Should prayer be instant?

[AudreyNicole]

I like this scripture as well...however I cant decide if I do think it is a time passage or not. Because really moments after he prayed this he was arrested so to me that is instant

It is true that moments after He prayed He was arrested but that wasn't in answer to His prayer. He didn't pray "God, please let me be arrested" then BAM... He was arrested. No, instead He prayed "God, let this cup pass from me", and yet He was still arrested.

I kind of think of it this way: You're being chased by the cops and your trying to get away... so you pray, "God, don't let them get me", and then moments later... they get you. Woops.

That's pretty much what Jesus was going through here... He was praying for what was happening that moment and He prayed that it would pass, but it didn't. So, I wouldn't quite call that an instant answer to prayer.

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The thing with Jesus is that He is the son of God. We are to be like Him, but we aren't Him... so to compare our prayer lives with His, quite frankly, it just isn't comparable. When it comes to things like prayer I think we are better off observing the people of the Bible, not necessarily Jesus, because we will never have a prayer life like He did. He had a straight shot to God, ultimate access, no sin. We on the other hand, have to go through Jesus to get to God. We are asking in His name, and we are tainted by sin, so again we can't really compare our prayer lives with His...His will always be more powerful than ours.
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With that said, here is the way I see Christ's prayer in Gethsemane. For me, it is much more symbolic than literal, as is much of Christ's work. He prayed 3 times, and we all know three is a powerful number in the Bible. While to us it may seem like only a matter of mere moments (more likely hours) before God "answered" His prayers, it is not the time that matters in "successful" prayers, but the persistence. And Christ's 3 different prayers represent such persistence. Even though it isn't played out over the course of months or years, He demonstrates the persistence that is needed.

 

[Quenton]

It is true that moments after He prayed He was arrested but that wasn't in answer to His prayer. He didn't pray "God, please let me be arrested" then BAM... He was arrested. No, instead He prayed "God, let this cup pass from me", and yet He was still arrested.

I kind of think of it this way: You're being chased by the cops and your trying to get away... so you pray, "God, don't let them get me", and then moments later... they get you. Woops.

That's pretty much what Jesus was going through here... He was praying for what was happening that moment and He prayed that it would pass, but it didn't. So, I wouldn't quite call that an instant answer to prayer.

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The thing with Jesus is that He is the son of God. We are to be like Him, but we aren't Him... so to compare our prayer lives with His, quite frankly, it just isn't comparable. When it comes to things like prayer I think we are better off observing the people of the Bible, not necessarily Jesus, because we will never have a prayer life like He did. He had a straight shot to God, ultimate access, no sin. We on the other hand, have to go through Jesus to get to God. We are asking in His name, and we are tainted by sin, so again we can't really compare our prayer lives with His...His will always be more powerful than ours.
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With that said, here is the way I see Christ's prayer in Gethsemane. For me, it is much more symbolic than literal, as is much of Christ's work. He prayed 3 times, and we all know three is a powerful number in the Bible. While to us it may seem like only a matter of mere moments (more likely hours) before God "answered" His prayers, it is not the time that matters in "successful" prayers, but the persistence. And Christ's 3 different prayers represent such persistence. Even though it isn't played out over the course of months or years, He demonstrates the persistence that is needed.

Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” is the finish to that prayer not my will but yours so yes his prayer was answered.

I live to be like Jesus in all areas so my prayer life has to be like his to do so

 

[Thiscrosshurts]

I live to be like Jesus in all areas so my prayer life has to be like his to do so

So do I my friend,I want to know him and the power outflowing his resurrection.
The truth is we should be able to do greater than him because he is with the Father.
John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

He only cared for his Fathers plan to redeem the world.
He has overcome the world and he is training us to enforce his victory.

 

[Giggles4God]

Personally for me, I don't think that our prayers aren't answered instantly. I think the problem is that we are looking for God to answer our prayer OUR WAY! Not saying all of us, but a good amount of us are in that category. We think that somehow we know so much more than God and we want every NOW NOW NOW!! Man, we sound like tantrum throwing toddlers!!

We need to get with it!! It isn't about us. It's about Him.

So, since we don't see God working the way we want Him to, He can't POSSIBLY have answered my prayer! And in reality, He has...but we missed it!

I don't want to miss God. No sir!

Or...we are waiting for God (and I am) and who knows...God might be saying not yet. I think that is how it was for Hannah. She prayed and prayed and prayed for YEARS for a child! And then she finally got one. It must have been hard for her to give up her child that she prayed so constantly for.

If we would open our eyes...our spiritual eyes and ears and hearts to see and hear...God will reveal Himself!

So I truly believe He has answered us. We just don't like the answer He gave.

 

[jiggyfly]

Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” is the finish to that prayer not my will but yours so yes his prayer was answered.

