Troublesome Topic: TIMES WHEN ASKING FOR FAVORS SEEM TO HAVE CHANGED GOD’S MIND

The times when God gives us a positive response to our asking for favors can be divided into four categories.

There are times when the favor we have asked falls in line with the will of God without us even knowing it. The thing we have asked for would usually be defined as a favor, but in this case, it is also exactly what God wants to do. So, of course, He does it.

There are times when we ask for a blessing from God and He grants it because He was wanting to bless us anyway. By waiting for us to ask and then granting us the blessing we requested, instead of something totally different, we will be sure to see what God has done because we are watching for that thing, whereas we are probably not watching for other ways that God might possibly bless us.

There are also times that God grants us what we ask for even though it is bad for us. He grants it for us to learn a lesson from it. His ultimate purpose of spiritual growth in us is reached through something that temporarily takes us the wrong direction.

Then there are times when God has granted someone’s request for guidance, and other times when He does not give specific, clear guidance because He expects the person to use what they already know about God and about spiritual things to guide them in that decision.

In the Bible we see examples of all four of these categories.

TIMES WHEN THEIR REQUEST FOR A FAVOR ENDED POORLY

BALAAM

Think about the story of Balaam found in Numbers 22-24. When Balaam received the request from King Balak to put a curse on the people of Israel, God spoke to him and told him not to do it (22:12). So he sent the messengers away. But King Balak sent them back a second time with an offer of great riches. Balaam told them he could not do as the asked, even if the king gave him the royal palace filled with silver and gold. However, he also told the messengers to stay overnight and he would find out “what else the Lord will tell me” (22:18-19). God had already spoken clearly, there was no need for further discussion. The only thing left to do was obey. This means Balaam wanted to have it both ways; he wanted to avoid being under God’s wrath because he recognized that the God of the Israelites was the Creator and Lord of the whole world, but he also wanted to please King Balak and be richly rewarded for it. So he said the right thing at first, but that night he tried to bargain with God or asked God if He was sure about His first answer. In other words, he used prayer to press God for what he, a mere man, wanted to happen.

In this case, God relented. He seems to have changed His mind. However, God’s purpose had not changed. He would not allow any curse against Israel and He wanted to work in Balaam’s life, if Balaam was willing to allow God to do His work in him. In this process God would reveal openly what was hidden in Balaam’s heart. The only thing that changed was the methods God would use.

HEZEKIAH

Consider the story of King Hezekiah in II Kings chapter 20. He was very sick and God sent him the prophet Isaiah to tell him to get his house in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah begged God for more time and God gave him 15 more years, but in those years, he turned away from God.

I think this served to demonstrate clearly to Hezekiah and others where his heart was. He started out good, by the time he got deathly sick his spiritual condition may have been on the edge, or darker than most people realized. When word came that it was God’s will for him to die, he did not accept is, but pushed back against it. He was focused on his own accomplishments rather than Gods will. God granted his request for a favor to show everyone clearly the direction in which he was headed.

TIMES WHEN GOD CHOSE TO BLESS THEM AS THEY HAD REQUESTED

HANNAH, SAMUEL’S MOTHER

She asked God to take away her barrenness and give her a child, and He did so (I Samuel chapter 1).

JABEZ

He had experienced much pain in life, His name meant “pain”, but he was more righteous than his brothers. He asked God to bless him, expand his territory, for God’s hand to be with him, to keep him from harm so he would be free from pain (I Chron 4:9-10). It seems that God was looking for ways to bless him because he was a righteous man, therefore God granted him the favors he asked for.

EXAMPLES OF TIMES WHEN THEIR REQUESTS FIT GOD’S PLAN WITHOUT THEM KNOWING IT

ISRAEL IN EGYPT – They asked God to deliver them from their bondage; He did because it fit His plan.

JOSHUA asked God to make the sun to stand still to give them more time to win the battle against Amorites. It is obvious that God wanted them to win that battle because He hurled large hail stones at the Amorites. Because it fit His plan, God also granted the miracle of stopping the progression of the sun across the sky, as Joshua had requested.

SAMSON asked for vengeance on his enemies who gouged out his eyes. God granted it because it was His purpose to use Samson to bring judgment on the Philistines (on a partial level, not complete judgment).

SOMETIMES GOD GAVE GUIDANCE AS REQUESTED, SOMETIMES HE DID NOT

GIDEON asked for direction (using a fleece) to be sure he had heard correctly, and his request was answered. Later God spoke to him and told him he had too many men; the number was cut down in three steps from 32,000 to 300. When he needed reassurance, God allowed him to hear a Midianite soldier telling his fellow soldier about a dream he had which communicated that God would give the Midianites into Gideon’s hand.

The next lesson sis HOW DOES GOD WANT US TO PRAY ABOUT POITICS?