You have not because you ask not . . .

Joshua 9; Psalms 140–141; Jeremiah 3; Matthew 17

My prayers are not always answered, at least not right away or in the way I expect. However, I’ve learned to ask anyway. Many times the answers astonish me by being way beyond the request.

The Israelites learned lessons about asking. In those early days they just entered the land God promised them. They were supposed to take possession of it by destroying the evil people who lived there. Then a group approached them pretending they had traveled a long distance and wanted to make a peace treaty. “So the men took some of their provisions but did not ask counsel from the Lord.” (Joshua 9:24) It wasn’t long before the Israelites realized their error and had to keep their word. They made these devious people their slaves, giving them work to do that gave them opportunity to see what it looked like to worship one God.

In our day, God’s people can also ‘make peace with the enemy’ through deception many Christians have failed to shape their lives and thoughts according to Scripture. It is difficult to unmask subtle error that aligns with culture, especially if spiritual God-talk is added. Some deceivers will piously cite a passage or two and their teachings seems to “work.” The failure to spot false teaching also betrays an overconfidence that the person betrayed does not think God is needed, at least for many situations.

I must watch out for that attitude. I can pray about the ‘big’ stuff but am realizing that all my chores and everything I do needs prayer — or at least a conscience awareness of God caring about the choices I make. He does not want me to be duped into error, especially because I am too confident in myself.

Later in biblical history, King David prayed the following, showing that he had learned from Joshua’s error:

But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (Psalm 141:8–10)

God delivered His people time and again even though they were slow to learn and slower to obey. His patience and persistence is amazing. However, even more amazing than that, or even the many times He answered their prayers, is what He did when they neglected to pray . . .  

This failure to pray story shows that the enemy who tried to fool the Israelites were not killed. However, they did lose what they hoped to attain — their freedom — and in the end they became slaves. However, this curse became a blessing. It was on behalf of them that God later worked a great miracle. After time, the tabernacle was pitched in their city. Still later some of them helped Nehemiah rebuild Jerusalem’s wall.

Such is the grace of God. He is still able to turn a curse into a blessing. His people did not pray; their enemies became slaves. The natural consequences of sin ran their course, but the grace of God can not only forgive but also overrule mistakes and often bring blessings out of sins and failures.

APPLY: I feel no sense of “it will work out okay even if I don’t pray or even if I make mistakes” but instead a stronger sense of the importance of praying about everything. This isn’t about getting what I want or having my prayers answered. It is about drawing near to God and to truth, being guided away from error and fitting into His good and perfect will. Not only that, He keeps showing me that even if I do all things as I should, He continues to surprise me.