anybody’s book. Only those

who persist in prayer will taste the fruit of victory along with the agony of

defeat. The absence of answers ought never to keep us from the abundance of

answers that will surely come to those who do not faint and give up.

A realistic view of prayer makes us put our trust in God and not in prayer.

Those who preach that prayer is always answered almost idolize prayer. It is not

prayer that saves us, loves us, gives us guidance and wisdom, and seeks the best

for us in all ways. It is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who is to be the place

where we put our faith and hope, and not prayer. Prayer is just the means by

which we communicate with God. The love and power are in God and not

prayer. When we grasp this we will not be ready to abandon God when He does

not answer all our prayers. We may never know all the reasons why, but we can

trust Him and keep on trusting Him no matter how many unanswered prayers

we have to endure. That is what faith in God is all about.

If we go to the great faith chapter of Heb. 11 we see many prayers that were

answered, but a whole host of them that were not. After a long list of great

victories we come to the last part of the chapter and get a list of prayers that

were not answered. Many of God’s children were tortured, beaten and put in

prison. They were stoned and butchered and put to death. They were terribly

persecuted and abused and lived a life that was very miserable. They prayed a

thousand prayers that were never answered, but they are commended because

they remained faithful to God, and they never gave up because they never

received the promise. They knew that God would make it up to them ultimately.

This is faith in God, and not faith in prayer, and that kind of faith is what

enables people to endure and press on even when prayer is not answered.