Prayer review, Part 14: Petition and desire – four possible outcomes; John 15:16.

Title: Prayer review, Part 14: Petition and desire - four possible outcomes; John 15:16.

 

Opening prayer:

 

 

 

Point 4: Petition and desire.

 

There are four categories of petition in prayer.

 

When you offer a petition or prayer for yourself or others to God, there is the thing for which you ask, called the petition, and then behind that petition is your desire or motive for it.

 

The four categories that follow show that God views both parts of your prayer as separate, and answers each part either positively or negatively.

      

1. Positive - Negative. Your petition is answered yes, but your desire behind it is answered no. Usually this is done when it is the only way to reveal the error of your desire.

 

 For example, you pray to make much wealth, and even though you have heard from the pulpit that spiritual wealth is the only important wealth you continue to desire monetary wealth. God knows when there is only one way to teach you the lesson and that is to give you the wealth in order to let you see for yourself that it does not bring any happiness.

 

In this way, God is not acting to hurt you for He is never against you. He is working to instruct you.

             

a. In 1 Sam 8:5-9 and 19-20, the Jews wanted to have a human king they could see (petition), so they could be like other nations (desire to be happy).

 

1 Sam 8:1 And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel.

 

1 Sam 8:2 Now the name of his first-born was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

 

1 Sam 8:3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

 

1 Sam 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

 

1 Sam 8:5 and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."

 

1 Sam 8:6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

 

1 Sam 8:7 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

 

1 Sam 8:8 Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day —  in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods —  so they are doing to you also.

 

1 Sam 8:9 Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them."

 

Whenever we offer up an incorrect petition God will through doctrine warn us of the consequences of its fulfilment so that we may change our thinking and not persist.

 

1 Sam 8:10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king.

 

1 Sam 8:11 And he said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots.

 

1 Sam 8:12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

 

1 Sam 8:13 He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers.

 

1 Sam 8:14 And he will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.

 

1 Sam 8:15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants.

 

1 Sam 8:16 He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys, and use them for his work.

 

1 Sam 8:17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants.

 

1 Sam 8:18 Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day."

 

Having heard that description you’d think they’d ask for a take back, but no.

 

1 Sam 8:19 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us,

 

1 Sam 8:20 that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

 

1 Sam 8:21 Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord's hearing.

 

1 Sam 8:22 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and appoint them a king." So Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

 

God answered their petition yes, and permitted them to pick out their own king. They wanted someone who was taller, stronger and more handsome than the kings of the nations around them; by this criterion they picked Saul. Their desire to be happy with a human king was answered no; Saul turned out terrible and the Jews suffered miserably as a result.

             

God is only teaching them, for after the death of Saul, God will give them the greatest king they would ever have in David. But many will reject David, which will lead to the splitting of the kingdom to Israel and Judah.

 

b. In Ps 106:13-15, the Jews were tired of the great divine provision of manna, the greatest health food ever. They longed for the Egyptian meat and food they used to eat.

 

God answered their petition yes; He sent them quail. But the desire for satisfaction or “food happiness” was not answered; instead, they suffered terribly from it and thousands died.

 

Ps 106:13 They quickly forgot His works;

They did not wait for His counsel,

 

Ps 106:14 But craved intensely in the wilderness,

And tempted God in the desert.

 

Ps 106:15 So He gave them their request,

But sent a wasting disease among them.

 

NUM 11:4 And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to eat?

 

NUM 11:5 "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

 

NUM 11:6 but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna."

 

NUM 11:7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.

 

NUM 11:8 The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil.

 

NUM 11:9 And when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

 

NUM 11:10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.

 

NUM 11:11 So Moses said to the Lord, "Why hast Thou been so hard on Thy servant? And why have I not found favor in Thy sight, that Thou hast laid the burden of all this people on me?

 

NUM 11:12 "Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that Thou shouldest say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which Thou didst swear to their fathers'?

 

NUM 11:13 "Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, 'Give us meat that we may eat!'

 

NUM 11:14 "I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me.

 

NUM 11:15 So if Thou art going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Thy sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness."

 

NUM 11:16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.

 

NUM 11:17 Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you [the burden of warning the people of their error], so that you shall not bear it all alone.

 

NUM 11:18 And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying," Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt. "Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat.

 

NUM 11:19 'You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

 

NUM 11:20 but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

 

NUM 11:21 But Moses said, "The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet Thou hast said, 'I will give them meat in order that they may eat for a whole month.'

 

NUM 11:22 "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?" [do you recall a similar response by Philip to the Lord who asked him, how are we going to feed the 5000?]

 

NUM 11:23 And the Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."

 

NUM 11:24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent.

 

NUM 11:25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And it came about that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

 

NUM 11:26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.

 

As in 1Sa 8 the people were warned about their stupid and dangerous petition so that they may change their hearts.

 

NUM 11:27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."

 

NUM 11:28 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, answered and said, "Moses, my lord, restrain them."

 

NUM 11:29 But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!"

 

NUM 11:30 Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

 

NUM 11:31 Now there went forth a wind from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits deep on the surface of the ground [2 cubits above the surface of the ground - the quail were so tired that they could only fly about 3 feet off the ground making them easy to catch].

 

NUM 11:32 And the people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers [55 bushels (bushel = 35L or 8 gal)]) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp (put them in the hot sand for cooking, possibly).

 

NUM 11:33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague.

 

PSA 78:31 states that some of them were killed.

 

NUM 11:34 So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,[graves of lust] because there they buried the people who had been greedy.

 

NUM 11:35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

 

This reminds us that the way we treat God’s logistical provisions [the word, pastor, assembly, food, water, shelter, etc.] is how we treat Him.

 

Those who grumble and complain about their lives as they are, are complaining about God.

 

2. Negative - Positive. The answer to the petition is no; the desire behind the petition is answered yes.

 

Example: no, you will not become very wealthy, but yes, you will be happy.

             

a. In GEN 17:18, Abraham prayed that Ishmael, the son of Hagar, might be his heir. God said no to Ishmael becoming his heir but yes to the desire for an heir through Isaac.

 

GEN 15:2 And Abram said, "O Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

 

GEN 15:3 And Abram said, "Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir."

 

GEN 15:4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."

 

Notice that God promised that the heir would come from his own body and not specifically saying Sarah’s body also.

 

So when Abraham had his first child Ishmael through Sarah’s maid Hagar, Abraham is still doctrinally sound in his own mind when he asks that Ishmael be his heir.

Principle:

We are often unclear of the full impact of God’s promises and so we petition as we shouldn’t, yet God always builds our understanding through more doctrine.

 

GEN 17:15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

 

GEN 17:16 And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

 

GEN 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

 

We laugh as a release to the pressure of the impossible since our lack of faith makes even the idea of the impossible to difficult to bear. So like crying, laughing becomes a pressure release. God has a plan for this where there will be a constant reminder to you of your lack of faith - God is going to command Abraham to call the child Isaac which means laughter.

 

GEN 17:18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!"

 

No need to get down on Abraham here; back in Gen 15, sure, but not here. God has been silent to him for 17 years and through the silence of God Abraham got over the hump in his spiritual life. He’s getting there, but like all of us, he has not arrived.

 

GEN 17:19 But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

 

GEN 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you [again the desire is met, but not the petition]; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

 

GEN 17:21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year."