God's will - how to interpret God's response to our request
Do animals pray? They don't. And it's exactly the same zero effect that prayers asking for advice have when we assume in advance that we won't even do God's will when it conflicts with our own.
Many of us, when we have a problem or make an important decision in life, ask God in prayer for an answer on how to proceed. Once we get that answer, what do we mostly do? We don't follow God's will, but man's. If the answer doesn't satisfy us, we recognize that we misinterpreted the situation, that it probably wasn't the answer, and we ask again. We keep asking until we get the answer we expect, that is, the one that suits us. Is this the correct interpretation? Definitely not. Many such cases are also described in Scripture. Here are some of them:
Numbers chapter 14
14.39-45 "And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you. But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah."
Numbers chapters 23-24
23.3 "And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place."
... Balaam blesses Israel ...
23.11-13 "And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. ... (17) And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?"
... Balaam again blesses Israel ...
23.25-27 "And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence."
... Balaam once again blesses Israel ...
24.10-11 "And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honor. "
1 Kings chapter 22
5-9 "And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah."
15-16 "So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?"
... Micaiah predicts defeat ...
24-27 "But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? ... And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace."
By the way, it is worth noting the hypocrisy of the king. On the inside he knew Micaiah was telling the truth, and yet he had him imprisoned. Today, too, many politicians pretend to be believers, while inside they are godless.
Jeremiah chapter 37
3 "And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us."
... Jeremiah announces the defeat of Jerusalem ...
14-15 "Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison."
Jeremiah chapters 42-43
42.1-5 "Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us."
... God through Jeremiah assured them to remain in Judah and not to flee to Egypt, for there they would perish ....
43.1-4 "And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words, Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah."
Of all the above examples, the most astonishing comes from the First Book of Kings. The king, despite listening to 400 false prophets, must have had doubts about whether he was doing the right thing. They called on the prophet Micaiah for help, and when he specifically announced the success of the war expedition he was rebuked for it. The king knew in his heart that he had heard only what he wanted to hear. So he ordered the prophet to speak for the Lord. When the words announcing defeat reached him, what did he do? He went to war!
All the events described ended tragically for those who disregarded God's announcement. Placing God's will lower than human will is a mistake. How many times have you gone to so much trouble to seek an answer from God that in the end it was just what you wanted to hear? What is the point of asking God for an answer if you have no intention of following God's word anyway. A significant number of people pray for an answer just to justify their actions. This should not be the purpose of prayer.
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