I live to be like Jesus in all areas so my prayer life has to be like his to do so

How many times did Jesus pray the same thing in the garden?

 

[AudreyNicole]

Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” is the finish to that prayer not my will but yours so yes his prayer was answered.

I live to be like Jesus in all areas so my prayer life has to be like his to do so

Well in that sense then all our prayers are always answered instantly because God's will is done every instant. And we are to pray for things in the will of God... so since God's will is happening all around us all the time, our prayers in His will for His will, are answered all around us all the time.

And yes, I agree we are to be like Christ, but you must understand, there is a difference between being like Christ, and being Christ. Christ is Lord. We are not Christ, we are not Lord. If He had to pray 3 different times before He got His answer, how much more do we need to pray? Let me tell you... a lot more!

Also, not every single one of Christ's prayers is written in the Bible. In fact, I would argue that at least 90% of His prayers aren't written down. We are given many accounts of Him going off to pray, but not always told what it is He prays about, so He very well could have been waiting in prayer for an answer from God for one thing or another.... we don't know.

Answered prayer doesn't result from time or repetition, but persistence and sincerity. There are many many times God answers me instantly in prayer, then there are other times I have to wait.... the point is, at the end of the day God works just the same now as He did then. There are just as many people waiting in prayer now as there were then. There are just as many "instant" answers now as there were then. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow so He's no different now than He was then.

 

[AudreyNicole]

This question just keeps coming up in my mind. Because all throughout the bible prayer is instant..yet today we always wait

I wanted to go back and re-address the original question. First off I want to say again that there are as many "instant" answers today as there were then, and the Bible is also full of "waiting" prayers.

Secondly you ask, "should prayer be instant?" To that I say, generally, no, it should not be instant. There are some prayers that are instant, like prayers for wisdom... but, I'm assuming you are speaking of more "complex" prayers, and for those, no they shouldn't be instant.

Why? Because, as the Bible teaches, waiting produces patience, perseverance, and a strength of faith. If we always got everything we asked when we asked, we would become bratty children (just look at the world around you). God doesn't want us to be like the world, He wants us to be strong in our faith, and the testing of our faith develops perseverance (James 1:3).

So, God tests our faith by not instantly answering prayer, but instead, works on His timing and lets us wait for Him, that we may become patient.

So, God shouldn't answer us instantly, and honestly, I personally hope the Lord makes me wait for many a thing because I definitely need patience. Think about it this way.... If you asked God for a job, and He showed you one that very day you would be appreciative and thankful maybe for a week or two, then forget about it after 6 months. But if you asked God for a job for a year, and continued asking, continued seeking, continued knocking, then He brought you to one, you would be appreciative and thankful for a much longer time. And you would have a greater testimony: "I asked one day and He gave it to me the next" vs. "I asked God for years, and He gave it to me 5 years later".

Have you heard testimonies of mothers that prayed for over 20 years that their children would be saved? 20 years!! That is a great miracle, greater than if it had only prayed 1 day. Getting things immediately seems to really bring down their value, but waiting for things makes them that much more wonderful esp. things from God!

 

[stephen]

This question just keeps coming up in my mind. Because all throughout the bible prayer is instant..yet today we always wait[/QUOTE

Prayer is dependant upon US. "Jesus prayed" The pattern is set as the church faces in prayer the local situation.

Prayer is God ordained! "O thou that hearest prayer....unto thee shall all flesh come" (bible)

Prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit. It is as we draw near to God in prayer....that we are aroused by the Holy Spirit to call upon His Name.

I pray as I walk around the town..........

 

[Quenton]

How many times did Jesus pray the same thing in the garden?

i honestly don't remember a time where i said that we aren't to ask for the same thing...but does that mean shortly like a true few moments after he was done praying they didn't come no it did not

 

[Quenton]

I wanted to go back and re-address the original question. First off I want to say again that there are as many "instant" answers today as there were then, and the Bible is also full of "waiting" prayers.

Secondly you ask, "should prayer be instant?" To that I say, generally, no, it should not be instant. There are some prayers that are instant, like prayers for wisdom... but, I'm assuming you are speaking of more "complex" prayers, and for those, no they shouldn't be instant.

Why? Because, as the Bible teaches, waiting produces patience, perseverance, and a strength of faith. If we always got everything we asked when we asked, we would become bratty children (just look at the world around you). God doesn't want us to be like the world, He wants us to be strong in our faith, and the testing of our faith develops perseverance (James 1:3).

So, God tests our faith by not instantly answering prayer, but instead, works on His timing and lets us wait for Him, that we may become patient.

So, God shouldn't answer us instantly, and honestly, I personally hope the Lord makes me wait for many a thing because I definitely need patience. Think about it this way.... If you asked God for a job, and He showed you one that very day you would be appreciative and thankful maybe for a week or two, then forget about it after 6 months. But if you asked God for a job for a year, and continued asking, continued seeking, continued knocking, then He brought you to one, you would be appreciative and thankful for a much longer time. And you would have a greater testimony: "I asked one day and He gave it to me the next" vs. "I asked God for years, and He gave it to me 5 years later".

Have you heard testimonies of mothers that prayed for over 20 years that their children would be saved? 20 years!! That is a great miracle, greater than if it had only prayed 1 day. Getting things immediately seems to really bring down their value, but waiting for things makes them that much more wonderful esp. things from God!

provide some waiting ones in the scripture(i want to clear up for anyone thinking this is a belief of mine it is currently not.) Everyone of them I've ever spoken to said it took that many years for that kind of faith (not judging them their words not mine)

 

[AudreyNicole]

provide some waiting ones in the scripture(i want to clear up for anyone thinking this is a belief of mine it is currently not.) Everyone of them I've ever spoken to said it took that many years for that kind of faith (not judging them their words not mine)

I'm assuming you're asking for people of the Bible that had to wait for answers to prayer??

• First, and my favorite of all, Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She waited and prayed for about 7 years before she was blessed with her son. 1 Samuel 1

• There's the parable of the persistent widow: symbolic of persistence in prayer. Luke 18:1-8

• Luke 1 tells the story of Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother, and her long long wait for an answered prayer. “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. (40 years later) lol"

• Another great story of a mother waiting for her answered prayer is Sarah along with Abraham (and Hagar).

• Daniel prayed for understanding and God sent a messenger the same day, but he was hindered and arrived twenty one days later.

• 1 Kings 18:43-45 talks about Elijah's persistent prayer, even amidst "nothing" happening.

Elijah remained steadfast in prayer. The servant is like many believers who pray a few minutes, look out the window and think, “just like I thought, nothing.” ... then they try something else and when that doesn’t work, they try a little more prayer. But to pray like that is to be like the double-minded man of James 1:5 who asks, doubts, wavers, asks, then doubts and so on. Elijah did not doubt even after six negative reports. He continued to pray... Why? Because he was standing confidently on what God had promised.

Again, answered prayer isn't about time, its about persistence. Sometimes God answers us soon, sometimes later... just like what is shown from these stories in the Bible. Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane prayed three times concerning God's will, and Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh. These are examples to us that we must continue to pray until we receive an answer from God. Not that we pray only three times, but to pray until the Holy Spirit reveals that the prayer has been heard and the answer is coming. Jesus' parable about the persistent widow teaches us that we should always pray and not give up. Sometimes our prayers are not answered because we stop asking, seeking, and knocking.

The bible is chock full of other accounts of waiting prayer.... open it up and see for yourself, you'll come upon many. And these prayers are there to give us hope... a hope that God does hear us, that He does answer in His perfect time, and hope of a stronger faith through waiting.

 

[Giggles4God]

Oops I just read what you said above...but I wanted to keep this so that people could read what I think the amazing part about Hannah's story is!

Let's not forget Hannah. She's the one I always remember when I think of someone waiting for God to answer a prayer. And then the amazing thing...she gives her awaited child to God!! Literally!! wow!!

 

[JM7]

Its funny, i totally see all of your points of views. and i actually agree with quenton to a certain extent. because what alot of us dont realize sometimes that we are slaves to time in a sense. and God's timing is not the same as ours. because to God, jesus is on the cross as i'm typing this, and your reading this as i'm typing this, and to God while Jesus is on that cross, you are getting saved, and walking alongside him, all at the same time. if that makes any sense. but i dont think it even has to. because God is all powerful and all consuming, & our simple minds cant grasp even an inch of his greatness! but in an amazing way! i love that even when i think i've figured him out he show's me i've only just begun! anyway, point is.. there really isnt a reason to nag him on just one thing. he heard you. he hears u. instead LET GO AND LET GOD! while you are waiting pray for your neighbor. . your neighbor that lives next door, your neighbor that lives with you, the neighbor half way across the world! loose yourself in HIM and the change will be so radically beautiful, that there is no need to worry about when your prayer will be answered. because if you truly believe in Him you have to believe that he's got your back! 100%!

seek FIRST the kingdom of heaven. knowledge is power.

 

[Thiscrosshurts]

God's timing is not the same as ours. because to God, jesus is on the cross as i'm typing this, and your reading this as i'm typing this, and to God while Jesus is on that cross, you are getting saved, and walking alongside him, all at the same time. if that makes any sense.

Actually it may not be that far off.
Except Jesus is at the right hand of God

Eph 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions
Col 2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Eph 2:6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus.